By second semester, weekdays seem to become repetitive, boring, and ultimately tiresome. It starts to become difficult to find the motivation to wake up to go to class, and you start to lose the enthusiasm needed just to do your average everyday things. Well, here's a small list of things you can do every weekday that will hopefully make life a little more doable:
1. Give yourself something to look forward to everyday
If you’re like me, this can be satisfied by something as simple as food. Knowing that you have one of your favorite meals waiting back in your dorm room or in one of your favorite cafeterias makes getting through classes so much easier. You can also give yourself a small hobby that you can turn to after a long day. It could be reading, cooking, your favorite sport, or maybe you want to try something new, like whittling (very random, I know, but it honestly looks like it could be a fun time if you did it with the right people).
2. Keep an assortment of stress-relieving items nearby at all times
Keep your favorite prayer book on your desk near your textbooks. Put a little container of bubbles by your bedside. Keep a couple of small bouncy balls in your backpack (I like throwing them against the wall while I recite concepts to myself when studying). Print out coloring pages from your favorite TV show and keep them in a neat stack near your worksheets for class. Keep a hacky sack in your pencil pouch. You could even keep a “for emergencies only” box and fill it up with stuff that will without a doubt help you out on your most stressful days (mine has a few family photos, a letter to myself about a list of goals I want to accomplish and why, a pouch of hot chocolate, some Jolly Rancher Lollipops, my favorite quotes from the bible, a coloring book, a yoyo, and some cash to treat myself to one of my favorite snacks).
3. Take time every night to organize your day
Keeping updated on all that’s due in each of your classes will give you a sense of control and dominance over your academic life. I'm not even telling you to do your homework, I'm just telling you that you should know when it's due. Trust me, it will make you feel like you have your life together even though you might not. You might have failed that chemistry exam, but hey, at least you saw it coming.
4. Make an actual effort to learn something that day
I know that sounds incredibly lame, and I’m so sorry about it (not really, though). Hear me out. If you actually try to pay attention in one of your classes, or even do some research on one of your favorite things to learn about, you’ll feel so much more confident about what you want to do with your life and you'll be reminded that you're in school for a genuine reason. Your purpose in life will feel renewed. Even if you learn about something that has nothing to do with your future, at least you could say that there was a real purpose behind getting out of bed and going to class that day other than “I needed participation points”. When going to class stops getting associated with actually learning, school loses meaning and it becomes incredibly difficult to find the motivation to go to class or even to just put any sort of effort into your day.
5. Bring in the sunshine and keep things fresh
I know you’re accustomed to sitting in the dark with your laptop while sporting your favorite baggy sweatshirt and sweatpants, but I promise that a clean t-shirt and some deodorant will go a long way. Open up the blinds to your window, take a shower, clean your room. It will get you out of your lazy mood and even motivate you to get other stuff done. I speak from an overwhelming amount of experience.
Life isn't so bad when you remind yourself why you should enjoy it and give yourself reasons to look forward to even the most loathsome tasks. If you ever find yourself in that tiresome loop of sleep, school, and work, just know that there are always things you can do to brighten up your day and make it that much more bearable.
