15 Effective Ways To Handle Midterms Week Stress

With deadlines fast approaching – and a multitude of tests – midterms week can be a season that either makes you or breaks you. You may feel overwhelmed – and uncertain about what to do – but with these 15 effective ways to handle midterms week stress, you can be better prepared for what’s to come.

1. Focus

Focusing is a key factor in how you approach your assignments, allowing you to retain more information than you would otherwise. This is one of the best things you can do for yourself, by focusing on the material that you do know, rather than the material that you don’t. In doing so, you’ll find it a whole lot easier to prep your mind for any new material that’s introduced.

2. Take Breaks

When studying – or approaching any big project – it’s important that you remember to take breaks. No matter whether you’re one who thrives in working for long hours – or would rather work for as short of a time as possible – it’s important to do this in order to refuel. If not, your stress may cause you to burn out quickly, making for an even more difficult week.

3. Make Time

Midterms week is hard enough as is without the additional work that’s being forced into your schedule. But if you have other obligations – besides school – this can be twice as hard. You might work full-time -or be involved in several organizations. This, in turn, can take up a significant amount of your time. That’s why it’s important to plan ahead so that you can not only make time for midterms week – but make adjustments as needed – for the incoming workload.

4. Form Study Groups

If you are having trouble in any of your courses the best thing you can do for your self is get together with a group of friends – or form a study group. Find someone in your class who you’re confident can help you – and see what all you can improve on. Doing this – prior to midterms week – can ensure that you understand the material, long before test day comes about. Not only that but being surrounded by others with the same goal in mind – who are doing the exact same thing as you – can alleviate a lot of the worry you might feel.

5. Create Note Cards

Eight weeks’ worth of material isn’t as easy to remember as one might think. Oftentimes, our brains retain information for a short amount of time – before forgetting it altogether. By creating note cards – throughout the course of the semester, or prior to midterms week – you’ll be able to memorize all of what you need to know a whole lot easier. Not only that, but this tactic keeps things organized so that you can study by unit and class.

6. Find A Quiet Spot

While some may be able to work in noisy environments, the most effective studying takes place within a quiet atmosphere. By picking a silent spot, you can avoid distractions altogether, and be able to focus solely on the task at hand. In doing so, you are certain to get a lot more done than the average student. Not only that but if you choose a quiet spot on campus than you might stay a lot more focused than you would within the four walls of your own home. Here you aren’t tempted to turn on the TV – or interact with others.

7. Airplane Mode

Airplane mode should be your best friend during midterms week. With it, you won’t feel the need to get on social media platforms – such as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and so on. This can also help if you have several calls – and/or text messages – coming in so that the notifications won’t distract you. Airplane mode acts as a do-not-disturb – helping you to avoid distractions – that could cause you to endure the stress of cram studying.

8. Reward Yourself

By creating a reward system, you might find yourself a lot more likely to study. Implementing snacks to indulge in – following the completion of an assignment – can serve as motivation. This will help you to tackle each milestone – one by one – with the end goal in mind. In addition to this, instead of looking at the work in its entirety – you’ll be able to look at it piece by piece – relaxing your mind in the process.  

9. Manage Your Time

Don’t try and fit everything into one day. In fact, this is one of the worst possible ways for you to manage midterm stress – since it only serves in overloading your mind. Some make this mistake in pursuit of obtaining more off days – but what they are doing is really the complete opposite – as they create more work for themselves. Fortunately, you don’t have to face this same mistake – as long as you make use of the time you have.

10. Just Breathe

Don’t forget to breathe – since this can oftentimes be one of the best things you can do for yourself. Consequently, you might feel the urge to hold it – both in and out of the classroom – but in doing so you only create more tension for yourself. Not only that, but this can worsen any anxiety that you might already have about the situation – and cause you to panic throughout the process. Fortunately, you can avoid this by regulating your breathing – so that air may reach the deepest parts of your lungs.

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11. Don’t Forget To Eat

When some of us get started on our work, we might not know when to stop. This is understandable if you happen to miss a meal while hard at work – but even so, it’s important to take time out to eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner. In doing so, you may find relief for any stress – or irritability – that you might have experienced over the course of your study session. Not only that, but these essential nutrients give your body the opportunity to refuel itself physically, and you mentally.

12. Review the Study Guide

There’s nothing worse than studying hard for an upcoming midterm – only to realize that you’ve reviewed all of the wrong material. That’s why it’s important to check you’re online platform – and see which key concepts will be covered on your test. This will save you the unnecessary stress of going in on test day – and being drawn a blank by the differing material.

13. Be Confident

You aren’t going to know the answer to every question – and that’s okay – because you aren’t in this alone. In fact, there are several other students – just like you – who are experiencing the same amount of stress. Just do your best; it’s not the end of the world after all. Midterm week stress just has a good way of making you feel like it is.

14. Talk About It

Being a student comes at a price – with school-related stress being oftentimes avoided. Every student feels it – but not many talk about it – worried that others might deem them as inadequate. In turn, you might feel the same way – afraid to speak up for fear of hearing, “So what? I am too.” But just remember, it’s better to discuss it – then not-at-all. This will not only make you feel better but allow you to cope better with the stress of midterms week.

15. Don’t Wait till Last Minute

Every student has dealt with procrastination at one point or another. We say that we will get things done today, but eventually, today turns into tomorrow, and tomorrow turns into the day it’s due. Although this happens occasionally, doing this during midterms week can cause an exceptional amount of stress. In these instances, you may find yourself feeling defeated because of all the material you have yet to catch up on ultimately resulting in you not studying altogether. Fortunately, if you take enough time out to do so you can avoid this entirely.

Your grade matters, but so do you. In turn, we hope that these 15 effective ways to handle midterms week stress help you academically, as well as mentally. Be sure to share – and let us know how you cope – in the comments below!

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