How to Destress During Midterms 

MISHAWAKA– The week of midterms can be a stressful time for students. Some students may struggle to find ways to alleviate some of this stress. 

Rachel Kennedy, director of the Center for Academic Success, explained some helpful tips for students during these times when they are feeling more pressured.  

“One thing that helps is to set a daily reward,” Kennedy said.  

According to Kennedy, setting a goal for the day and rewarding yourself after completing said goal is an efficient way to get things accomplished, while also giving yourself something to look forward to.  

Midterms tend to require extra studying in comparison to normal weeks for students. Some students can make simple changes to improve their studying habits. Kennedy said that most students struggle to build in breaks in their study routines. To help with this, Kennedy said that it is best for students to study in 30-minute increments with breaks in between.  

Often, students will have a large workload along with having to study for their midterms. Kennedy advised students to use the time that they have in between classes to finish assignments instead of leaving assignments to be completed at the end of the day.  

While studying for exams, Kennedy also added that students should study in unique ways. She said that there are many ways students can interact with their study materials, such as repeating information aloud, teaching the content to others or creating their own tests.  

Kennedy said students should often remind themselves about their end goal through either verbal, mental or written cues, so they do not get discouraged by having to do tasks that seem unrelated to their future goal or profession. 

“[Remind yourself], this is why I’m doing what I’m doing, even though it feels very far away from what I want to be doing,” Kennedy said.