The Reel Life of Josh

So last year I gave you tips on how to deal with the stress of finals and my last post was comprised of a few stress-busting haikus.  But here are some things to avoid (or more likely) indulge in during midterms and finals that will keep you slightly behind on your work, but less wound-up.  Here are some procrastination ideas:

1) Watch a movie. A tip applicable to every occasion.

2) Socially network. Facebook allows you to keep in touch with people you normally would have forgotten.  It also allows you to lose track of time as you see what your friends have been up to.  After being encouraged to do so for months, I finally got a Twitter last week – the night before one of my papers was due.  I ended up spending 45 minutes brainstorming ideas for what my username should be.

3) Video games. Although the second half of this semester we’ve been pretty lax about it, my roommate and I tend to play a lot of Madden together.  It’s virtually the only video game we play, yet we can play for hours on end.  (And while the season is in its closing days during Intersession, that seems to be the time when our football season kicks off)

4) Sporcle. I was recently introduced to this website by Lauren C. It’s a  website that has a whole bunch of lists that you try to fill out.  For example, “TV by Taglines”, “George Clooney Movies”, or “Original SNL Cast Members”.  You are given a time and some clues.  And then 3 hours later you realize not only have you blown all that time, but you also know only 55 out of 100 of Rolling Stones Top Albums 2000-2009.

5) Cleaning. Some peoples’ rooms get messier during finals period.  Others’ get cleaner.   A good way to  feel like you’re accomplishing something positive and to free yourself from anxiety of all the clutter is to clean.  It’s a good use of time, but it can probably wait until after you exams.

6) Eating. Especially for off-campus living where you cook your meals, making food and eating it will start to take a little longer as exams approach.  Studying while eating usually turns into watching TV while eating, which turns into a 1 1/2 hour dinner break.

7) Doing absolutely nothing. Somehow, you tend to find yourself doing absolutely nothing for periods of time that seem to be only a few minutes but are actually much longer.

8) Making a study playlist. Nothing accompanies studying (especially in the library) better than music.  It blocks out the world around you and can help you stay positive or awake or relaxed.  You can help moderate your own mood.  So spending your first hour in the library making the perfect study mix isn’t a waste of time, right?

9) Making lists. Now as you can see, that is something I like to do.  But sometimes you spend too much time making the lists of what needs to get done rather than actually doing what you need to do.

Hopefully these ideas have enlightened you and you now see the err of your ways or it’s inspired you to take on new forms of procrastination.  Either way works for me.

Enjoy the holidays!