So…you made it. Finals are done. The adrenaline’s fading. You might be feeling exhausted, wired, numb, or just… blank.

That’s normal.

Here are a few things you don’t have to do right now:

  • Be productive
  • Plan your whole future
  • “Catch up” on everything you postponed

Instead, try one of these:

  • Do absolutely nothing for a bit (yes, really)
  • Take a walk without a podcast or a plan
  • Reorganize your OpenLab site if that sounds fun, or don’t touch it at all
  • Text that classmate you actually liked talking to
  • Write something just for you, not for a grade

Recovering from finals isn’t about bouncing back immediately. It’s about making space. Space to feel how you feel, and to remember what it’s like to do things for yourself again.

We’re proud of you. Take your time.

– The OpenLab Team

Photo Credit: “Summer’s almost gone” by Frinn Frode via Flickr under the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.