This is my least favorite time of the year. 

We are now in the 6.5-week-long stretch between fall break and Thanksgiving break where the work continues to pile up until you actually notice the posture of your classmates declining from the weight of stress. In the interest of maintaining our collective sanity I have a few stress busting ideas that just might make the next few weeks more tolerable. 

Firstly, find little things to brighten your day. For me I enjoy awkward encounters that make me laugh aloud even though I know that I will look insane to people walking by. It’s a bit odd, but who doesn’t suppress a grin when you see someone you sat with in a class three semesters ago and you look at them prepared to say “hi,” but they do that awkward avoid-eye-contact-because-I-am-unsure-if-you’ll-remember-me maneuver?

A friend of mine actually walks a different route to class simply because he didn’t like the awkward run-ins he was having with a classmate whom he didn’t know well enough to greet but did remember well enough to share several awkward glances with before his courage failed and he had to change routes to avoid further unpleasantness.

I would never change my route to avoid someone because I really enjoy watching someone squirm as they look at me and the ground rapidly 20 times before we are close enough to actually smile and greet each other. I look forward to awkward encounters as a bright spot in my otherwise routine day. 

Maybe awkwardness isn’t your cup of tea, but finding some small joy in the mundane is an excellent way to make the days a little shorter and a little brighter.

My second misery elimination technique is to maintain the integrity of weekends to use as little mini-breaks. Now I know that we all have unavoidable things that must be done over the weekends, but especially over the next few weeks, the more I can save my weekends, the better I feel each Monday. 

Although I am pretty much the princess of procrastination, over the next few weeks I will spend much less time watching home shopping channels and much more time working during the week to maintain the integrity of my weekends, which are normally spent playing catch up.  It’s a little thing, but working when you are tired from class makes all the difference if you can get one or two days off on the weekend.

Hopefully, the next few weeks will be less painful for you if you use my tactics, and if not maybe trying not to be overburdened will be distracting enough that you notice the weight of the burdens a little less. So, dear reader, I wish you good luck and Godspeed, and advise that you keep your head down, and just imagine the Thanksgiving turkey waiting for you on the other side.

Send Kate your misery eliminators to letters@technicianonline.com.