10 Study Snacks That Helped Me Earn 2 Degrees in 7 Months

The 10 Snacks That Helped Me Earn 2 Degrees in 7 Months

When people hear that I earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in seven months at age 60, they usually want to know how I did it.

They ask about acceleration. They ask about the school. They ask how many hours I studied and how I managed to get through so much coursework so quickly.

Nobody asks the truly important question:

What did I eat?

And, believe me, snacks mattered!

When you're spending long stretches at the computer writing papers, studying, taking assessments, and telling yourself, I can finish one more thing before I quit for the night, you quickly discover that your snack strategy deserves almost as much planning as your study strategy.

I wasn't trying to create the world's healthiest study diet. I wasn't counting macros or preparing Instagram-worthy bowls of chia seeds. I simply figured out which foods were easy to grab, satisfying enough to keep me from wandering into the kitchen every twenty minutes, and convenient enough that they didn't interrupt my momentum.

Here are some of the snacks that helped get me through seven very intense months.

1. Chocolate-Covered Walnuts

These became one of my favorites because they gave me the best of both worlds: something sweet and something substantial.

A little chocolate felt like a reward when I'd been staring at coursework forever, while the walnuts made the snack more satisfying than grabbing a handful of candy.

And yes, sometimes "a little chocolate" is exactly what stands between a productive student and dramatically closing the laptop for the evening.

2. Yogurt-Covered Pretzels

Crunchy. Sweet. Easy.

There isn't much preparation involved when the preparation consists of opening a bag, and that was exactly the point.

I could put a few beside my computer and keep working without turning snack time into a 30-minute kitchen expedition.

3. Trail Mix

Trail mix was perfect for those times when I couldn't decide what I wanted.

Sweet? It's in there.

Salty? Got it.

Crunchy? Absolutely.

It was also easy to portion into a small bowl instead of sitting beside me with the entire bag—which, as many of us have learned through rigorous scientific experimentation, is dangerous.

4. Cheese and Crackers

Sometimes I wanted something that felt a little more like actual food.

Cheese and crackers were quick, filling, and required almost no effort. I could make a small plate, bring it back to my desk, and keep going.

During an accelerated degree, convenience matters. Anything that required a recipe wasn't happening in the middle of a study session.

5. Fresh Fruit

Fruit gave me something sweet when I didn't necessarily want dessert.

Grapes were especially convenient because there was no peeling, slicing, cooking, or assembly required. Apples and berries worked well, too.

The easier something was to grab, the more likely I was to choose it.

6. Popcorn

There are nights when you don't necessarily want to eat so much as you want to munch on something while you're working.

Enter popcorn.

It gave me something crunchy that I could eat slowly while reading or working through material. And because one bowl lasted awhile, it was particularly good for longer study sessions.

7. Nuts

When I wanted something simple without much sweetness, plain nuts were an easy choice.

Almonds, cashews, walnuts—whatever happened to be around.

They also passed my most important test for accelerated-degree food: Can I eat this without stopping what I'm doing?

Yes? Approved.

8. Peanut Butter and Crackers

This was another good option when I needed something more substantial than a light snack.

It took only a minute to put together, didn't require cooking, and helped turn "I'm getting hungry" into "Okay, I can finish this assignment."

That became surprisingly important.

9. Something Sweet

I'm deliberately leaving this category broad because sometimes you just want a treat.

A cookie. A little chocolate. Something you genuinely enjoy.

I wasn't interested in making seven months of accelerated education feel like punishment. If I had accomplished something particularly difficult, occasionally having a treat made the experience a little more enjoyable.

10. Whatever Was Fast, Easy, and Already in the House

This may actually have been the most important one.

My snacks didn't need to be perfect. They needed to be available.

One thing I learned during those seven months was how valuable it was to remove unnecessary decisions from my day. I had enough decisions to make about assignments, assessments, deadlines, and what I needed to accomplish next.

I didn't need to spend fifteen minutes deciding what to eat.

The Real Secret Wasn't the Snacks

Obviously, chocolate-covered walnuts didn't earn my degrees for me. If they did, universities would have very different admissions requirements.

But there was a bigger lesson hidden in something as ordinary as what I kept beside my computer.

I made it easier to keep going.

I tried to remove little obstacles that could pull me away from what I was doing. I kept things nearby. I created routines. I figured out what helped me stay focused and what tended to derail me.

Acceleration wasn't about doing everything perfectly.

It was about becoming very intentional with my time.

And sometimes being intentional with your time means making sure you have a bowl of yogurt-covered pretzels within arm's reach.

Thinking About Accelerating Your Own Degree?

Earning two degrees in seven months taught me quite a bit about what matters—and what doesn't—when you're considering an accelerated degree path.

I've put together a free Degree Acceleration Mini Blueprint covering five things I think you should understand before choosing an accelerated degree path.