Taking care of yourself is more important than an exam

Fall is arguably one of the best seasons there is– the leaves turn to beautiful colors, the weather cools down from humid 90s to crisp 60s, and it’s spooky season. Unfortunately, for college students, fall is also when professors put the students to the test and roll out the midterm exams. 

Time management is one of the most difficult things to learn as it works differently for everyone. To help pass your exams with flying colors, you need to figure out what study schedule works best for you.

Making a list and setting a timeline of when to finish these tasks is one great way to stay on track. It allows you to visually see what all needs to get completed that day and ensures you don’t forget anything. 

Of course, don’t forget to write down the due date for your assignments and exams to help ease the stress.

Taking care of yourself during these stressful times may slip your mind, but still holds strong significance towards your academic performance. 

Whether you’re taking a week to go over your class notes or cramming in that last-minute study session minutes before the exam, know that taking a quick break won’t hurt you. Grabbing a glass of water, eating a quick snack, or even walking around for a few minutes will drastically help out. 

An ideal system would be taking a ten minute break once an hour, motivating you to get some work done before putting a pause on the study session. 

During these breaks you should also take a minute to remind yourself that, no matter how high your stress levels are, everything will be alright. These reminders can help calm the nerves and reassure you that you are doing the best you can.

Once midterms and exams are over you need to celebrate that, and what better way to do that than by unwinding in your favorite way. A student classic is turning on Netflix and rewatching the same show for the eighth time, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Grabbing that book you’ve been meaning to read for the past six months is one other way to unwind after exams. It gives you the opportunity to start something new that you’ve been meaning to do, but just haven’t gotten around to yet.

Lastly, and probably most importantly, go treat yourself. You just finished one of the hardest weeks during the school year and you should celebrate that. Go to your favorite restaurant in town and treat yourself to the most appealing meal on the menu, or even find some place new to try out.

No matter the turn out of midterms, remember to take care of yourself and that your own health is more important than an exam.