De-stressing not Distressing

I'm going to ignore my better judgement and just be honest. The best finals stress relief I've experienced is a combination of three things: Exercise (a quick run or yoga), followed by Massive Attack's Inertia Creeps (or Radiohead's Amnesiac) set on repeat, and a steady flow of Yerba Mates. You might prefer a different type of music or hot drink, but the ground work is there. For me, investment is a crucial factor for getting work done. And if I'm enjoying myself--like when I'm listening to ambient music and enjoying a caffeinated drink--then it's much easier for me to be invested in what I'm doing. That way, I don't view the last few weeks of a semester as being so arduous.
I also love to make to-do lists. Nerdy as that may be, it's also quite helpful. I include as many things as possible on the list that I have to do. Not just my assignments, but also a number of menial tasks (like paying bills, cleaning, writing emails or making phone calls.) All of the menial tasks are things that I know I'm going to get accomplished during the course of the day anyway. Nevertheless, I put them on my list. So, when I take two minutes to pay my phone bill online, I have something to check off the to-do list. The same goes for sending an email or cleaning my room. All of a sudden, I haven't spent much time at all. However, activities are getting checked off the list. So it all seems more manageable.