Just keep swimming
An attempt to keep my head above the treacherous waters of uni.
Week 6 is dawning upon us and for those experienced in the format of uni assessments, you know this is when every course you’re taking that semester coincidentally decides to be the best time for assessments to be due. It’s an intense couple of weeks around this period of the semester.

But fear not, as Psych students, many of us have studied the mechanisms behind stress. So it’s at least a little bit comforting understanding the why we’re feeling the way we do, right?

Note: My cortisol levels are almost reaching that extreme right end of the curve right now. Must bring it back down ASAP.
As I have learned in PSYC3241 (great course by the way, we got to run experiment on rats!), stress isn’t necessarily bad as long as you are functioning with the optimal level of stress. So just remember when you’re overwhelmed with stress, as I am feeling now, take actions to turn it down a bit to bring your cortisol levels to an optimal. Memory and productivity levels up!
Some ways I tackle stress:
- Write things down — Most people use this technique because it actually helps! Whether you write things down with pen and paper or type it into your laptop or mobile device, making a to-do list helps sort through and organise what may seem like an insurmountable mountain of tasks. Doing so will help you realise that completing these tasks in time is doable with effective organisation and time-management.
- Break up big projects — Breaking up large projects/assignments into smaller blocks will make it less overwhelming and provide a set of achievable tasks. I’ve noticed that I tend to procrastinate starting these large assignments simply because it seemed daunting. Take baby steps! Any start is a good start!
- Set SMART goals — This works hand in hand with the above points. Set Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based goals. Being able to set SMART goals creates a vision of what you will be achieving and also gives you a little boost of self-esteem when you complete one of these goals and motivates you to keep moving forward.
- Take frequent breaks — While blindly tackling whatever task you’re doing, remember to take frequent breaks. Consider this as a marathon. Sprinting may work well for short distances/short tasks but if you’re going to be spending at least a whole day chipping away at a larger project, make sure to take breaks to avoid burnout. However, make sure you get back to work after that break!
Current progress with project:
The project is looking good! My supervisor and the PhD student who collected the data approved the coding scheme I came up with so what I need to do now is to categorise all the various feedback into categories which they may fall under. Once that’s all sorted, a third person (either my supervisor or the PhD student) will do a cross-check of the coding so that we can settle any discrepancies. Since this is qualitative data, it can be quite subjective and so cross-checking allows us determine the inter-rater reliability. After that process, we can then begin to run some analysis on that data. I’m very excited to see the end results because it seems like we are coming close to finishing!

