The end of the semes­ter is only weeks away and for most stu­dents they have only one thing on their minds: summer.

The only prob­lem with mak­ing it to the end of the school year is get­ting through the last few weeks with those dreaded final exams, the term papers that need to be fin­ished, and maybe the wor­ry­ing about those cou­ple of course grades that could use a lit­tle boost.

Finding the time needed to get in some extra study­ing or write that final paper can add to the already sur­mount­ing stress that comes with the lit­tle tasks of every­day life.

With a few help­ful tips, how­ever, stu­dents can find a bet­ter way of strug­gling through the end of the year and bet­ter man­age the lit­tle time they have left to fit in every­thing they need to do.

Put off procrastination

Over the course of the school year, pro­cras­ti­na­tion can become a col­lege student’s best friend.

It may sound redun­dant hear­ing that leav­ing study­ing for the last minute is a bad idea, but when it comes to the end of the semes­ter, pro­cras­ti­na­tion can mean the worst.

Pulling an all-nighter to fin­ish a final paper or study for an exam only adds to the stress.

A sim­ple solu­tion to putting off assign­ments until the last minute is to make a sched­ule. Plan out every­thing that needs to be done and make sure there is enough time to get it all finished.

Take breaks

Even if it may seem there isn’t enough time, tak­ing a study break is key to man­ag­ing all the stress.

One sug­ges­tion would be to study for about an hour, then take a 15-minute break. This will give stu­dents a chance to give their brain a lit­tle time­out before hit­ting the books again. It is always eas­ier to learn when the brain is “fresh” and not exhausted from a solid block of cramming.

Exercise

Trying to fit in a work­out in a tight study sched­ule can be dif­fi­cult, but find­ing the time to exer­cise can be just what the body and mind need.

Exercise releases endor­phins, which can actu­ally help a per­son feel bet­ter, have more energy, and reduce their stress level.

If a stu­dent is find­ing it dif­fi­cult to fit in time at the gym, mul­ti­task­ing is a great solu­tion. Instead of jog­ging on the track, try using a sta­tion­ary bike, ellip­ti­cal machine, or tread­mill and crack open those note­books there.

Find the time to eat right

This may not always be the case, but often times stu­dents study for hours on end and don’t stop to eat or, more often than not, eat healthily.

Not eat­ing can actu­ally decrease energy and cause more frus­tra­tion than nec­es­sary. When stop­ping for a study break, grab a snack as well.

Although stress may cause some to eat what­ever is around or make food sound tasty no mat­ter how unhealthy it may be, vit­a­mins, min­er­als and com­plex car­bo­hy­drates in more healthy alter­na­tives pro­vide the body with pre­mium, long-lasting fuel. The junk food option, though a tem­po­rary fix, is much more like a “flash-in-the-pan” and may cause you to crash. Instead of using energy drinks like Monster and RockStar, try a low sugar juice or even plain old water.

Although the end of the school year can be a stress­ful and crazy time of year, stu­dents can make the time pass more quickly and more pro­duc­tively by tak­ing the time to decrease the added lay­ers of stress that plague these last few weeks. n