As a freshman in college I am still getting used to living on my own. Being away from my family and friends was a huge adjustment for me, and I wasn’t prepared to start from scratch. I didn’t even know the “midterm slump” existed until I found myself in the the first few months of school already feeling burnt out. Here are the top five ways I was able to overcome my first midterm slump.
1. Self Care
It’s something so simple and basic, but it truly helped me so much. Going into midterms I began to slow down on things like skin care, hair care, showers before bed to relax, and anything similar to those. I felt myself losing confidence and motivation. After getting into the mindset that these were all hobbies and self love, they felt less like chores. Gaining my confidence back helped me get just a little extra energy to make it through the day.
2. CLEaning my space
I have never been very good at keeping my space clean. After moving into college and learning to share a room, I realized I had so much stuff and the dorm was getting cluttered so easily. Walking into the dorm at the end of a long day and seeing my clothes on the floor, makeup and papers on my desk, and dishes that needed to be washed, made me feel so overwhelmed. The thought of trying to start any of these tasks was enough for me to shut down. I decided to start with small tasks first; taking out the trash, putting dirty clothes away, anything that could take a maximum of one minute. After I get that done I check it off and move onto a slightly bigger task … cleaning my desk. Breaking things down into individual items makes it seem easier to manage. Instead of telling myself “I need to clean my whole dorm,” I tell myself, “Right now, I need to take out the trash. In two minutes I can pick up my dirty clothes.” Once I am finished cleaning, I feel so much better sitting at my desk to do homework or laying in bed without throwing clothes on the floor.
3. Checklists And Planners
This relates into the last point but I love, love, love checklists and planners. There are pros and cons so these may work very well for some people and not well for others. Personally, I like being able to see everything listed out that needs to be done. Cleaning, homework, laundry, shower, anything and everything. I love looking at my list as I check things off. It lets me know I got done as much as I could during the day. The downside to these is looking and seeing what you did not get done. I used to feel bad when I would see any boxes that aren’t checked off. This is one downside of lists and planners, not everything goes the way you wanted it to. It is hard at first, but over time I realized that it was better for me to focus on what I did get done, not what I have left to do. Keeping these lists and planners helps me find the time to get everything done for school and for myself.
4. Connecting With My Family
Connecting with my family is very important for me. I have always been close with my family so moving a couple hours away to college was a really big deal for me. I miss my family, and I know they miss me. Texting and calling is really all that we can manage for right now, but we make the best of it. Maintaining these connections is something I am still working on. There’s a learning curve with remembering to text my mom, dad or sister to check in on them. Knowing I have my sister looking up to me helps to keep me in line. I want my sister and cousins to see how great of an experience college can be.
5. Leaving My Dorm
Finding time and motivation to leave my dorm was one of the biggest struggles for me. I had to force myself out of bed to face school and work for another day. Any free time I had was spent laying down and scrolling endlessly while feeling sorry for myself. I was so tired, all I wanted to do was eat, sleep and see my boyfriend. I thought if I tried hard enough to manifest it, my homework would all magically be done. That never happened. Getting out of my room and into the world helped get my mind going. I would see people outside smiling and having fun or being productive and studying. I realized how sad I had become just laying in my own room and worrying instead of getting out of bed and doing the things I had to do. Finding the motivation to leave my room ended with me finding the motivation to get things done.