Paul's Blog Post: End of the Semester Crunch

Yep, Thanksgiving Break is officially over. With only two weeks of the semester left, we are definitely at a point in our undergraduate careers where stress levels are high and the workload may seem impossible.

But it's not! Here are a couple of tips to manage your projects, tests, presentations, essays, etc. while taking care of yourself:

Take on your hardest assignments first: One of the most inconvenient things I consistently do is always starting to work on my easiest assignments. By the time I get to the homework I really don't want to do or that matters more, I am tired, impatient, and still have no desire to finish these harder assignments. By taking on your hardest assignments first you can get additional help if you need it, avoid the "all-nighter", and slide on through with the rest of your easier assignments. If you have a comic book to read for a class or a 10 page essay to write, please at least start that 10 page essay first. Trust me, that was me a couple of days ago and I did not take my own advice.

Get help with your writing: Having a plethora of final essays to write in multiple classes can oftentimes feel overwhelming. Once you finish one paper, you still have another to write. My advice to support your writing endeavors is to get some help. Whether it's your professor, TA, classmate, or even a friend, it is really important to have someone read over your paper.

A great resource on campus is UMass' Writing Center where students can meet with a tutor to help them along with their writing process. Make an appointment today!

Take Breaks: Don't be afraid to relax a little bit. Take breaks in between assignments. Grab a meal with a friend. Go to a yoga class. Get some froyo, you deserve it.

Get off of Social Media: No Facebook. No Twitter. No Tumblr. No Instagram. No Snapchat. Or at least, keep the usage of these applications to a minimum for the next weeks. Trust me, snapchatting a selfie as you work on a paper will not get that paper done any faster. I learned that the hard way a couple of hours ago.

So good luck, persevere, and finish the semester on a high note!