How to handle exams and deadlines from an MBA participant

Full-time MBA participant Sebastian shares the tools and techniques that have helped him to stay on top of his mental health throughout his year at Warwick Business School.

What are your top tips for staying on top of your mental health and wellbeing during your MBA?

Staying on top of your mental health can be challenging - especially during intense study or work periods or significant life changes like coming to a new country, leaving family and friends behind.

So, here are some tips I used to work on my mental health and deal with the MBA at the same time:

1. Have someone who you can talk to. This could be a close friend, a relative or a mental health professional. For me, having my wife with me and a psychologist was pivotal. However, creating and strengthening friendships from the MBA cohort was also crucial; after all, you will be spending most of your time with them.
2. Have a tool that can help you organize your duties. For example, a calendar, a personal log or creating routines. Personally, I relied on my phone and tablet calendar. I used “One note” to keep all my notes from my classes in one place and its cloud capabilities allowed me to access from my phone, tablet, or laptop. 

What’s your advice for handling exams and deadlines?

Find your way to be organized. If procrastination is your issue, sitting in a place that helps you to get into a working mind-set helped me significantly. However, something that I have learned in dealing with mental health is that often the “best ways” are very personal, and people must discover their own.

Personally, I aim to have my assignments done one day before the deadline. And start them with enough anticipation to stretch the workload and avoid rushing close to the deadline. Also, I try to send my assignments to other colleagues for them to review before the deadline.

Do you have any advice for anyone who is struggling?

If you find yourself struggling, the best you can do is to find a mental health professional who can guide you back to your balance. Next is to rely on your support network; friends and family are crucial. If you cannot find help, the University provides a platform to help in these situations. However, the best someone can do is to accept mental health is important and take prevention measures. Never be afraid to speak about your mental health!

What support is on offer, as an MBA at Warwick Business School?

The Full-time MBA staff deals amazingly with any issue you may present to them. They have a comprehensive knowledge of how to use all the support that the University provides to students. Additionally, the MBA provides extension schemes that allow MBA students to manage if a personal issue presents.