Sarah Rubenstein-Gills and Andrea Gerding came to talk about mindfulness and stress, and how we can incorporate different activities into our lives to deal with stress. They discussed the importance of taking breaks and “chunking” your work. The method of chunking is when you break your work into portions that you can complete in a certain amount of time or a portion that consists of small amounts of work. This helps you to focus on the one task at hand and better manage your time. I personally have developed a method that works for me that draws on these principles. I make a list of five things that need to get done each day. After one is complete, I cross it off. This helps me to realize that I am getting things done and being productive. They also discussed the idea of a break being an actual break, an intentional break. Instead of doing something where you would still be thinking about work, they recommend something else where you can be present and in the moment. For me, I like to use coloring as a break. It is a great way to relax, but it is also an easy task to focus on.

Another suggestion that they made was to have a pre-work routine to tell your brain to get ready to do homework. This could include clearing your desk off except for the piece of work you are going to be doing, making tea or anything else you would do before any time you start homework. This sets our brain in the pattern of knowing when it is time to focus. They ended their talk with a brief five minute mindfulness/meditation exercise. I always find meditation difficult because I get lost in my thoughts but this was a nice way to end a stressful day.