How To: Spice Up Reading Period

It’s the end of the semester. You’ve watched the past few months flyby (pun intended) and it somehow feels as though you’ve done absolutely nothing with your time aside from testing the limits of your Zoom lecture attention span or analyzing the optimal level of procrastination. Luckily, flyby is here to add a little thrill to your life with 7 ways to spice up the last few weeks of the semester.

1. Turn in a final project 5 or more days before it’s due

Let’s face it, procrastination is inevitable…take this as your calling to change things up. Have you ever turned in an assignment (much less a final) not one minute, but five days before it’s due? We didn’t think so. Perhaps it’s finally your time to shine — not only will you get it over with and avoid that feeling of an impending deadline looming over you, but this may quite literally become the greatest flex of your college career.

2. Take a full day off. Like actually take the day off.

You say you haven’t gotten any work done today, but is that really true? Even if you haven’t physically cracked anything out, there’s a 99 percent chance you either feel guilty about not having done enough, or couldn’t get the prospect of work out of your head. Try taking a full day off and give yourself a chance to recharge after what’s been one of the most challenging years for the world. Whether this means spending a day exploring nature, practicing retail therapy, or even watching TikTok for 6 hours straight (let’s just pretend you don’t do this on the regular for the sake of this article) and forget about your responsibilities to recenter yourself so you can finish off the semester strong!

3. Actually keep up with your sleep schedule

This might be the most chaotic of them all. Imagine having a consistent and reasonable sleep schedule where you’re not falling asleep at the crack of dawn and waking up midway through lecture (or even worse, a final exam). Try keeping up with a ~reasonable~ sleep schedule and you might even find it boosts your productivity and alertness. At least give it a shot. We know it’s a bit of a hard task, but you wanted cHaOtiC sPiCe in your life right??

4. Channel your alter ego

Swap your wardrobe to its complete opposite for one week. Do what you gotta do: thrift, steal clothes from your parents, siblings, and friends, or even dig out your clothes living in the back of your garage from four years ago before you underwent a ~transformative experience~. Chaos. Activated.

5. Stay unmuted throughout an entire Zoom meeting

Seeking maximal chaos? Look no further. Staying unmuted for an entire Zoom meeting may quite well be one of the riskiest, most anarchic activities one may take on. A hyperactive dog who barks non stop may be the least of your worries. You never know just how much you need something until it’s gone.

6. Speak exclusively with a foreign accent for the next few weeks

Now, there are two options for this one. Option 1: you speak with an accent you’ve already mastered to the point that it sounds natural, and people are incredibly thrown off by your sudden change in identity. Option 2: you speak exclusively with a very poorly executed accent that makes people wish they had the option to mute you, both digitally and irl. Take your pick and let us know how it goes!

7. Go Skydiving

Because. Why. Not.

Anywho, we hope you’re inspired by at least a few of these and are able to make the last few weeks of this semester just a bit (or a lot) more exciting. Remember to take it easy and give yourself a break, especially after this past year. Good luck with finals everyone! <3