As the end of the semester approaches, a lot of students feel worn out. Thanksgiving break lulls us into a sense of relaxation and the return to school is a slap to the face. The desire to stay in that Thanksgiving bubble is made more stressful by all the finals, presentations, and papers that are worth so much at the end of the semester. The problem becomes a question of how to stay motivated. There’s not a magic pill you can take or one inspirational quote you can read that will get you there. But here are some of my favorite tips on how to keep going.
1. Get a proper amount of sleep
I know this one is frequently recommended, but the benefits of a good night of sleep are not exaggerated. Aside from strengthening your immune system, improving cognitive function, and bettering your mood, sleep makes it easier for us to do work. It sharpens memory skills (especially important before an exam), facilitates creativity (essential in essay writing), and boosts concentration (which helps with just about everything) (http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/learning-memory ). Plus, people who sleep more are proven to get better grades (http://www.journalsleep.org/ViewAbstract.aspx?pid=27954).
2. Make a list
Procrastinating on one or two assignments often snowballs into a complete avoidance of work. For me, sometimes this can get to the point where I don’t even know what’s due when. The best way to start is by making a list. Be careful of littering your list with superficial goals. I used to put trivial things like “brush teeth” on my list because I liked the feeling of crossing things off. I would feel accomplished, but by the end of the day, the things that I needed to get done, never did. Now, my to-do lists usually only consists of four or five goals that I know I must complete. It keeps my day focused.
3. Exercise
This is another frequently recommended tip, and for good reason. Like sleep, it helps improve mood and memory. For students, it is especially beneficial because it also keeps brain cells healthy and abundant and stimulates the growth of new blood vessels in the brain. This leads to improved concentration, deeper memory retention, and better learning (http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/regular-exercise-changes-brain-improve-memory-thinking-skills-201404097110 ). Overall, exercise helps you get into a more productive headspace. Who hasn’t felt better after a trip to the gym?
4. Set reasonable goals – and time limits
If you’ve been following this list, you may be reaching a point where you realize how much you still have to do. The most dangerous part of this stage is the frantic overcompensation that follows it. Worried about not being able to get anything done, people who have procrastinated often set unrealistic goals for themselves for the next day. When they inevitably don’t succeed at all of these, they feel bad about themselves. The truth is, guilt is only helpful as a lesson so you don’t repeat your mistakes the next time. Learning to work with and through your guilt is what is going to help you right now. So, begin by setting goals for what you will actually be able to accomplish the next day. Account for breaks, meals, and downtime. When you’re setting these goals, try to assign rough estimates for how long they will take. This is particularly helpful when you really don’t want to do something. If you can look at a Spanish assignment and say, “well it is only going to be fifteen minutes of my life” it’s much easier to get started. Also, it keeps your goal-setting accurate. If you have eight hours of free time, don’t set goals that will take longer than eight hours. As my dad would say, “Don’t try to put ten pounds in a five pound bag.”
5. Just do it
It’s very easy to get stuck in a mentality of “I’m stressed, so I need to watch a movie and relax.” While it’s true that if we’re so stressed we can no longer get anything done, we should take a minute to ourselves. Have a cup of tea and breathe. Don’t take more than an hour. Don’t take a day. The stress that we feel is because we haven’t done what we know we should. More anxiety is produced by not doing something than is by doing it. That anxiety is probably the reason why you clicked on this article to begin with – I know it’s why I wrote this. But that feeling will go away once you’ve actually started.
At the end of the day, you decide what your focus will be. If you choose to focus on school and work towards good grades, you just have to start. Do one thing at a time and start with what’s easiest. My brother, for example, will sometimes just begin by opening a Word document and typing in his name. If you’re writing an essay, take every paragraph one sentence at a time. Remind yourself that you can do this.
Good luck!
