Midterm season can leave students feeling overwhelmed and chronically sleep-deprived, so it’s no surprise that we need an occasional break from the ceaseless storm of papers, exams, and assignments. A talented few can sail through midterm season without cracking a book, but the rest of us have to spend at least a little while in the library, Second Cup, or locked up in our rooms.
During this trying time, it’s still important to take some breaks, simply for the sake of your sanity… Not because you don’t feel like working. The Tribune has compiled a list of ways to clear your head for a few minutes in order to remain productive.
Clean your house/room. Most of the time, chores seem like the least fun option out of all possible household activities, but when it’s a choice between a little dusting or grappling with a month’s worth of readings, housework suddenly becomes the lesser of two evils. Grab some lemon Pledge, an old rag, and a Swiffer, and have at it. Don’t pretend your apartment couldn’t use it. Bonus tip: blasting a little ABBA only speeds the process up.
Go get some exercise. After a few hours of studying, one of the best ways to renew your energy is to get moving. Depending on how much time you have, a short walk around the block or a trip to the gym can do wonders for your focus. You may feel burned out after a more rigorous workout, so a brief walk can sometimes be the most desirable option. Bring your iPod or a friend for company to get your mind off of equations and out of your textbook for a while.
Make a to-do list. One of the best ways to deal with stress—and the feeling that you have an insurmountable pile of work ahead of you—is to make a to-do list. Lists are very soothing, especially for the type-A personalities commonly found at McGill. The very act of writing out everything you have to do breaks your mountain of work up into small, manageable chunks. Cross each item off for an added feeling of satisfaction.
Call your family. Take the opportunity to catch up with your parents, your siblings, or whoever else you miss from home. It doesn’t need to be a play-by-play recount of your life since you last spoke, but even taking fifteen minutes to let someone know you’re thinking of them is a great way to ward off your paper, if only for a while.
Clean out your email inbox. Sort through the built up stores of cyber mail in your inbox (or inboxes, if you have a few), and delete all the junk and outdated messages you haven’t gotten around to dealing with. This can be a daunting task, but even taking ten minutes can make a start.
Update your iPod. Finally get that new jam out of your head and onto your iPod. Everyone has that one song your friend introduced them to last weekend—the one you keep playing on YouTube because you still haven’t gotten around to buying it or downloading it onto their iTunes. If it really has been a while since you updated your music selection, you might even have a whole list of tracks to find online. This can keep you busy for a few minutes (or hours, so be careful).
Do your laundry. All of it. Then fold it. Then put it away. Then pick your outfit for tomorrow. And your outfit for the next time you go out, and for your next job interview, and for in case you ever meet the Queen. Just to be prepared. This is a good one because it takes a few minutes to start, and in about half an hour, you’ve got a ready-made excuse to take another break and put clothes in the dryer. This applies whether or not you have to go to the local Laundromat.
One round of your favourite game. Just to stay in practice. But just one. Whether your vice is Tetris, Angry Birds, or Mario Kart, a quick round can take your mind off the books, and give your creativity a boost. This one’s tricky though, because one round can easily turn into 20 if you’re not careful. Set an alarm for yourself if you have to.
Reconnect with your room mate. This is probably unnecessary for most of us with roommates that are the very reason we take so long to get to work in the first place. But, in case you’ve been missing your roomie bonding time, take ten minutes to catch up and find out what’s been going on while you’ve been knee-deep in organic chem.
Read the Tribune. You might think this one is only good once a week, when the newest issue of the Tribune is published on Tuesday, but a little known fact is that each issue gets better every time you read it. Did you particularly enjoy that movie review you read on Wednesday? Read it again on Friday! Read your favourite articles over and over until you can quote them to your friends, so they know how up to date you are on current events.
