Best Ways to CHILL OUT!

Term 1. Week 8. A chemistry degree. Not fun.

I have 4 deadlines quickly approaching, on top of weekly tutorials and workshops and labs. It can all become very overwhelming very quickly, so here is how I try and chill out during deadline season!

Plan

So you might have one huge project that just seems unfeesiable to get done. But don’t panic! Every Sunday, I get out my old-fashioned paper diary and write down my lectures for the week. Then I see where I have spare time and book in anything else I have going on, seeing friends, time for the gym.

Then I write a to do list. Create little subprojects from bigger projects that you can complete weekly that are achievable. For example, I am currently working on a group video project so we have created these subsections:

• Research
• Script
• Voiceover/Video making
• Video Editing

I can complete one of these task a week and slot them into my timetable where it works for me to complete it. But also, I don’t always give myself a designated time to complete a specific task. My to do list is for the week because sometimes you really just don’t feel like writing, so I’ll do video editting then. As long as you acknowledge when you have time to do the work, and know exactly what work you have to complete that week, you somehow seem more motivated. And also, it’s very satisfying to tick something off a list!!

Societies/extra curricular

Sometimes I feel like societies aren’t a priority and I cancel in order to do work. Sometimes that is necessary, but most of the time actually, it’s more beneficial to go to things. I go to art society’s life drawing every Tuesday and tap society every Monday because it gives me soemthing to look forward to, and it’s also downtime that seems productive. It reminds me how much more to life there is than just studying. Life is all about balance, you cannot produce your best academic work if your creative and other sides are not being fulfilled. So make time to go to extra curricular activities, that are fun – not extra work!!!

Talk

My favourite thing to destress is grab a coffee from Nero and sit and chat to my friends. It reminds you how stressed EVERYONE is. Surround yourself by positive people who don’t drain you, but support you. If you internalise everything, you are going to burn out so find someone who gets you, where you can take a minute, breathe and even if you’re both wanting to quit, you can push eachother. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for them. Uni is stressful, there’s no way around it, and as Christmas approaches I am counting down the days until I am home. But making plans with my friends before that point is also exciting because no matter how hard the work is, it reminds you what truly matters.

Treat Yourself

Buy the coffee, book the trip, go to the party. Have things to look forward to. It’s ok to have incentive. Not everyone can be driven just by the excitement to learn! I have organised things to celebrate completeing the term, made plans with home friends and my boyfriend. Have little checkpoints to sepereate the term so that you know you’re working towards something. If you want to be able to relax when you get home, do the work now. But also keep yourself happy along the way.

I hope some of these things are helpful to you. Please seek help if you are feeling overwhlemed, you don’t have to do this on your own. You can do this!