A few days ago, I came across a video on Facebook about managing stress. Typically, these are repetitive, and I’m only disappointed after watching them. Yet, to my surprise, this one was different.
During the video, a female psychologist spoke to an auditorium of college students about managing their stress. She started off by holding up half a glass of water. When she began to speak, although she started with a question, is was not what the students were expecting to hear. “How heavy do you think this glass of water is?” She asked.
The auditorium went silent. No one was expecting this question, or knew the answer.
She went onto explain that, while she doesn’t know the exact weight of the glass of water, it doesn’t really matter if she only holds it for a minute or two. Yet, if she holds the glass for an extended period of time, such as an hour or a whole day, her hand and arm will begin to ache. The glass of water will gradually feel heavier, and exhaustion will eventually consume her whole body.
This is the way we college students must view managing our stress. Yes, being responsible and keeping track of everything you need to do is OK, but, holding onto it will kill your energy and essentially inhibit your ability to actually get it all done.
What’s most important for managing your stress, especially during a chaotic time like finals, is focusing on one assignment at a time with full concentration. Remind yourself that regardless of whether you want to or not, you physically can’t focus on two entirely different assignments at once. Therefore, the smartest way to get everything done, and done well, is to take it one step at a time.
For example, if you’ve been struggling with one subject's material for hours on end and you can’t seem to get anywhere, put it down for a while. Pick up another task or assignment, and devote your full attention to that. I guarantee when you come back to your study materials in a few hours, the information will appear as much easier to retain.
