How to Survive Summative Season

Many of us are currently drowning in what is correctly known as ‘summative hell’. Although this term’s round will only be a fraction of the terror compared to next term’s, The Tab’s here with some quick tips to help you keep your heads above the water:


No Napping

We feel your pain – we’ve all experienced the crushing sensation where all you want is to collapse onto a giant pillow mountain and close your eyes. But trust us, if you push yourself past the crushing stage, it WILL go away and you WILL be fine. Unless you can genuinely go for a nap and promise yourself that you will get up after 20 minutes, just don’t go there.  You won’t feel any better for it and it’ll mess up your sleeping patterns. RESIST.

Become best friends with your laptop

Many of you may already be best friends with your laptop – I know I’m pretty friendly with mine. If so, excellent; this is your chance to build on your relationship, spending quality time together whilst you ferret away at academic articles and your slowly lengthening word count. [DISCLAIMER: apparently excessive use of Facebook is detrimental to student-laptop relationships].

It’s love

Move to the Library

Do it. There are snacks available, books, and you’re surrounded by other studious people to make you feel guilty for not working. More importantly, there’s not a napping facility in sight.

The home you never had

Focus on the light at the end of the tunnel

LOOK! It’s there! You can see it…it’s reaching out to you! There IS an end and it’s pretty close. If your deadlines are midweek, you have Christmas formals and a couple of guilt-free Durham nights out to look forward to. If your deadlines are at the end of term, then you have Christmas at home and/or Palatinalps to look forward to. Either way, just remember things won’t be this bleak for much longer!

These chaps had essays once too