De-Stress Fest 2017

Posted on December 13, 2017 by Zander Miller

Dogged by a high-stakes final exam?

Donut know what to do to prepare for an essay test?

Tasked with a term paper and still wondering: “Button what should I write?”

Mitigate your distress and de-stress at the UGL’s Destress Fest! This Thursday, December 14th from 12p.m. to 11p.m. the Undergraduate Library is providing resources to help you relax amidst the calamity of finals week.

Highlights

Therapy dogs are back! They don’t judge, guilt, or grade you–PLUS they have fur and love to be petted.

Library staff will be running campaigns for the fantasy role-playing game, Pathfinder. Stomp out some goblins, cast a few spells, maybe even take a stab at fighting the fearsome Gelatinous Cube.

Come use the UGL’s new button maker! Bring in a favorite photo, inspirational saying, or other (paper) totem of good luck and punch out something you can wear around as you study and destress.

Here is the full list of events

12 to 2p.m. and 6 to 8p.m. Paper Hats, and Origami workshop in the New Books area

12 to 2p.m. Consultants from the Writers Workshop will be at the front of the Upper Level to offer tips and tricks on those daunting final papers

1:45 to 3:45p.m. Therapy dogs will visit the Upper Level!

2 to 4p.m. Stress Management Peers will be at the Front Table to talk about dealing with finals pressure

3 to 5p.m. and 7 to 9p.m. Button making in the New Books Area of the Upper Level.

4 to 6p.m. Representatives from the counseling center’s Integrative Health and Wellness Team at the Front Table on the Upper Level

4 to 11p.m. Writers Workshop Midnight Madness drop-in hours

4 to 5p.m. Breathe, Relax, Focus at the Writers Workshop conference room

6 to 8p.m. Pathfinder Campaigns in dungeon-ized Group Room 11

At 8p.m. there is a a surprise that will make its way around the UGL!

9 to 11p.m. Research and Writing drop-in hours with librarians in the Consultation Corner (back of Upper Level, by the Writers Workshop)

We’ll see you there.

Preparing for the Finals Week Saga

Posted on December 12, 2013 by QLB

Hey fellow UGLers. Finals are here and we’re all scrambling to get everything done at the last minute. Some of you may feel completely prepared, but some are still procrastinating. If you have hours of work to do and need a place to hunker down and do it, you’re in luck: the UGL is staying open 24 hours through finals week. This means that we won’t close all weekend – you can stay as long as you need (the media enclosure will close at midnight Friday and Saturday, though, so grab your study break movies before then).

If the amount of work you have left to do feels overwhelming, have no fear: the UGL is also here to offer some study tips and ways to de-stress while you make it through. After all, you want to be in good shape to kick butt down to the last final.

image of dorm room with belongings scattered all over desk and floor

Finals can sometimes make us a little disorganized. Photo Courtesy of Sterling Coffey via Flickr

1. First things first, make a list of all your projects, when they are due, and what exams you have to prepare for. It’s best to have all the tasks you must do in front of you. This way, you can prioritize which assignments and which projects are the most important.

Be sure to organize your assignments by making a list! Photo courtesy of Hey Paul Studios via Flickr

2. Once you have all the due dates figured out, write them down in a calendar and be sure to write reminders to yourself. Prefer a paper-less reminder? Make a task list or set reminders in your phone. A good way to deal with the stress of many projects is divide them up and work on them in increments of time.

image of weekly planner with events satisfyingly checked off

Using a calendar to keep track of everything is the way to go! Photo courtesy of Jenni Konrad via Flickr

3. Choose your study space. Some people like to study at libraries, others at coffee shops, and some in the comfort of their own apartment. Wherever you choose to study, make sure it’s good for you and your needs. The University of Illinois has many libraries around campus with a variety of study spaces – find out which one suits your needs best and when each library is open!

There are many great places to study on campus!

4. If you need help with something, ask for it! Professors, teaching assistants, and even librarians are here to help you, so don’t hesitate to reach out if you feel like you’re struggling.

Librarians help students during office hours, too.

If you have any questions or need help, look up your professor’s office hours

5. If you feel anxious, calm down! This can sometimes be easier said than done, but there are a couple of healthy methods to keep your stress low.

Exercise! Go for a run or go to one of the two exercise complexes on campus. For information about their hours, see their website.
Go to the library and check out a book or a good movie! The UGL has a great selection of movies and they are free to rent! Res Hall libraries also have great movie collections. Look up books or movies in our catalog.
If there is a hobby that you enjoy, take a quick study break and do that activity!
You can also de-stress with help from some fuzzy friends: the UGL and Grainger will be having therapy dogs the weeks of finals. Get the details on those delightful dogs and drop by if you can.

For more study tips and ways of de-stressing, be sure to check out our Pinterest board! Good luck with finals, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

Stress Busters

Posted on November 26, 2012 by RAL

Fall break is over and semester crunch time is here. With only a little more than two weeks until finals, we know things can get pretty crazy-stressful. Here at the UGL, we hope to help make the weeks leading up to finals as stress-free as possible.

The UGL will be extending hours during finals (more details to come—watch this space) and reminds you that we have group study rooms on the upper level, private reading rooms and editing rooms on the lower level, a ton of loanable tech items to help with final projects, and helpful librarians who can point you in the right direction when you’re looking for sources and articles for your end-of-semester research papers. But we know that’s not always enough to keep the stress levels down. McKinley Health Center has links to pamphlets on how to handle different types of stress; Campus Recreation has plenty of activities to help blow off some steam; and many of the residence halls host stress-relief events leading up to finals, so make sure you check the University Housing schedule, too.

Finally, If you start to feel overwhelmed, check out a few of these books full of stress-busting tips, available in the UGL:

The Superstress Solution
By Roberta Lee