Deadline season: How to survive

It’s the last week of term and one more week of deadlines. You feel stressed, you feel like you don’t have time for anything other than essays and you hate it. You hate sitting down with your computer. Hate reading page after page of sources. Hate opening your Word documents. Hate getting up in the morning because you know the day is going to be horrendous.

But don’t despair, we put together this guide on how to get through the week without sacrificing most of you wellbeing.

Try to avoid the library

Avoid Bill Bryson as much as possible. You don’t need to be in the midst of blood, sweat and tears when you’re trying to get your work done. Borrow the books you need and get yourself away from that glaring light and dreary atmosphere.

Change your screensaver to a photo of a cute kitten

I kid you not, pictures of kittens sharpen your focus. Don’t ask me why, it’s a scientific thing apparently. Give it a go, you might get some weird looks from people sitting behind you in lectures, but who cares when you’ve found the key to summative success.

Go to the Swan and have a pint

Beer and studying go hand in hand. You can’t be a student without beer, and beer is nothing without students. Find a semi-quiet spot at the Swan and have a leisurely pint whilst doing some writing. You’ll loosen up and maybe even become slightly more creative with your ideas. Before you know it your tutor will ask you where all those original points of view came from.

Cure your hangover with some green tea in Nero’s

Rough night yesterday? Feel like your bed is the only place to be the day after? Get yourself up to standing position and march down to Nero’s. The calming voices of Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald combined with the smell of coffee-beans makes this café the perfect spot to regain your consciousness after a night out.

Find yourself a cosy little corner and open your book. With a cup of tea in front of you and the happy smalltalk around you it’ll feel more like a blissful Sunday morning than a Wednesday afternoon.

Do 20 minutes of work before breakfast

God knows we all struggle with getting up in the mornings, especially facing another day of work.Try to do a mere 20 minutes of writing before having your morning coffee, you’ll feel as though you’ve really managed to kickstart your day.

It’s the same as jogging before breakfast, it is the most painful thing you’ve experienced but in the end it’s worth it. Studies actually show you’re more likely to be effective early in the morning than later in the day.

Write on paper instead of Word

It is mentally exhausting staring at that Word-document hour after hour. The paragraphs just don’t seem to get longer. You feel like you’ve written 300 words only to realise you’ve only written 185. Switch it up by closing your laptop and writing on a piece of paper instead. When you copy your handwritten sentences down on to Word later, you’ll feel the satisfaction of seeing the document filling up quickly.

You can do it and you’ll survive – thanks to some tea, kittens and beer.