December has been dubbed the most wonderful time of year. (Yes, there’s a song about it, and you pretty much can’t escape hearing it wherever you go.) It could be wonderful. This is the time when families and friends gather for festive fun and celebrations. In some parts of the world, snowfall creates a whimsical winter wonderland (another holiday song!), perfect for sledding and cocoa by the fire. Whether celebrating religious holidays or just the end of the year, the month is loaded with “seasonal” activities. Bake sales, winter concerts, cookie exchanges, family outings to get Christmas trees, visiting grandparents, decorating everything that doesn’t move (and some that do) –the list of fun things you could be doing seems endless.   For students, however, the magic of the season may not fully kick in until exams are over and winter break has begun. More often, holiday activities seem to add a few more turns when you’re already tightly wound up with a long to-do list and deadlines. It can be tough striking the right balance between schoolwork and play. (Let’s keep it simple, if it’s not “work”, it’s play, even if you have to put in some effort into it). You want to be a part of the fun and games of the season, but you still need to turn in reports and prep for finals.   Stressed out? Don’t worry. Here are some simple ways to keep the holiday spirit while wrapping up the semester (and the gifts!) without melting down like an over-heated candle.

1. Take a deep breath.

   Have a holiday dinner and a paper due back to back? Feel your mind racing, fists clenching, stomach churning with tension? Just breathe. Start by inhaling slowly and exhaling deeply. It is a scientific fact that deep breathing triggers the body’s natural relaxation response. According to the American Institute of Stress (they should know!), focused breathing relieves anxiety by activating both physical and emotional responses. You’ll feel calmer immediately as you increase the supply of oxygen in your brain and stimulate your nervous system (read more about it here). Best of all, you can do it anytime, anywhere, without anyone noticing!

2. Limit the junk food.

   This probably sounds like what your mom would tell you, and she’d be right. Nutritious food nourishes the body and fuels the mind. When you eat well, you feel better; study smarter; and score higher. Healthy food can also lower stress and can keep you healthy – nothing worse than battling a cold during the weeks leading up to exams and the holiday break. Of course, this is the holiday season, and sugary, fatty, caloric goodies can be found everywhere you turn… gingerbread cookies, chocolate cakes, eggnog, peppermint lattes. Yum. Go ahead, have some. Just don’t overdo it. (And speaking of peppermint lattes, cut back on caffeine intake so you avoid blood sugar spikes that’ll mess up your sleeping schedule.)

3. Get enough sleep.

   If you feel run down or tired, you’re really not going to do so well taking exams, turning in papers, or even playing video games with your cousins at a family gathering. Pulling all-nighters has been proven to do more harm than good. According to this article on The Huffington Post sleep deprivation and stress form a vicious cycle that’s hard to escape. Set a study schedule for your finals, but do put up the books so you can catch a solid eight hours of zzz’s.

4. Set priorities.

   The holidays are a hectic time with high demands. Your friends are most likely in the same boat as you are. Take on what you absolutely must, and the rest can wait until you’re on vacation. Plan to spend time with your friends worry-free during winter break. Even with family engagements, it’s okay to decline if you’re under a tight deadline. Your family will understand that school should be priority #1.

5. Make a schedule.

   Make a list (and check it twice!). End-of-year stress may seem overwhelming, but you’re already in the home stretch. Make a list of everything you have to do, and put your to-do list on your calendar, making sure you give yourself enough time. If you’re the kind of person who needs three drafts before you’re done with your essay, start writing earlier, not the night before it is due. And make sure to mark off completed items – a big, bold ‘X’ would do the trick – it’ll make your feel good to see the list shrinking!

6. Get moving.

   Exercise is a well-known stress buster. A brisk walk outside will invigorate you and help keep your blood flowing.  Leash up the dog and stroll around the neighborhood to admire all the colorful lights and décor. The fresh air will do you good, even if you only go out for 20 minutes. Balance your schedule to make some room for active hobbies. You’ll feel accomplished and alert, which means you’ll mark those X’s more often!

7. Take breaks.

   Take timeouts that will help you recharge your emotional batteries. Make time to kick back and relax, listen to music, enjoy hobbies and holiday events. Just because you’re up against finals doesn’t mean you can’t take a breather to make a gift for a friend or decorate the tree with your siblings. American University (http://www.american.edu/ocl/news/Coping-with-Exam-and-Holiday-Stresses.cfm ) recommends a healthy balance of extracurricular activities to make a stressful schedule feel more manageable.

8. Create an inviting study space.

   If you’re going to spend a significant amount of time in your study space, make sure that it’s inviting and comfortable. Sitting at your desk for several hours? Add some festive holiday décor to set a merrier mood and balance your work and play. Light a soothing candle, or place a favorite photo within your view. As long as the space is quiet and you can concentrate, go ahead and have a little fun with it!

9. Study socially.

   Sometimes you can multi-task in a good way. Getting together with friends to prep for a history test can be less stressful than doing it alone (unless group-study doesn’t work for you). You can gather at a friend’s home for some holiday cheer and then bust out the books. If you’re not able to meet in person, you can still ‘meet’ online to work together. There are many ways to do it such as Skype and Google hangouts. (Check out Meemli for a learning-focused shared online space.)

10. Ask for help.

    If you’re feeling overwhelmed, reach out to others for some help. You don’t have to do it all yourself. Your friends and classmates can help you study. Your family and teachers will be more than happy to lend a helping hand however they can. Ask teachers for a bit of one-on-one exam review, or have your parents quiz you on your course content. Or just help you de-stress and unwind a little.

These 10 tips can help you keep the stress manageable and stay on track as you finish up the year. And bonus tip, these ideas work for everyone – not just students! Feel free to share with your family, friends, teachers – anyone you know who could use some tips on de-stressing.   Do you have your own favorite stress-busters? We’d love to hear about them.   Good luck and Happy Holidays!

If you’re here, you probably want to know more about Meemli. Why Meemli? What’s it trying to do? Is it “just another edtech” company?

Hello. I’m Usha Sekar, founder of Meemli. On the surface, Meemli is an online learning space, but it is much more than that. It is built on a deep commitment to make quality education accessible to all.

In this post I’ll share a few of the insights and experiences that helped develop the vision for Meemli and brought us to where we are today.

Kids learn from each other

• I’d see my daughter, then in high school, spend a ton of time on chat while supposedly “working” on the computer at home. She was a great student, so I wasn’t concerned that she was wasting her time, but I’d hear her groan in frustration frequently. I asked her why. What I found: at the same time that she was social chatting, she was also helping friends with schoolwork.  But doing it over chat was difficult, especially for math. Digging further, I found that many of her friends didn’t always “get” what was happening in class and reached out to classmates for help.

• Often when I was picking up my daughter after her cross-country practice, the friend who was car-pooling with her would not be there. Turned out she had to stay behind at school to get algebra help from an assigned peer mentor and it could only be done in person. This was at 7:00 pm. It made me wonder how much algebra a kid who’s been at school for about 11 hours would be able to retain without even freshening up or getting some dinner. (And felt sorry for the other kid who had to stick around in school until then!)

My takeaway: Peer learning is a huge help (read a study on it here). Kids were comfortable asking for, and getting, help from those they knew well, but timing and access wasn’t often convenient.

This could be made easier – if kids can easily learn from each other without embarrassment or concerns about timing.

Kids learn from people outside of school

• One of my rewarding life experiences was a 4-year stint as a mentor to a small group of under-served high school students (through BUILD) using the hook of entrepreneurship. Volunteer mentors helped students work on all aspects of starting a business, which translated to excellent project-based learning of math, writing and critical thinking skills, as well as a ton of other ‘soft’ skills. But meeting one evening a week was a difficult commitment for us working mentors, and often for students too. Even more disappointing was knowing that once a week was not enough for these kids who needed so much guidance to get to where they should be (it took me quite a while to help them figure out how to compute 10% of the cost).

• Students who are lucky enough to have knowledgeable parents, siblings in college, mentors or tutors get a lot of support from their personal network. But not many students have that kind of a network. My mentees for example could only get help from teachers at school or through the mentoring org once a week.

My takeaway: Lack of access and concerns about trust keep students from freely getting help from those outside their close circle of family and friends. Even if there are many worthy organizations providing mentors, they are unable to get the help as and when they need it.

This could be made better – if we can overcome limitations of distance and schedules and provide safe access to trusted connections.

Kids learn by asking questions and having discussions

• I had some great teachers who I liked a lot and who I felt truly helped me become a lifelong learner. The one trait they all had in common: they encouraged questions, arguments and exploration. The good teachers built the ‘questioning habit’ in me.

• When it was time for me to be a parent, I just flipped this habit and let my kids do the questioning. Helping my kids with schoolwork was mostly hearing them articulate what they needed to do, and encouraging them to come up solutions. Even if they were “wrong” at first, as they’d work their way to the right solution just by talking it through. Today, this would relate to the much called-for “growth mindset“. I understand that we were very fortunate to have this kind of learning environment and am truly grateful for it!

• It shouldn’t come as a surprise that “understanding the why” has become a core requirement. Or that great teaching is at the top of the factors that influence students’ learning outcomes. (You can read this interesting article for more about it.)

• “Talking it through” is a great learning technique, but many students do not have access to people they can discuss their schoolwork with at home. Even when they want to help their teachers have only so many hours in the school day they can spare.

My takeaway: Students are more successful if they have someone knowledgeable who can help them ‘talk it over’, but most don’t have access to that kind of teaching.

This could be made possible – if we make access to responsive, knowledgeable teachers easily available.

Putting it all together

Educational programs that nurture a child’s natural desire to learn. Equal access to quality education for all. Both have been causes I’ve cared about deeply and, with technology (another lifetime fave of mine) both could be well served.

As an entrepreneur, I saw an opportunity to take something that already works and make it easily accessible for everyone. And it was something I would be excited to work on every single day, even through the long, hard slog of startups, which is why Meemli came into being.

• There are a million theories about the ‘education problem’ with millions of solutions. We at Meemli focus on the one thing that has been proven to work: a real, live, trusted person who can provide patient, trained guidance to the student. And we use the other one thing that can make that available to all: technology.
• At Meemli, learners and their learning interactions are the primary focus, technology is just the enabler.
• Our shared learning space is completely free to be used by anyone who learns with others, or helps others learn. It’s been used by individuals, mentors, learning organizations and more.
• And now, to make it easier for students to find “great teaching”, we work with select, experienced teachers to provide short courses on key foundational topics, all using proven techniques that nurture learning.
• We also offer scholarships to these high value programs to stay true to our mission of improving access to quality education to all students. We get to do what we believe in and couldn’t ask for anything better!

Learning is easier when you get a little help. From a real, live person who knows how.

Do you have a story to share about someone who made a difference to your learning? We’d love to hear it!