It's mid-April, the temperature is rising, and so is the temptation to ditch the books and bask in the sunshine you almost forgot existed. I tend to hit a wall this time of year and I struggle to push myself to the finish line of the spring semester. In class, I daydream of everything else I could be doing outside instead of learning how to calculate logarithms. I've decided to get myself out of this funk and kick it into high gear to finish this semester strong. Here are some of my tips for when you literally, just can't even...
1. Take Five:
In this day and age, we all get so immersed into what we have to do now, what we should have done before, and what we will have to do later. Before trying to get out of my rut, I take five minutes to myself with no technology, in a quiet place, and maybe a journal. At school, I like to sit at the lake and just breathe slowly and think of how I am feeling in that exact moment. Most of the time, I realize that I am doing far better than I think I am and realize I have so much to be thankful for. Taking a step back and looking at all of my accomplishments in life and school truly helps me become motivated to get things done and snap out of a funk.
2. Make a 'To-Do' List:
As cheesy as it sounds, making a 'To-Do' list takes my stress away. I often get overwhelmed by constantly thinking of every single thing that I have to do, eventually making everything worse! Most of the time when you write it all in a list, it helps to make you realize you can spread things out and/or maybe you don't have as much to do as you initially thought. Making a schedule and figuring out what and when to do things can be a genuine stress reliever.
3. Sleep Sleep Sleep:
When I am in a slump, especially near the end of school, I tend to stay up late doing useless things and then sleep in late, wasting away my day. Every time I realize I have to get back to a productive lifestyle, I plan to go to sleep early and wake up early. Although going to bed early may not always be realistic to do in college or life with the amount of work we are given, waking up at a decent hour almost guarantees that you will feel more productive/accomplished when you have more time to do things early on in the day. Most of the time, I am so beat by the end of the day that I end up falling asleep early without a problem.
4. Ditch the Junk Food:
Although I am probably the worst offender of not following this advice, ridding your diet of junk food is key to feeling better. When I ditch the crummy foods and opt for the healthier ones, I feel more energetic and motivated to do things. I'm a total stress-eater, so I get that this can be ridiculously hard for those like me. But instead of chomping down on those chips, keep your hands busy with some almonds or other nuts and fruits while studying.
5. Let it out:
Sometimes the best thing you can do when you feel at your lowest is to let it all out. Relieve yourself of the tons of bricks you've been holding over your shoulders and cry. Crying has always been a sign of weakness to me and I prefer that people don't see me when I do so; however, when I do let it happen, I feel much better. It's completely okay to have a bad day and to want to just be sad and cry, but don't allow the sadness to overtake you! Cry about it, think about it, and then be done. From personal experience, I know that being in a "funk" can last far longer than just a few days or weeks, but releasing the stress has always been a way for me to improve on my mental health.
