Stress - Tumblr Posts
No to Low Stress College Study Strategy
I started using this study method my 2nd month of college, when I realized that it was better for study-life balance and my emotional wellbeing. It makes me feel productive and alert all day, and gives me plenty of free time to pursue hobbies, clubs, and personal interests. It sounds kind of hardcore at first, but it’s seriously wonderful if you give it a try! Here’s the game plan:
After the first few days of the semester, I sit down with all of the syllabi from all of my classes and write down every single assignment for the rest of the semester into my planner. Include exams, readings, lab report due dates, worksheets, essays, etc. Everything.
Every weekend, I set aside however much time I need to knock out every single assignment for the upcoming week that is possible to do in advance. I do my textbook readings, textbook practice problems, my humanities readings, short essays or write-ups to accompany those humanities readings, etc.
Even though I’m doing more work, I generally spend the same amount of time in the library as my friends who only do their work for Monday over the weekend. This is because if you don’t commit to doing a large number of assignments, you tend to spend a lot more time on minor assignments than is truly necessary - do I really need to spend 3 hours on this 1-page essay for my English class if it’s only graded on a 10 point scale? Couldn’t I finish this in 1 hour and then devote more time to the rest of the readings I need to do for that class this week?
I still have enough time to sleep in, have long lunch breaks, go the gym, go to parties in the evening, etc.
You can do this, no matter your workload. I am a pre-med science major taking 20 credits (max course load) a semester, with two labs, and I can get it done. My roommate is an English major with heavy novel reading assignments and she can get it done. (Disclaimer: this mostly applies to undergraduates.)
Research papers and midterm exam studying generally get their own day separate from homework assignments. I like writing essays in 1 or 2 sittings, but if you like to spread it out just break up the essay into manageable pieces and do it over multiple weekends, or do the pieces between classes (see next bullet point).
After blasting through most of my assignments over the weekend, during the week I generally only have to do busy-work that is assigned at the end of classes and continue studying for midterms that week. I easily finish these assignments in the breaks between classes during the day.
With this strategy, I always complete all of my homework well before dinnertime, and often have days when I don’t have any assignments to do. I use this free time for club meetings, hanging out with friends, going to the gym, marathoning Netflix, pursuing hobbies, working a job, whatever.
I also use this extra time to be able to study for exams much more effectively - when you don’t have busywork assignments floating in the back of your mind, it is much easier to focus. You will study more productively and effectively, and with much less stress. Exams are worth way more of your grade than the homework assignments you blast through each weekend, so it’s best to be able to focus exclusively on them Monday - Friday.
The best part about this strategy is that your workload is heavy on Sunday and sometimes Saturday, but you get to relax Monday - Friday. You basically have a 5 day weekend every week, assuming you enjoy going to class.
If anyone also uses this method, I’d love to hear from you or hear your variants/study suggestions! If anyone tries out this method for 1 or 2 weeks and finds that it works for them, I’d love to hear about it! If you try it and hate it with a fiery burning passion and loathe me for even suggesting it, I’d love to hear about it!
I believe in you!<3 No matter what study method you choose to use, just do your best and exceed your own expectations.
Clean your room - or at least your desk/bed/floor. It will help your head to feel clear too.
Open your curtains & windows - fresh air and natural light can do wonders in my experience. Plus, it helps regulate your sleep, appetite, and mood.
Take a shower or have a bath - especially important if you haven’t had one in a while. This will help you feel refreshed.
Put on clean clothes - and put the clothes you were wearing in the wash.
If you tend to spend all your time in your room, get out of it for a bit - do something in the kitchen or lounge, or go for a walk (even if it’s just around the block)
Stretch - there are plenty of stretching and yoga videos on you tube. Look some up and give them a go.
Drink a glass of water - and keep one near you too. I’m sure you already know this, but staying hydrated is important.
Get the hard/important tasks out of the way while you have the energy - when we have mental illness, running out of energy early in the day is very normal. Try to get all the most important things done first.
Have some comfort food, but make sure you eat healthy too - it’s alright to eat something you like, but have some fruit and vegetables too. If you don’t like plain fruit, consider making a smoothie instead.
Set some goals - it doesn’t matter how small or big they are (eg. have 3 meals today, go for a walk in the afternoon), whether they are daily or weekly, but achieving goals can make you feel as though you have accomplished something.
And finally, remember that it is okay to have bad days - bad days don’t mean you’ve lost all progress in your recovery, and they don’t make you worthless or a bad person. Don’t give up just because you’ve had a bad day/week/etc. It’s okay to have days that don’t go so great. Stay strong xx
me: can u please study
my brain: but that makes me stressed
me: fine then dont study
my brain: but that makes me stressed
me:
A method for relaxing when riddled with constant but low grade anxiety
So I don’t really have much of a reference for what it’s like with other people, but I have essentially constant anxiety. It rarely ever devolves into a full on attack but it does leave me with lots of stress and a sort of autopilot mode, I guess you could call it, which lets me still function and get things done without just silently Blue-screening every other half hour over which thing I need or should do first and how much of a failure I am for not getting things done sooner.
But that’s not the point of this post, the point is that I discovered a new little coping mechanism for myself that makes it sooo much easier to fall asleep at night and be able to unwind.
The basic idea of what helps me, is that I treat myself as if I’m an omega in heat. NOW, before you assume, no—this is not anything sexual. I dislike most A/B/O things, but what I do like is how omega heats are treated in the non-smutty fics that are just fluff and comfort. If you’re a regular peruser of the archive or other fanfic sites, then you likely know where I’m going with this.
Soft blankets, a clean bed, and a secure room. I’ve pieced together for myself that each of these things does wonders for my state of mind at night. Cleaning the dirt and little specks of stuff off and out of my sheets let’s me feel like I’ve done something at least a little productive, and reels my subconscious back from its panic over not having done enough for the day and wasting time.
Having soft blankets, a nest of sorts if you will, is not only comfortable and relaxing in of itself, but also makes me feel secure and a bit cut off from the world. A comfort item to hold, clutch like a lifeline, or to just have near during sleep eases my anxiety too, so if you haven’t tried it then it wouldn’t hurt anything to pick one out.
Bedding down for the night in a locked room, or at least a room with a fully closing door is also immensely important for that sense of security and safety. It settles something in the back of my brain that tries to keep me alert and unconsciously ready to defend myself. I assume at least that bit would apply to most people, as I know that it’s makes sleeping easier for everyone if they feel safe. So, all this boils down to really is that if you’re like me and have lots of anxiety keeping you up, start with what makes you feel safe. I know it sounds obvious and like duh, of course feeling safe would lessen anxiety, but just. Take an inventory of sorts. Is your bed comfortable? Is the place you’re sleeping at night defendable? If you have them, are all your windows and doors locked? Common sense stuff that you might have grown used to, but are actually giving your hindbrain little alertness flags.
Worry is a misuse of your Imagination.
Stopped studying..I have just memorised all the formulas..nth else :')
Wish me luck guys..atleats I hope I pass this exam. 🤧😭🤧
Sublimial to the rescue
in case anyone is wondering what its like to be chronically ill, i stressed myself out so bad this week my body has defaulted to "stress = vomit" mode. which is making my stomach and various joints hurt and i just pulled a muscle for vomiting too hard.
love life, life dont love me
I have a lot of trouble getting out of bed and it makes functioning much harder than it already is.
Everyday I wake up, and for a slit second I have the whole day ahead of me. Then, I'll roll over and go back to bed. The sweet siren song of my pillows and sheets. Just a few more hours- I mean minutes. Just rest your eyes for a moment. Bask in the warm sun.
I wake up around 8 almost everyday. And I'd love to get out of bed and get started then, but it's like someone cut off my legs in my sleep. So I slip back asleep, and suddenly 8 has turned to 9, then 9 turns to 11, 11 to 1. My day, my life, slipping away.
Even now, I'm in bed when I should gave been up 2 hours ago. I should be leaving my appartment to get to work. Instead I'll have to get a Lyft, spending money I don't have on something I shouldn't need. But here I am, writing my woes onto my fucking tumblr instead.
It's one of the biggest reasons why i hate sleeping alone. When I have someone to get up with it's a lot easier.
I'm just so fucking tired. So tired of waking up exausted, tired of falling short, tired of every fucking day being a mountain to climb.
You'd think the days would get easier, that I would learn from my mistakes and how to control myself. You'd hope at least.
I guess I'll actually get up now. But there has to be something im missing. Something I
EDIT: well it's 10 minutes later and im out of bed and called out of work. feelin fine now but yo i need therapy like, yesterday.
A mother's stress
portrait of the artist struggling to draw their newest idea :[
I am so glad that our likes don't show on this app. Lmao. I would have to explain to people why I search up "X Reader" shit. Like- "Oh yeah don't mind me serching comfort villian x hero fanfics because all I want in life is to have that romance trope but I can't because I'm a fluff ball of stress/anxiety and I can't find my hero or villian lover who casually does what they do and their not in it for society or money." But NOOOOO I gotta read fanfics at 2 in the morning because I have nothing better to do with my life.
