Survival Kit For the End of the Semester
“Will I end the semester? Or will the semester end me? Stay tuned.”
~ Rahib Ali Mazari
After a long, long school year, the semester is finally drawing to a close. While this should spell good news, most students are really just hanging on by a thread. For many student-athletes, the constant struggle to keep up with studies and game practices could leave you wearing stress like a badge of pride.
But you don’t want to end the semester stressed to your bones when you can thrive and have smooth sailing until the end. There are certain tried and tested tips to try to help you make the best of the rest of the semester.
I’ll share some of them below:
1. Take good care of your body
While you might feel the need to shave off some hours of sleep and forget about food to boost your studying before exams, this is not the best practice. Your body needs lots of good sleep and good food to function at its maximum, so downing cups of coffee is not a bright idea.
Try to eat as often as possible. Take frequent naps to keep your brain refreshed and healthy. This way, whatever you’re studying will be assimilated faster than when you’re running on 2 hours of sleep and ten cups of coffee.
2. Plan your time, to the tiniest detail
The end of the semester can leave you overwhelmed with so many things needing your attention. If you already use a planner to map out your schedule of activities, you’re on the right track. If you don’t use a planner, get one that works for you and map out the activities on your agenda, what you have to do to get it done, and what you need.
Breaking down your workload into tinier bits makes it easier for you to get them done quickly without procrastinating or feeling overwhelmed.
3. Set achievable goals
With so little time left for you to accomplish some important projects, you may be tempted to set goals for yourself that may be unachievable. While it’s great to want to dream big, setting unachievable goals leaves you frustrated when you are not able to meet them.
With achievable goals, you set yourself up for a long chain of success after success, which keeps you eager to remain productive till the end of the semester.
4. Practice meditation
The hustle and bustle of the academic semester can leave you feeling chaotic and out of touch with yourself. Bring some calm back into your life by practicing at least 10 – 15 mins of meditation daily.
It will help you to calm your mind, bring back your focus, and reduce the outbursts of strong emotion like anger, anxiety or frustrations.
5. Remember to take breaks
This sounds almost counterproductive. Your head is screaming “but I don’t have the time!” Well, that’s exactly when you need a break to unwind and help your mind and body relax. When you’re overworked and stressed, your mind tends to lose concentration which can affect your studying.
Take breaks in between study sessions. Take a walk, watch a short movie, go see a friend. Just take out some time to give your head a break.
While it may look like the semester might end you as it draws to a close, know that you can end the semester successfully and in one piece. Try these survival tips shared above or work with your therapist if it all still seems too overwhelming.
Remember, you’ve got this!