Beat the Study Slump

I am in the middle of a second round of midterms. Which is no fun. Studying all day. Trying to memorize (and understand) as much information as possible. It becomes tiring and I cannot wait for tonight at 9pm when I will officially be done midterms for this year (then I will just have finals to worry about but those aren't for a couple of months. Yay!)

After a couple of hours of hard studying (or sooner depending on how many days its been and how often I have gone through the material) I find I need to refocus. Here is what I find helps me to stay on track and get energized again for another couple of hours of studying. 

1/ Eating Healthy 

During exams it is so easy to reach for comfort foods, order a pizza or some other form of takeout. While this can sustain me for the short term I find that I don't study as well when I am not eating healthy. I try to include at least a salad or a green smoothie in my day. I also don't like to eat while I study. 

2/ Sleep

There never seems to be enough hours in the day but one thing I don't skimp on during midterm season is sleep. Its important to staying healthy and not catching any of the bugs that are going around during this time of year and I know that I can study more effectively when I am well rested. When I start to get tired I know its going to take twice as long to get through material. 

3/ Tea

I drink a ton of tea. But I like to switch up what kinds that I am drinking throughout the day. In the morning I usually drink a caffeinated tea to wake me up and get me through the first couple of hours of studying. Once the afternoon hits I switch to green tea and by evening I am drinking only caffeine free tea so that I can make sure I get a good nights sleep.  Tea especially caffeine free tea helps to keep me hydrated as well. 

4/ Taking Breaks 

I like to take breaks every 45 minutes to an hour to stretch my legs or give my brain a break. Usually, I have a goal in mind how far I want to get in the material before I take a break. Depending on what I am studying its 1-3 lectures. 

5/ Treats

Sometimes I need some external motivation for getting through. I like to reward myself for finishing a unit or getting through a section. Usually this is in the form of food, a small piece of chocolate etc that gives me a sugar rush. Other times I like to use longer breaks (an hour or so) as a reward and watch a tv show.  

6/ Change of Scenery 

I usually study in the same place (at my kitchen table). Which I like because I can usually get a lot of work done here uninterrupted and I am pretty productive. However, sometimes changing scenery and going to the library or even just a different room to study is enough to get me back on track and feeling refreshed. 

Valentine's Inspiration

Top: Necklace. Scarf. Print.
Bottom: Water Bottle. iPhone Case. Sleep Shirt. Wristlet.

Mondays

Mondays. Everyone hates them. They are even worse coming off a great weekend. I managed to escape home this weekend for a quick one night visit which was very much needed. I was felling incredibly homesick since coming back from the holidays. I always seem to get very homesick after the holidays. It always feels too soon to go back to school. This year with the ice storm I really felt like I had been robbed time at home since we were without power for four days.  My short trip home was the perfect mini vacation from the stress of school. 

These past couple of weeks have been really stressful for me. It seemed like everything was happening all at once. I had major conference to plan, midterms to study for, internship applications due. I felt like I was being pulled in about 100 different directions and being a perfectionist I wanted to give everything 100% which I soon learned was just not possible.  

Usually, I can prioritize. I know what needs to get done first. What is most important and what can fall to the back burner until I can catch my breath for a minute. These last few weeks it seemed like everything was important and would impact my life in different various ways. With the conference date nearing that took precedence which meant that when midterms starting rolling around I had less time to cram in more information. Then a job application would be due and those deadlines are hard and fast. You cannot miss it. Writing cover letters already is a bit of chore plus the pressure of getting a good internship was looming overhead. One decision would affect right now, the next could affect the future. Some (like getting good grades) affect both. Unfortunately, it seemed like the thing to fall to the back burner was my relationships and my me time. Both I have learnt are extremely important. I felt that I was too busy to call my mom, take a minute to stop and actually eat or grab that extra hour of sleep. Which only lead to me getting sick and being forced to slow down.

Everyone always tells me to enjoy being a student while I can. Savor these last few semesters. Enjoy it. But part of me cannot wait to graduate. To hopefully reclaim some of my evenings and weekends (is this wishful thinking?). I am tired of studying seemingly useless facts and regurgitating information in multiple choice format. Clearly, I am tired of studying. Luckily it seems like there is a light at the end of the tunnel. My last midterm is this Friday, the conference is over and hopefully I will hear back about some internships shortly. Today, I just need to get through Monday.

I meant to post this earlier today but Monday just seemed to get away from me. Being on campus for 13 hours didn't help.