Ahhh, mid-October. The leaves are falling, the weather is beautiful, football season's in full swing...and the midterms, group projects, essays, and assignments are starting to pile up. Motivation is slowing decreasing by the day, the snooze button becomes everyone's new best friend, and showing up to class is a challenge.

It seems mid-semester burnout is upon us, and it's certainly contagious. Don't worry though, because this burnout can be prevented. Here are seven tips to prevent mid-semester burnout.

1. Plan to give yourself one more hour of sleep than you think you need.

As the semester goes on, exhaustion and sluggishness from classes, assignments, and probably too much junk food begin to take over your body. You're probably going to need more sleep than you usually get. A simple solution is to plan for an extra hour of sleep, whether that means going to bed earlier or taking a nap during the day. Just one hour is a huge difference.

2. Keep a planner or checklist to organize what needs to get done each week.

By the middle of the semester, keeping track of due dates, work schedules, and to-do lists can get extremely challenging. By using a weekly planner or checklist, you can create a clear picture of what you have to do, and become a more organized person in general.

3. Drink lots of water.

There are so many health benefits of staying hydrated throughout the day, but when it comes to college, simply the increased energy should be incentive to drink a healthy amount of water every day. Many times, people are so busy doing their day to day tasks that they forget that they need fluids to function at their best. Never forget that water bottle.

4. Have a consistent routine for doing homework.

Homework is stressful enough, so you shouldn't add more stress by not knowing when, where, or how you're going to do it each day. Set a time frame, location, and method for getting your homework done every day, and you'll soon be more motivated to do it and finish it.

5. Try to limit partying, especially when the workload gets big.

Lots of people party in college, and that's perfectly okay. However, too many people need to know when to pull it back, and how to drink in moderation. If it's the week before midterms and you're going out on a Wednesday night with a 10 AM the next morning followed by a group project meeting and a few hours at work, then you're probably going to be among the first to experience burnout.

6. Make cool plans for the near and distant future.

It's important to have exciting things to look forward to. If you didn't, finding motivation would be even more complicated. With a cool plan in place to see your friends or go on a cool trip over a weekend, you'll be excited all week and won't feel like your life is stressful and lacks excitement. Even though responsibilities with classes, work, and other involvement can sometimes get overwhelming, life should still be enjoyed.

7. Take a mental health day, just one though.

Sometimes, you just have to bite the bullet and give yourself a day to rest and get reorganized. Good mental health is the key to avoiding burnout, and resting for a day is great. Make sure, however, that it's only one day and you have nothing urgent going on.

Next time you feel yourself on the verge of feeling burnt out, try one or more of these strategies. You have nothing to lose, and life is just easier when things are going smoothly. Keep working hard folks!