With dead week here, we should all be studying. But the likelihood that that is what we will be doing every moment of the next week is very slim, and thus, UC Berkeley students will be looking for some other activities to fill dead week with. And while that will most likely entail watching television and scrolling through the UC Berkeley meme page for memes about dying during finals week, there are some more active and creative things that students can do when they aren’t studying. So without further ado, here’s a guide to creative distractions for dead week!

Try watercolor painting

It doesn’t take an artistic genius to be able to understand the joys of painting with watercolors. Dip your thin paint brush in a $10 packet of watercolors, flush thin brushstrokes across the canvas paper and unleash the satisfaction that comes with watching the transparent colors burst into one another. Try dropping a blob of color into the middle of the paper and blowing on it through a straw, watching the paint branch out like cherry blossom leaves.

Watch a documentary

Though this is technically a form of vegging out, it’s a way more active way to relax and watch a movie. Watch a documentary on something you’ve never heard of or even something related to a class you should be studying for. You’ll feel like you’re learning something new while still getting the chance to kick back, curl up and take a second for yourself in the midst of a lot of stress.

Collage

Collaging is a good way to subtly get out some of your rage at this semester. If you are feeling like tearing stuff up, tear up a magazine or a picture book. You can organize your scraps by color or by image, or you can rip random pieces apart. You can put all these little pictures together and create an abstract and eccentric mosaic of color that’s perfectly emblematic of the chaotic nature of this semester.

Make a playlist

For all the studying you will be doing, you’ll need some good tracks to go along with it. Create a serene playlist of your favorite low-key beats and string it together on Spotify or iTunes. With this playlist at the helm of your study sessions, your daily drone of reading through old notes and skimming over scholarly articles will be glitzed up by your favorite tunes.

Bake

Let’s not pretend like we all won’t be stress-eating this week. Baking is the perfect excuse to eat a ton of sweets. Relieve your stress by kneading dough and drizzling sugar onto cupcakes while filling your home with the delicious smell of baked goods that will last for days. And at the end of it all, you get to binge-eat your hard work!

Make thank-you cards

A great way to pass your time is to make thank-you cards for the people who have helped and supported you through the semester. Take this week to express your gratitude to those who have gone to get coffee with you, helped you through hard times and been there to study with you. In all the stress of this week, it will feel nice to reflect on all the good times you’ve had this semester with all of the people you love.