3. Stay Away From Stress
Stress can be contagious!
Being around others who
are stressed will only
increase your negative
energy
Study alone in a peaceful
place if your friends are too
stressed
4. Healthy Eating & Exercise!
Sugary snacks quickly raise
and drop your blood sugar
level
Find some healthy snacks –
granola bars, fruits,
veggies, & nuts
Try a light form of exercise
to keep you focused and
calm on those long study
days
5. Be Selfish!
Your personal time is
crucial to success
Don’t blow off studying to
party, or text a friend for
hours
Procrastination will only
stress you more!
6. Take Breaks
Take a 15 minute break for every hour you study
This allows your brain to rest and focus more when you
start studying again
Watch a TV show, check facebook, chat with a friend,
etc.
7. Visualization
Imagine taking the test and doing well!
You know all of the answers and you are relaxed
Visualizing success can often lead to success
8. Confidence?…YES!
Test time = Game time
Convince yourself you are
ready and can ace the test!
Pump yourself up with
whatever works for
you, or…
Some need to enter relaxed
and calm
9. On the Job and at
Home
Spouses, and Friends, and Co-workers…OH MY!
10. Be Positive!
Stress is only temporary
Things will get much better!
You will be less stressed through
the toughest times and happiness
will come quicker
11. Get Away From it All
Don’t lose your cool, just
take a break
Walk to another area or
department
Take deep breaths and
enjoy something refreshing
Shift your attention
12. Get Support
You are usually not alone
Don’t be afraid to ask for
help
If you take up more than
you can handle, others are
willing to help!
13. Be Kind to Yourself
Feeling overwhelmed
makes you more stress
Don’t be hard on yourself
Create new deadlines for
priorities and follow them!
Stay positive
14. Find a Solution
Brainstorm ideas for realistic solutions
Thinking too much about the problem only makes it
worse
Progression is key! Don’t do too much at once
15. Remember…
You are your own worst enemy
and all it takes is a little planning
and self confidence to make it
through the hard days ahead!
Healthy diets and good amounts
of exercise are key to reducing
stress
Just think about the good times
ahead!
Notes de l'éditeur
Believe it or not, stress is actually contagious and being around your friends who are also stressed will just create a huge group of stressed out people that do not get a lot accomplished . Don’t feel bad if you tell your friend that you just need to be alone for the night in order to avoid a wasted night of stressful studying. You will be much more focused and proactive in your studying if you find a place to study by yourself without negative energy surrounding you.
The fuel you put into your body is crucial to feeling your best everyday of the week. People often go for the quick and cheap fast food during study days, but this is a big mistake. All that sugar-dense food will only make you crash and cause you to crave more bad food. Try healthy alternatives that will keep your energy up without the crash later on. You will feel much better with a couple granola bars in your stomach, then a double cheeseburger you got from McDonalds. People often have a misconception about exercise and feeling tired after. You don’t need to pump out a 2-hour workout at the gym. A light jog or brisk walk for a couple miles in the morning will clear your head for the rest of the day and even leave you feeling upbeat and ready to tackle those textbooks.
Midterms and Finals should be your number one priority because we all should have the desire to succeed and do well in our classes. I know you may have the temptation to talk or text to your “special someone” for hours on end, but try to give yourself time to just focus on studying. There may be a huge party the night before your midterm or final, but I promise you that going into an important test with a hangover never ends well. From personal experience I’ve had that feeling of wishing I would have studied just a little more and skipped going out the night before. Remember, there are always going to be parties and if your significant other really cares about you they will understand. You will only feel even more stressed out when you know you are not studying enough. Procrastination will be a topic further discussed later on in the workshop.
I know you have the desire to cram your brain with as much information as possible, but your brain needs a little rest during the long study days you put it through. Once every hour, take about a 15 minute break just to relax and do something that has nothing to do with school or education. For example, watch an episode of the jersey shore, there’s not much brain activity going on in those episodes. After the break, get back to it and you will feel even more focused than before.
This is often a useful tool used by successful professional athletes. They sit down, relax, and think to themselves about doing every little thing perfect in the game and winning! So, take a few minutes the night before the test in a nice calm, relaxing area. Think to yourself about walking into the classroom and sitting down in your chair. When you receive the test you look it over and realize you know every single answer on that test! You visualize how relaxed you are while taking the test and how confident you are because all of the answers are coming to you because you know them!
This is it! You have studied all you can and now the day has come. I personally like to call test day, game day! This is you opportunity to feel as confident as you can before entering the classroom. There are several rituals that people go through when they have a performance, or a big game that day. This should be the same idea for taking midterms and finals. Maybe you pop the headphones in and pump up that song that gets you into a confident mind. You have to convince yourself that you are ready for this test and you are going to get an A! These tips will help you reduce the amount of stress during test-times and lead to a calmer, more positive you!