How to Stay Sane through Midterms

Hello lovely humans! If you are reading this blog, you are most likely in a place where you have a lot going on with school and possibly work as well. Us here at The Dynamic Damsels have decided to come together to tell you how we survive and make it through stressful times like these.

Amelia's Tips and Tricks to Surviving Deadlines and Due Dates

Keep focus

The biggest key to mid-term survival is focus. When it’s crunch time in school, I swear everyone invites me to parties, small weekend trips, and everything in between. In the past I’ve fallen into the trap of going out and avoiding the workload. And every time I do that, it typically ends in unnecessary frustration and bad grades. How do I keep focus now? Well after enough hard lessons learned, I’ve found my ways. You know when you’re going to be busy if you just put a little effort into mapping out your semester. When you see your calendar is full of papers due, exams, and presentations...mentally prepare to hunker down. Tell your close friends, partners, and co-workers you’ll be busy with school during that time. Aside from that, learn to just say no when necessary. Here are my ways to actually stay focused! Keep your mind right and you’ll do just fine.

Tip #1: Stay active

If you’re bored, you can read into studies and real life experience on how activity helps keep focus. Sitting for long periods of time can make me stir crazy. Plus, too much time on my computer leads to going down rabbit holes on YouTube videos of bike pranks and scrolling through random articles that teach me strawberries aren’t real berries. If you have a study day planned, try implementing every 30 minutes or hour, get up and move around for 5 or 10 minutes. Schedule in a workout at some point. I promise you will find better focus!

Tip #2: Get your sleep

Okay, this one can be arguable and I get it. Some people love to pull all-nighters and go non-stop. If you really enjoy doing that and believe it works, keep at it. Personal experience? It doesn’t work. If I actually give myself time to study the right way, which I am already advocating for, all-nighters are not necessary. If I study all night and go to take the test, I am toast after! Instead, give yourself some rest and after that exam you can enjoy the stress relief you get once that test is over…or get ready for that next assignment of mid-terms.

Tip #3: Manage your stress

This leads me to the topic of stress. Don’t let busy school weeks ruin you. I know it can be hard in the middle of it when you are neck deep in papers and you have group projects every direction you look. Just remind yourself you can do it and move forward one step at a time. On top of that some weird but science-backed ways to reduce stress, which I can account for include:

• Watch something funny

• Chew gum

• Make out…see where that one leads :)

• Get some time outside

• Deep breathing…4 count in, hold for 7, 8 count out. Do that 6 times…I bet you will feel more relaxed.

Tip #4: Time management

This all leads me to an important one that brings these all together. Time management comes easier to some but remember, it is a skill and you can always get better at it. Asana, Google calendars, and old school agendas are all ways to start tracking time management. Schedule study time from 10 am to 12 pm. Have a hike planned at 12:30 pm. Plan to be back by 2:30 pm, ready to eat some meal-prepped lunch food and study until 5 pm.

Guys, I know it sounds tedious and it can be at first, but remember self-discipline leads to freedom. Get the shit done that needs to be done and you will find yourself less stressed, more successful, and a little happier!

Good luck with mid-terms, projects at work, and anything else that comes your way…you can do it, but you first need to believe in yourself (cheesy wise words.)

Martha's Tips for Staying Organized

Tip #1: Pull out that planner

Even if you don’t keep a planner the other 50 weeks in the year, keep one both the week before and the week of midterms.

One planner I would recommend is the cheap Walmart planner that gives you about one third to half a page for each weekday. Not only is it just a couple of dollars, it’s functionality is great! Another planner I would recommend is not a planner at all, but a project management site called Asana. It’s free and is what I have used since I discovered it. This type of planner uses less paper (yay for saving the planet!) and allows you more flexibility if you need to move a due date around.

After you’ve bought (or logged into) your planner, put in your exams along with what time they are. Then set realistic goals for when and how much you want to study the week of and the week beforehand. Put these into your planner too and strive to meet these goals (remember, you’ve designed them to be realistic!).

Using a planner during this stressful time sets you up for success by helping you go to bed confident in what you need to do the next day!

Tip #2: Clean your room

I know what you're thinking: aren't there more important things to worry about than cleaning your room when midterms are about to hit? Well, in my opinion, cleaning your room is very important in that it helps you stay organized during one of the busiest week in the semester.

In my experience, having a cluttered room can make my head feel as though it's cluttered. When the physical space around me is organized, I feel much more in control of my life, something that is important when there's a lot on my plate. Having a clean room can also help save time. I don't know how many times I've spent 20 minutes looking for a shirt that I could have found in two minutes if my room had been clean.

So, how do you accomplish the seemingly overwhelming task of keeping your room clean during midterms? Small steps! Each day, clean your room for just 10 minutes. Pick up the clothes you threw on your bed while you were trying to find the right outfit, tackle some of that laundry pile, and pick up any tissues you used while studying for your calculus final the night before. If you take just 10 minutes every day, you'll be shocked by how clean you can keep it.

It is definitely not 100% necessary, but if you have time, start this process long before midterms. Spend a weekend cleaning your room and then practice cleaning your room for 10 minutes every day. Then by the time you get to midterms, you'll already have built the habit!

Katelynn's Tips on Finding Order in the Chaos

Fun fact about me: I currently live at two houses. Part-time at my parent’s south of Atlanta, part-time at my grandparent’s north of Atlanta. Even when it’s not midterms, I’m usually stressing about everything I have to get done regardless of which side of Atlanta I’m on. But, through this process, I have become damn good and finding a semblance of order. Here are some tips on how I do just that:

Tip #1: Start the semester strong

This leads to more success in the trying sections of the semester. Get organized and prepared early on. I take the course schedule out of every syllabus and paste them into a Word document to follow along as the semester progresses. As I finish modules or assignments, I delete them. As due dates change, I move them around. I also make a grade calculator in Excel for every class so I can monitor my grade as the semester progresses. Even if you have your way of being organized, get it done as early as possible.

Tip #2: Prioritize

As someone who moved away from her best friends for a year, I know how hard it can be to choose studying over time with the people you love. But you know what? Those people also understand if you need to skip a hang-out sesh to do some homework. They want you to be successful. If you take a weekend to go have fun, make sure the next is spent doing the important things, like studying for midterms!

Tip #3: Get some sleep

I know, I know. This is the most difficult thing to do. I myself am quite the night owl. But, if I go to class on 4 hours of sleep, I go home and take a nap. It might seem like napping is the last thing you need to do, but productivity levels shoot up when your brain gets a rest. Sometimes, rather than staying up late to finish an assignment, I’ll set an early alarm to finish it the next morning. I’ve also had a (minor) car accident from not getting enough sleep. Don’t let that be you!

Tip #4: Take care of yourself

Adding on to the last tip, make sure you aren’t dragging your body down. Through some exceptionally stressful times, I have weakened my immune system enough to have mono not once, not twice, but three times. Even if you aren’t getting enough sleep, make sure that you’re eating right enough to get the nutrients you need. Your body is in overdrive to keep you running, so give it the right fuel.

Tip #5: Too much to do? Make a list

If you can visualize what needs to be done, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. This can also help prioritize when you have specific due dates. As I get close to graduation, I have been making weekly to-do lists to keep me organized. Plus, it feels soooooo good to mark something off a long to-do list. In fact, I get to mark writing this blog section off mine now!

Best of luck with midterms and just any ol’ plain chaos life throws at you! I’m no stranger to trying times, so feel free to reach out if you want any personal advice. My inbox is always open. <3

Nikita's Tips on Stopping Procrastination

Being a notorious procrastinator, I knew I had to come up with a better plan for managing my time and keeping track of all my exams and due dates. You may think that you can handle the last minute stress, and claim that it helps bring out your best work, but honestly, it actually self-destructive!

After my freshman year, I noticed that I was always putting stuff off to the last minute, and then stressing like crazy, to the point where I was losing sleep and skipping meals. I also started having headaches every day, and after visiting my doctor, I was told that I was having migraines caused by all the stress I was facing on a daily basis. The pain was unbearable, so I decided to make a change for the better. Now, I’m that person who always works ahead to avoid all the last minute chaos. Here are some of the things I do to stay on top of all my assignments and how I manage to survive the craziness we all know as midterms.

Tip #1: Make a schedule or to-do list

Every semester, I make a schedule for each of my classes consisting of all the exam dates and important assignment due dates. I also like to keep a dry erase board in my room, on which I write out my weekly schedule. I do the same thing around midterms because it helps me keep track of my deadlines. Plus, I find it satisfying to check things off my to-do list (helps with my type-A nature). For midterm week, I also create a special to-do list based on graded values. The assignments and exams that are worth the most points will be at the top of the list, and the ones that are not worth a huge chunk of my grade will be towards the bottom. This way, I make sure to devote enough time to the important assignments, which are essential for me to pass with a good grade. It’s an efficient system that works the best for me, and I hope it works for you too! Prioritizing is extremely important in order to survive this week!

Tip #2: Take study breaks!

I cannot stress the importance of this enough. You have to take breaks in between studying, or I promise you, you’re going to lose your mind. When it comes to studying, I like to take 15 to 30 minute breaks in between chapters. Usually, I will study for about an hour or hour and half straight, and then I’ll take a small break to go move around or go grab a snack. Let’s face it, studying is so boring, so in my opinion, it really helps to move around and stay active in between these long sessions. I also recommend staying hydrated while you study. Personally, I enjoy having a warm cup of tea while I study, as well as tons of citrus infused water (water with lemon and orange slices).

Tip #3: Celebrate your successes and even your failures! No matter the grade, make sure you go out and treat yourself for all the hard work you put into studying and completing your projects. We all get so caught up in the process of working on one thing and then jumping to the next, we forget how important it is to take some time out to reward ourselves. So what if you didn’t get the grade you wanted? Think of all the effort you put into it. That itself is enough reason to celebrate because next time, you’ll just try a bit harder, and go after the result you want. It’s all about learning from those not so good outcomes, and using them as motivation to do better the next time around. Don’t stress it girl, you got this! In the end, everything is going to turn out fine.

Alex's Tips on Taking Breaks

Once again, midterms have arrived and none of us saw it coming. It seems as if it happens every time. You’re chugging along, just starting to get used to your classes, and you finally feel like you’ve found your groove. All of a sudden it’s October, it’s still hot outside somehow, and oh yeah midterms are here.

Just when you thought you had things under control, midterms rudely invite themselves in just to stir up some chaos. It’s when the chaos starts that we forget to focus on our mental health and ourselves. One thing I always make sure to do during the craziness of midterms is to take time for myself. If it’s unwinding and reading a book for pleasure, or treating myself to a pani/medi, I make sure to do little things for myself throughout the week. It may seem like you have zero time to waste, but taking a timeout for yourself might save you from a minor mental breakdown come midweek. In order to perform your best, you have to feel your best! Here’s a quick list of things I like to do during midterms to take some of the pressure off. :)

Tip #1: Treat yourself

Whether it’s a spa day or a bath bomb at home, take a little time out of your busy schedule to relax can go a long way. Make sure to put school out of your brain and actually unwind. You’ll be surprised at how fresh you feel when you get back to studying.

Tip #2: Eat a good meal

I know I always neglect my diet when I have a lot on my plate, but that’s the last thing you want to do during midterms. Food is brain fuel, and without at proper diet your brain cannot function well. Put aside some time to cook your favorite dinner and enjoy a nice sit down meal. Make lots of extras for leftovers throughout the week!

Tip #3: Spend time with loved ones

I’m the queen of going into hermit mode during midterms. Making time to step away from the study guides and surrounding yourself with those who support you can do wonders! You’ll get back to studying with all kinds of motivation.

We hope these tips help you not only survive but thrive during midterm week. Let us know in the comments what you do to get through this week!