life & style // no. 12 theotherpress.ca Everything is due: How to survive the week » You're probably experiencing it right now Michele Provenzano Staff Writer Yo know those weeks when everything is happening all at once? During the past few, you've been coasting just fine, but then, bam! Everything. Is. Due. You've got three deadlines for assignments on Friday, after that, a midterm on Monday—but you work all weekend, so how are you going to make time to study? Youd like to avoid pulling all-nighters, so you can avoid losing your sanity! It’s the halfway point of the semester, folks. If you haven't had a week like this so far, you likely will soon. I’m in the midst of a busy week, so if you're struggling—I feel you. This article is essentially a pep talk I'm giving myself. Taking care of yourself is crucial when things get hectic. Lots of commonly suggested self-care activities seem daunting or time-consuming, so here are some of the quickest tasks that reap the biggest benefits for you as you crawl your way through a tough week. Move your body Getting out of your head and into your body is one of the best ways to relieve stress. Don't worry—you dont have to go out for a long run or spend hours commuting to the gym and back. Simply pick your favourite way to move and spend a few minutes doing it. You could dance around your bedroom to an upbeat song, stretch for five minutes, or go for a quick walk. Focusing on upcoming deadlines can concentrate your attention too much on the overwhelming nature of the future; movement is a great way to stay grounded in the present. Take a laugh break Schedule laughter into your day. Whether it’s friend who gets you giggling, or simply watching a five-minute clip of your favourite stand-up comedian on YouTube, laughter is the ultimate stress reliever. Remember to eat It sounds silly to tell you to eat, but it’s easy to get so swept up in working on something that you either forget to eat or you feel like you don't have time. Fuel is essential for that brain, and eating must be prioritized if Illustration by Cara Seccafien you want to get stuff done. If you don’t have time to prepare a meal, grab some quick nutritious snacks like a granola bar or fruit. Go fora walk There are so many benefits walks have: Energizing your body with movement, welcoming fresh air into your lungs, connecting with the world around you, and clearing your head. Walks are my number one self-care tool, and they also help generate my best ideas. I try to regularly schedule short walks for myself—especially when I’m working on creative assignments. Something so simple and profoundly helpful can be easily integrated into the busiest of schedules. Take a perspective hour It’s hard to keep a healthy perspective on things when assignments pile up. When the fear of deadlines creeps up, it’s easy to jump to terrible conclusions and feel like the world is crashing down. But it’s not. You may not feel like you have an hour to waste, but spending that time doing something that fills you with purpose will show you that no assignment is the end of the world. Even if you fail an assignment, a midterm—or even a class—you'll get through it. Do what makes you cheerful and remember what’s truly important. Even though an overwhelming week seems impossible to schedule self-care into, it's the most important and beneficial time to practice these activities. No class is worth compromising your mental health. Get some work done—and be kind to yourself. How to study with little-to-no effort » The nitty-gritty of study success! EG Manilag Staff Writer t’s quite common for students to get burned out—especially when absorbing tons of information, writing essays, studying for quizzes and exams—and this is without even mentioning a job and other extra-curricular activities. Everything looks harder with this spinning in our heads, and the feeling often leads to unproductivity. It’s as if the more time we spend on focusing on a particular activity, the more time we waste, leaving boxes on our to-do lists unchecked. But what if we could increase our productivity by doing less? What if we could maximize rewards by minimizing effort? Sound delusional? Well, it isn't! By applying the “Pareto principle” and respecting the “Spacing effect” in our study habits, we can become more resilient against study burnouts. The principle, otherwise known as the “80/20 rule,” is a theory formulated by economist Vilfredo Pareto stating that 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes. He noted that 80 percent of Italy’s land was owned by 20 percent of its people. Pareto’s principle can be applied to almost anything: 20 percent of customers produce 80 percent of revenue; 20 percent of a book’s pages contain 80 percent of the most important information. For demonstration, let’s say that a particular history book takes 10 hours of reading to be 100 percent complete. Applying the principle, we can say that 80 percent of the most important information is found within two hours of reading. We could also finish reading, but it would take roughly eight hours—only for that 20 percent of information. Ultimately, we could use this principle in our study habits and become efficient. By studying and focusing on the most important 20 percent of information from whole the term (which is often pointed out by our instructors) not only can we obtain better grades, but we can also save some time and effort to spend on fun things. The Pareto principle is a good one, but it can be better if paired with the spacing effect. I first heard of this term in my psychology class. One of my favourite TV shows, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, introduced the term “compartmentalize” to me. It is defined as dividing things into sections or categorizing. The operational definition of compartmentalizing is quite similar to the spacing effect, with regard to dividing tasks. According to my Psychology textbook (Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner, and Nock) “Spacing effect suggests that learning is greater when studying is spread over time rather than studying the same amount in a single session.” This idea is further echoed by other psychologists. “Spacing is more effective than cramming, even if total study time is controlled,” said University of California researcher Nate Kornell from his study regarding the optimization of learning. The spacing effect is a noteworthy and empirically proven idea to consider when forming study habits. Previously, I thought that spending a lot of time studying one to three times a week was the best method—but it’s not. Last semester was the hardest semester of my life so far, due to the fact that I took five courses in total plus a part-time job. Although it didn’t stop me from keeping the fire burning, it was exhausting. I felt so pressured at that point, and I sometimes missed a day of study because of work- related stress. | know cramming wouldn't do me any good, but I still believed that it would pay off—yet it generally didn't. Now with my modified habits, I study two weeks before the exam by doing a quick read-through on each course every day. When exams are approaching, I can simply do another quick read-through on Photo by Michelle Lim specific information and save time for my other exams. To make a long story short, I got good marks, plus I also noticed that Thad a lot more time to spare. Studying through spacing feels ineffective at first but progressively, the feeling changes as it stimulates your brain into familiarizing and internalizing the information you've studied, making you mentally prepared for what’s coming. When one considers these two principles—focusing on the more important information and studying over multiple days rather than all in one day—as habits for studying, it is clear that one will involve less studying every day while still studying effectively. I could have saved myself a lot of grief if I had known these rules sooner. I could have had fewer burnouts and more time to spare. Some students may already be applying these techniques, but for those who aren‘, well, it’s never too late. Happy studying!