KATIE LENDA
Special to The Leader
Deadlines are approaching, stress levels are high and the semester is coming to a close.
Here is your reminder that it is crucial to work hard, but to not overwork yourself.
Try your best to stay motivated and destress with these five tips and tricks to end your semester feeling great.
One of the perks we have as students is our accessibility to the aerobic and wellness centers on campus.
Every day during the week, the aerobic center offers multiple classes.
My personal favorite class to destress is yoga, offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5 p.m.
Senior journalism major Eriketa Cost teaches the Tuesday class.
“Yoga is a grounding practice which clears your head and allows you to focus all your attention on gentle, sometimes more aggressive body movements and exercise,” said Cost. “Through deep breathing and stretching, you are practicing a grounding technique that clears your head and leaves you feeling refreshed and peaceful.”
Meditation seems like an intimidating idea if you’ve never really tried it.
However, there are so many resources to provide you with a much simpler experience.
For instance, the free app Headspace is an amazing tool for guided meditation.
The app really focuses in on your breathing and how that can directly influence your stress.
If you just take even five minutes of your day to put in some headphones and open your Headspace app, it can significantly help your stress levels.
Every semester, the Counseling Center in LoGrasso Hall offers students the chance to destress through some animal therapy.
Their program, “Paws to Relax” allows students to pet and interact with certified therapy dogs as a means to reduce stress.
The event is in Reed Library, so you can take a quick study break and walk over to see the cuteness.
If you are feeling unmotivated and stuck in a rut when it comes to schoolwork and studying, it may be because you need a change of scenery.
Work can become boring, and you can feel uninspired to be productive if you are cooped up in one place for too long. It can also be fun to explore new places around campus and in town.
If you typically do your work at your house or dorm, maybe try going to the library or to Starbucks.
If you have the luxury of being able to go off campus, try going to different cafés such as Upper Crust or Om Nohm.
If you go to Om Nohm, I highly recommend the parmesan bagel.
My final tip to being productive and decreasing stress is to simply take time for yourself.
Sometimes we work so hard and have so much going on that we neglect ourselves.
When I have a huge workload, I often get so stressed about it that I can’t do anything else besides work.
However, I’ve found that this mentality just results in poorly completed work.
When I take a break for self care, I feel so much more refreshed and ready to accomplish my assignments.
Take a break at the end of the night and do something for yourself. Read a book, do a facemask, watch Netflix, listen to music or whatever you need to do to temporarily take your mind off the stress of finals.
Always remember to take a break from your hard work, and hopefully these tips leave you feeling productive and accomplished.