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End of the Quarter Stress: Ways to reduce it

Alexis Behilo

As the Fall quarter comes to a close, final projects and plans for winter break can  be very stressful for everyone during this time. Sitting in front of a computer inside all day to finish your work puts stress on you not only physically, but mentally too. Of course, it is essential to get your work done, but your top priority should be your own mental and physical health. In order to focus on that, you should manage your time well, do some mental and physical exercises. Here are a couple of tips on how to time manage and destress during the busy finals time. 

The top reason behind people’s stress is the feeling that they do not have enough time to finish all of their work. Time management is an important skill and allows you not to feel like you need to stay up until 4 in the morning to finish work. First, you should prioritize your work goals; write out a list of what you need to complete, organize them by what is due first, and start working on the high-priority tasks. This is an excellent way to manage your time so that way you can get the most important tasks done first and not feel worried that the deadlines are coming up so soon. Then section out certain hours of the day to work on each of these tasks. It is also important to not spend too long on one project or task because staring at one thing for so long can make you not see the little details. When you’ve spent a decent amount of time working on an assignment, take a short break and come back to it. Or you can work on another task for a while, then return to the other task to have your mind refreshed and ready to go again. 

Sitting in front of a computer all day is detrimental to our physical health, so we must give our bodies some breaks. Without even knowing it, you could have bad posture by not moving from a particular position for a long time. Here are a couple of stretches that you can do to counteract the stiffness of sitting at a computer for so long. Courtesy of OptimalSportSPT.com

  • Chest and Shoulder Stretch
    • Put your arms behind your back and interlace your fingers. Then lift your arms until you feel a stretch across your chest. Hold for about 15 to 30 seconds.
  • Neck Stretch
    • Reach your right arm up and have your left arm holding the chair you are sitting in. Tilt your head to the left, feeling a gentle stretch down the side of your neck. Hold for about 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat on the other side. 
  • Back Extension
    • Sit in a chair comfortably. Place the palms of your hands at the back of your neck. Lean back over your backrest, keeping your elbows wide, feeling a gentle stretch across the back and chest. Hold for about 10 to 15 seconds. 
  • Wrist Stretch
    • Extend your right arm straight out in front of you with your palm up. Flex your wrist, pointing your fingertips toward the floor. Using your left hand, pull back on your fingers to deepen the movement until you feel a stretch up your arm. Hold this for 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat on the other side. Then repeat with your palm facing the floor the next time. 
  • Go for a walk
    • If it’s only 5 minutes or even 30 minutes, getting your body moving for a walk is a good way of exercising and stretching out your body. 
  • Any other form of exercise
    • Whether you want to go for a run, lift some weights, or swim, any form of exercise will help you to destress and stretch out your stiff body.

The stress of finals and everything else going on at once can affect you mentally in negative ways. A simple way to get rid of the stressful and anxious feeling of tasks coming up is to do some deep breathing. This may seem useless, but deep breathing actually helps to focus your mind and calm you down. This de-stressing technique helps  send more oxygen to your brain, which helps calm the part of your nervous system that allows you to relax. Here is one way you can practice deep breathing: 

Sit comfortably in a quiet place. Place one hand on your belly and one hand on your chest. Take a deep breath slowly through your nose. Focus on feeling your body react to your breathing. Then exhale and repeat. 

Another way to calm your mind is meditation. It may feel like you have so much going on that you won’t be able to sit still for a while, but take a moment to try. Here is one way of meditating: 

  1. Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed
  2. Get comfortable and sit or lie down
  3. Focus your attention on a word, phrase, object, or even just your breathing
  4. Let your thoughts come and go, and do not judge them
  5. Sit for 5-10 minutes or longer if you would like

The end of the quarter is an incredibly stressful time with finals and plans for moving out for winter break. Instead of sacrificing your health by pulling all-nighters to finish your work, try focusing on these de-stressing methods. It is crucial first to manage your time to see what needs to be done while also taking time for breaks to do physical and mental health exercises. When you reduce your stress, you feel much better and it is easier to focus on completing your work while you are at your best. Good luck with finals, everyone!

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