A few weeks ago we passed the mid point of the semester, and now that we are at week 10, we are almost to the final stretch of the year. However enduring 10 weeks of school, has come with its consequences. You may start feeling tired of having to do the six chapters of reading, getting assigned a seven page essay makes you groan, the prosepct of thinking about new classes for fall or summer has your stomach doing nervous back flips, and you wish that you didn’t have to come back from glorious spring break. This is the mid-semester slump, and it will inevitably hit everyone as work starts piling up, and your thinking caps start running low on motivation.
To try and beat these sluggish feelings and procrastination, here are four ways to try and figh the mid-semester slump:
4) Set aside a study break time: Sometimes it can be difficult to sit for three hours and review your lecture notes or go through notecards. To maximize your study time, and make it productive, set aside a five minute break if you start to glaze over the words or start to loose focus. If your feeling stiff, get up and go for a quick walk outside. If your stomach is growling and you have been ignoring your basic need for food because you have been so busy, take this time to go grab a filling snack like yogurt and granola, fruit, or trail mix. Or if you just need a minute to check up on your social media, use your break to scroll through Twitter, or look at Instagram, then put yourt phone away and on silent when the five minutes are up, you so don’t fall down the internet rabbit hole of distractions. You will get a fix of whatever you need, and will be prepared to get back at it.
3) Reward yourself: Once you have finished tackling that essay, or got back an A+ test in your class, reward yourself for your efforts! Hard work pays off often in the form of grades and good standing with professors in college, however, it can also pay off for you. You worked hard to achieve the grade you wanted or to reach your goals, so give youself a pat on the back, and take yourself out for ice cream, go see a movie with friends, have some retail therapy, or catch up on the new science fiction book your reading. Getting to do the things you love outside of school will make you want to do well again, so you can reward yourself again. Incentive, is a good way to stay motivated and give yourself credit for the work you have done. The ultiamte reward? When you have finished all your finals, and summer beckons, allowing you to plan that road trip with your best friend, or go to beach. There is the infamous saying, “everyone is working for the weekend,” but really, everyone is working for that summer vacation!
2) Stay organized: If you make use of the planner you have that is collecting dust in your backpack, or make a to-do list, or a study schedule, your huge mountain of work can become a litte bit easier to climb. These tactics will also help to prevent you from procrastinating because you’ll have set list written down, and once you’ve finished you can do the number three method of reward yourself! And if you have a lot of classes, but little time to study for them all, then making a study schedule can help you organize your time. Spend an hour on each topic, and repeat. Additionally, when you have so many chores and homework assignments to do, it can be helpful to prioritize your to-do list. The most important tasks of finish an essay, or paying your rent can go at the top, and the mior tasks such as dusting your room or emailing back your aunt can go at the end of the list. If you stay organized, then it can be much easier to get through the slump.
1) Get enough sleep: The biggest reason you may be in a slump is because you are not getting enough sleep. Sleep can be easy to forgo, especially if you’re bing watching the new season of House of Cards on Netflix, cramming for a test in the wee hours of the morning, or pulling an all nighter to complete a project. More often then not, we can get in this pattern easily, and it can effect our performance in school, and our ability to focus on studying. Adults need at least seven hours of sleep, so instead of catching up on Frank Underwood’s antics, set a reasonable bed time such as 10:00 or 10:30 and allow yourself to get a good seven hours of shut eye. Having trouble falling asleep, because your brain won’t turn off? Trying counting backwards in a different language, because believe me, that is tiring. Or blink several times a minute, which will actually tire out your eyelids, making you fall asleep faster. Have a glass of warm milk before bed, and whatever you do, try not to drink coffee after 3:00 p.m., cause it the caffeine can keep you up at night. Follow some of thes life hacks, and you may be able to finally get the best nights sleep you have had in a while.