March 23, 2015, by Sunita Tailor

Mid-term assignments; how to cope with the stress

This blog post was written by second year English student, Katie Randall from the School of English.

It’s that time of year again; most of us have coursework deadlines looming, and it feels like only yesterday that we were handing in our January essays. The workload can seem intense, particularly as a second year with the constant reminders of ‘now it actually counts’. As lectures and seminars continue, you have to work your way through the prep, whilst balancing the reading and planning for important stuff that contributes towards your degree. Although this can seem like a lot of pressure, there are plenty of ways you can manage the stress you may be feeling at times like this. One worry you can definitely rule out is that you are the only one feeling like your brain is going to explode after a full day in the library, no matter what the girl with colour coordinated stationery tells you! So here are the things that have helped me over the years, particularly since starting Uni…

1) One of the easiest things you can do to help yourself function, and thus be better equipped to deal with feelings of stress, is to get enough sleep. If you‘ve left enough time to complete your work (don’t worry if you haven’t though, we’ve all been there and the only answer to that problem my friend is coffee) don’t tire yourself out doing all nighters- you can be just as productive getting up early, working through the day and giving yourself the evening off.

2) Take your own lunch to Hallward. You’ll save money and your own creations are likely to be much healthier. Good food = good essay.

3) Don’t worry if you set out to do one thing and end up doing something else. Sometimes things just don’t want to be written on certain days, so accept it, and move onto something else. Whatever work you achieve, whether that’s sending off a job application or reading an article, it’s better than not having done anything!

4) Give yourself a break (both literally and figuratively). Eat some chocolate, watch an episode of TOWIE, or go for a run. Whatever floats your relaxation boat.

There you have it. Advice to help you minimize stress and maximize productivity! Good luck with all your deadlines/presentations/coursework- I’m sure you’ll do great.

relax

[Featured images from:
http://scintly.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/how-to-tackle-examination-pressure.html
http://www.enricotam.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/stress-relax.jpg]

Posted in Student Words