Studying is hard. Finding motivation to study is even harder. But there are ways to start off on the right foot and stay there throughout the semester.
MAKE the time. It’s hard–we all know how busy our lives get in a matter of hours. The trick is to make sure you have planned out your semester in accordance with your class schedule, NOT your social life. Put everything in your planner right away. The sooner you get things in there, the less time you have to procrastinate because you know when your readings and assignments are due. Keeping everything on track is a lot easier than trying to find your way back after you’ve derailed.
Prioritize your assignments. It’s easy to want to do a 15-minute assignment that’s only 5 points in one class due in two weeks, rather than studying for that HUGE exam you have TOMORROW… But don’t do that. You know you need to study for the exam, and if you’ve been keeping up with the readings, all you should have to do it review your notes because you know it.
GO TO CLASS! We’ve all had mental health days, and we’ve all skipped a few classes. It’s not a bad thing, and you are an adult and allowed to make your own choices. However, money is going down the drain every time you don’t attend a lecture. Plus, those readings you may or may not have been keeping up with are being discussed and you should at least try to know what’s going on in the course.
Trust that you can do it. Don’t get bogged down in ALL the things you have to do for the week. Take it one day at a time and understand that if you don’t get to cross that last thing off your to-do list today, do it tomorrow and you’ll feel even better because you did more than you had planned.
Pretty soon you do run out of tomorrows. It’s ok to procrastinate a little. But only a little. Eventually all of the tomorrows run out and we only have today. So knock it out when you know you have a few extra minutes (even if it seems like there are negative hours in a day), and you’ll feel so much better.
Take time AWAY from schoolwork. When we tirelessly work and work and work, we forget what fun is. We have to take “me-time” and break up the monotony of it all. It’s good to relax and decompress. Have a cup of tea, do some yoga, take a bubble bath. Whatever it is you need, do that. Have at least an hour a day you can sit and decompress from all that day was or all that is yet to come. I promise it does wonders.
Ask for help. Most campuses have academic tutoring centers, and they’re FREE! Take advantage of that and improve your skills. It’s not frowned upon to have a little guidance in writing a paper or solving a problem. In fact, in real life you SHOULD ask for help. It’s so much better than guessing. In life we may have some of the questions, but not all the answers. And that’s OKAY!
Lastly, BREATHE. It’s hard when we know we have a lot, and we’re trying to juggle a million things at once. Sleep, school, and a social life ARE all possible with success if you BALANCE and BREATHE. You can do whatever you put your mind towards doing. So take a deep breath, smile, and get ready for your best semester yet! It IS attainable, and you have an amazing support system around you if you let others help support you.