With midterms being one of the first biggest stresses for a lot of students at the moment, many struggle to figure out their biggest outlet. Yoga? Exercise? Maybe even food? They help but even then, you really don't want to be studying or doing your homework while doing these things.
So what can help while doing homework or studying?
Keep in mind that these are suggestions, and they aren't required, so feel out what works best for you:
1. Listen to the instrumental version of your favorite artist or genre.
For me personally, I can't listen to music that has words, especially if I'm reading. I will get distracted by the verses, and if I'm writing an essay I will accidentally write the lyrics and realize my mistake halfway through the essay. Sometimes I'll be rereading an essay and see half an Ed Sheeran playlist scattered throughout my essay. This has happened many times, and I've learned from that mistake. I now listen to the guitar version of that, and I find myself writing an essay the correct way.
2. Listen to classical music.
I know what you're thinking already. "Classical music is for huge music lovers or older people," but that's not entirely true. Classical music is the backbone of a lot of our pop music, which means the beat and rhythm is very similar. Though I'm not saying that Beethoven and Kanye West are the same, classical music has no words that you can think about. A lot of the time we can hear our favorite songs and know the words to it without hearing the lyrics. They call it karaoke, and sometimes it can be hard to focus on any form of music that has lyrics (instrumental or not). Classical music gives that extra push to prevent yourself from singing along to your favorite music. (This is probably my biggest go to believe it or not).
3. Listen to meditation music.
You don't necessarily have to follow a meditation video, but some sort of meditation or focus music would fit best. There really isn't a set beat to this type of music, but if you plug into this type of music you can really focus. It really drowns out things that distract you, and as someone who is noise sensitive and gets distracted by the simple click of a pen, I love this.
4. Outside of the study area.
Music isn't just something to listen to, but it's something you can do. If you play a musical instrument, feel free to play any sort of song. As someone who plays three, I usually just like to play around. Sometimes it'll sound terrible, but other times I'll have something sound extremely pretty and feel accomplished. Though you can't necessarily play your own music while studying or doing homework, it's something to do as a little break.
If you don't play a musical instrument, I'm sure I'm not the only one who sings in the shower, taps a beat, or hums. Or if you're really ambitious, out a new instrument. There are plenty of places around campus or at a local store that could have musical instruments. And of course, your voice is your own instrument.
You don't have to be good or sound fantastic to be able to sing. Singing is meant to be fun and enjoyable. Sing your favorite song in the shower, or hum it on the way to class. Even that little bit could get you to relax just a little bit before an exam or an essay.
Music is by far the best outlet one can have in college, especially during stressful times of mid-terms and finals. Test these ideas out, and don't be afraid to give it a shot. You might be surprised at how helpful these little tricks are.
