'Tis the Season... For Stressed Nursing Students

We all know that stress-y feeling of barely being able to keep your head above water.  Well, now is about that time for me (and I am guessing a lot of other students out there too).  Midterms may be over, but the stress of term papers and final projects is just setting in.  Add that to the upcoming stress of the looming holiday season and you've got a recipe for disaster.  So, the million dollar question is: how do we get through the stressful month of November unscathed?  This is my fourth year of university and I find myself wondering how the heck I've managed this for three years! 

Here is what I am doing to try make it through another November:

1.  Look forward to the small things.  I swear the only thing getting me through this week has been looking forward to my hair appointment on Saturday. 

It's been a while since my last cut and color, seems like all I can do now is put it in a bun and hope for the best.  I am definitely looking the part of the frazzled nursing student these days.

2.  Avoid procrastination.  I am pretty sure that this is every student’s arch nemesis (I at least hope that someone other than me struggles with this).  If you’re like me, you probably have about 5 assignments all due on the last week of November.  So, even though it is only the first week of the month, start working away at the assignments so that you don’t end up trying to get them all done the weekend before.

3.  Take it one assignment at a time.  One of my professors told me, while I was on the brink of a break down, “You can’t look at everything that is due, all at one time.  Just finish one assignment, then move on to the next one”.  Honestly, everything looks so much worse when its one big ball of due dates.

4.  Take an evening off.  I wouldn't class this as procrastinating, it’s more like self-preservation.  Too many late nights of doing homework will just cause you to get burned out and will decrease the quality of the work that you are able to do.

5.  Don’t ignore yourself.  When you take care of yourself, you feel better, and when you feel better you are better at everything else you are doing.  So, get enough sleep, eat healthy and if you have a usual workout routine, make sure you stick with it.