Hi Warriors, it’s that time of the term where there are a lot of project deadlines to meet, job interviews to ace, it feels like the number of deliverables per class have doubled, and hell week is creeping up very slowly. The days feel longer and the nights even shorter. With all this work in a short amount of time to deliver, it is important not to let the stress get the better of you. Dealing with all this heat – stress – is just as important as accomplishing our set out work because stress determines how well you can perform and focus on achieving a goal. So, it here is four tips on how to shake off the stress.
First, try to get organized. Making study schedules and deliverable lists can drastically improve your productivity and help you stay focused. Taking note of key dates throughout the school calendar, such as midterm dates, project/assignment due date, final exams and interview dates, helps you find a way to proactively work ahead or keep working at a good pace. Scheduling has the added advantage of helping you at time management. For example, allocating a certain amount of time on performing a particular task, gives you a way to check your progress during that time and your efficiency at dealing with the task. In a way, it’s like checking the “runtime” of your own processor (mind) and algorithm (strategy) of dealing with a problem. As a result you can adopt various strategies to help you improve your runtime (rate of work) when working towards a goal. However, sometimes it is not easy to follow a schedule; life is not a static list of goals, but you should always strive to follow the schedule you created. It helps in the long run.
Second, engage in an extra-curricular activity to take your mind off school work. Playing sports or going to gym is amazing way to de-stress as well as help develop both the mental and physical stamina needed to stay focus. Apart from sports, there are a lot of extracurricular activities you can engage in such as joining a design team, learning a new programming language, reading, event planning and many more. Extracurriculars help you develop essential skills you need to succeed while giving you a chance meet people, challenge yourself, and explore different possibilities apart from academic work. A final bonus of engaging in an extracurricular activity is that it allows you to stand out during job interviews and can even land you an interview. It’s like killing two birds with one stone.
Third, one of my favourite ways, is meditation. Meditation is an amazing way dealing with anxiety and stress. It could be as simple as taking a 5-10 minute breather or coming for 30 minute a meditation session. The purpose of meditation is to allow you be aware of the present situation and allowing you to take control of it. One of my favourite quotes from the television show Legend of Korra that I feel describes the essence of meditation is, “Let go of your earthly tether. Enter the void. Empty, and become wind.” This simple quote explains the mechanism and the purpose of mediation. My interpretation of this saying is as follows. Letting go of your earthly tether is simply removing all your worries and anxiety from your mind. Entering the void and being empty can be viewed as being in a state of calmness and balance with yourself. Finally, becoming wind is achieving the goal you set out to do and being the person you want to be. Off course don’t become an anarchist while mediating. That’s a little tease for you LoK fans.
Finally, understanding your strengths and weaknesses are essential to getting around any stressful situation and in doing so you can structure ways of handling your problems. For example, I am a very slow while working on projects and assignments. So one strategy I use to work around this is to start my projects very early and breakdown the work over a long period of time. This often works for me, as I don’t feel too stressed when my deadline is approaching. But most of all, don’t forget you are in engineering because you are warrior – an academic warrior of course. This means you believe you are capable of handling all the heat and pressure of your chosen profession and delivering quality results regardless of the situation.
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