It is that time of the semester where your professors are cramming what seems like a full curriculum into two weeks, all of your final projects are conveniently due, and finals are creeping around the corner. Panicking is the most natural reaction, but here are some creative, albeit slightly bizarre, methods to make the remaining few weeks less stressful.

1. Sing Through the Pain

Have you ever watched a musical and wondered why characters always seem to break out in song whenever things go wrong?  Here is why: it actually helps.  If you have too many assignments due tomorrow, just start singing about the horror of your swollen typing fingers. If you cannot find a document you need to print, make up a song about how much you long for it. It seems a bit unorthodox, but singing a goofy song about your plight helps relieve the dooming tension of a situation. Then you can relax, re-focus, and problem-solve.

2.  Keep a College Survival Log

Another way to trade pulling your hair out for something a bit more productive is to document each day in a survival log. Whip out your phone and record an overly dramatic summary of the day’s events. Make it ridiculous: write about a professor who you are convinced leads a double-agent life, or turn your Tuesday into “College Survival, Day 122: with no money left in my wallet, I had no choice but to eat in the cafeteria.  I barely made it out alive…”

3. Don’t Compete in the “I Have More To Do Than You” Contest

College students have an ugly habit of trying to one-up each other to prove who has the most hectic schedule; it is a secret self-pity competition. Do not feed into it, and next time your friend asks you about your day, exaggerate and make it comical.  If you have three essays and a presentation due tomorrow, mention that you have eighty-five trillion assignments and only five seconds complete them.  You succeed in giving the idea that you are busy, but the absurdity of your answer prevents friends from comparing themselves to you.  Your exaggeration can ever help them relate: at this time of year we all feel like we have eighty-five trillion assignments to do.  Humor helps prevent pointless confrontation and might even remind you that your assignment list is quite manageable.

4. Pray for Others

When we get wrapped up in work, it becomes nearly impossible to think of anything, or anyone else but ourselves. Push past, and take time to pray for your friends and professors.  Using a few minutes to acknowledge the struggles of others can help take your mind off of your own stresses. Not only does it help your peace of mind, but you will be supporting those around you who may just need a little prayer to make it through.