Dear Dartmouth,

We are getting deep into midterm season, so I’ll keep this post short and to the point. As the demands on your time and energy increase, we wanted to remind you that you are a human being, not a productivity machine. So the question at hand is how to extend the care you need toward yourself while still being a productive human.

Here are a few ideas that can help you do well because we know that when academics are an important part of your wellness. Each involves applying wellbeing practices to the academic areas of your life so it all comes full circle: integrate wellbeing into your studies in order to do better, and get a double boost of wellness by both doing and being well!

While you usually can’t control what homework or assessments you encounter in your classes, you CAN prioritize how you tackle those assignments and prepare for those tests. You can also maximize your productivity by cultivating the ability to focus your attention and work in concentrated doses.

One of our newest offerings at the Student Wellness Center is what my colleague Sid calls “Power Hours.” Instead of asking you to take time away from academics to come to an SWC program, we instead invite you to BRING your academics to this program. Choose what needs your attention most, and let our team guide you into a focused state where you’ll work alongside other students to get things DONE! You can be on the lookout for upcoming PowerHours by following us on Instagram or subscribing to our weekly newsletter.

Sid also worked with our team to develop guided “study break” activities that reduce test jitters and anxiety for finals last fall. We decided to make that resource permanently available based on the positive feedback we received, and you can access it here, or if you’re on our Instagram account just click on the “Study Well” highlight for a link.

Finally, one of the best things you can do for yourself when there is simply too much going on in your life is to simplify, prioritize and focus. Here’s a short LinkedIn post with some easy-to-implement practices to help you do just that.

Take care, be well, and stay warm,
Todd