Managing: Overview

Overview

Assignment or exam stress has a lot of causes—self-doubt, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, lack of adequate preparation, lack of sleep. Some of these things you can manage in the moment; others you have to relinquish to be able to attend to that moment. Mindfulness practice helps you accept what's here and let go of what's out of your control. In Mindfulness Toolkit part 1, I introduced a PMA (Present Moment Awareness) practice to help you calm your mind and think more clearly. PMA practice will allow you to better prepare for class, but also assignment deadlines and exam pressure. In this section's MASTcast, Dannon and I talk about how dynamic breathing can deliver a calm yet energized state, making you crash-proof for completing assignments and exams and able to recover more effectively when they're over!

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

  1. Explain the primary causes of academic stress, such as procrastination and fear of failure, and how mindfulness techniques can help alleviate these stressors.
  2. Practice mindful dynamic breathing exercises and report on how these practices influence their stress levels and exam performance.
  3. Evaluate the impact of mindfulness practices on their ability to feel safe and manage uncertainty during stressful academic situations.