You would think that by the final class of my second bachelor’s degree, I would have mastered the art of balancing many different priorities: working full-time, being a parent and student. However, when you’re struggling with a difficult technical problem that needs to be solved on a deadline, the stress of that issue can follow you around like a vengeful ghost.

I have run many marathons and always find my “wall” to be earlier than other people’s. In particular, at mile 16, a nagging thought will creep into my head – there are still 10 miles left to go! Nowadays, if I train for a marathon I make a conscious effort to change my mindset at mile 16. I try to break down the final 10 miles into smaller chunks in my mind. I also tell myself to take more walk breaks until I reach mile 20 or some kind of concession that will help me through the remaining miles.

I have a similar tendency when it comes to the middle of the semester. Here are a few techniques I’ve come to use when managing stress in the middle of a class.

Get Enough Sleep

I remember one health professional reminding me that, without sleep, everything else falls apart. When possible, I try to avoid working on intense assignments within an hour of bedtime. When is bedtime? For me, I simply use the Apple health sleep timer to dictate that for me based on my required wake up time. Of course, I’ve learned that there is an ideal wake up time for me (5:30 am) and I always base it on that. My mind is always fresher in the morning, so I would rather skip working at night and solve the issue the following morning. Of course, if you were in the middle of a breakthrough, sometime sleep has to suffer. But no matter what, if I have under six hours of sleep I make up for the following day.

Deep Work Then Break

In the book, A Mind for Numbers, the author argues that the most efficient way to learn difficult topics is to focus intensely and then allow your brain to process the problem in the background. She cites taking a shower or a walk is good ways to get distance from the problem and let your “diffuse“ brain work on it. I can’t count the number of times I worked on a project late into the night only to solve it immediately after waking up the next day.

The Pomodoro technique and other productivity hacks have popularized focus/break practices.

Avoid Unsustainable Responses to Stress

Stress-eating and stress-drinking are familiar enemies for me when classes get difficult. They can provide a temporary measure of joy when it is lacking. However, it’s better to replace these behaviors (which usually make you feel worse) with more sustainable activities that also provide a feeling of well-being. I enjoy booking time at the pool or swimming in the ocean. Instead of staring at a computer screen to solve my problem, staring into the bottom of the pool or into the blackness of the ocean removes distraction and is meditative. Plus, the physical demands force you out of your own stress cycle. Running with friends or getting together with people for lunch to talk about non-school problems can help. A basic activity like cooking dinner with a family member is also therapeutic (depending on the family member of course).

Say it Out Loud

I recently had a problem for one of my projects that manifested into a lingering feeling of stress. I reached back to the days of our first programming classes where the professor talked about the concept of rubber duck programming. For some reason, even articulating your problem in a sentence to someone else (or even an inanimate rubber duck) will often make you realize that you’ve overblown the problem. It will also help you focus on what specific thing you need to research. Writing down the basic problem and then breaking it down into easier to solve sub- problems has been my go to way to dig my way out of stress.

Through endurance training, I also learned the importance of having a mantra. Even if you are against the concept of positive thinking, one phrase or statement that rings true can help you through difficult times. For me, it’s an old standard: “This too shall pass”.