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Freshman Year 101: Surviving the Midterm Doldrums

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at WVWC chapter.

 

I’m not sure about the rest of you, but I’m dragging, and it’s only mid-semester. It seems like we’ve been in school foreveR– and Fall Break is so close, yet so far.

 

But don’t let the midterm doldrums stop your momentum, collegiettes! Here are some tips to help you survive the mid-semester hump (which, let’s face it, lasts until finals).

 

1.  Get organized! When you’re tired and your motivation is flagging, it becomes easy to forget assignments or meetings. Find something to help you stay organized. I use a physical daily planner in conjunction with a dry-erase calendar. The planner helps me keep track of all my assignments, and the calendar allows me to see what events are happening throughout the month. If you prefer to use your phone, you can keep organized using the Notes, Calendar, and/or Reminders apps on iPhone. Google Calendar and Google Keep are both good ways to stay on top of everything that needs to get done.

 

2. Turn assignments in! Oops, you forgot to do that reading journal last night, or you were so focused on studying for your chemistry exam that you just didn’t have time for that biology homework. It’s okay. Take a deep breath, do the assignments anyway, and turn them in, even if it’s for partial credit. Some points are better than no points! A 30% on an assignment is still better than a zero. Points are cumulative, so every point helps boost your grade. When professors see that you have at least tried, they are more likely to give you opportunities to improve your grade. The assignment may be late, but turn it in anyway.

3. When you get burnt out, let yourself recharge. You’ve been running through the semester at top speed, and now you’re just too exhausted to keep going. It’s okay to take a break. Get off campus for a little bit and go down to Sam’s Pizza for a pie or a sub and a Zules. Or take an early afternoon stroll down Main Street to window-shop. Or if you run on caffeine, go to Dough Re Me for some coffee, homemade baked goods, and love from Dasta, the café cat. It’s okay to take a break, but it’s not okay to stop working completely. Give yourself an hour or two to step away from all the things that are draining you, then jump back into the fray and conquer the day. Don’t have an hour or more to spare? Let yourself take mini-breaks. After ‘x’ amount of time dedicated to homework, set a timer for ten minutes and let yourself mindlessly scroll Facebook or check all your snap stories. And when the timer goes off, get back to work!

 

Only two months left, collegiates! We’ve got this!

 

Until next time, HCXO!

 

Image Sources:

http://www.signupgenius.com/cms/images/tsp-136222017-reading-600×400.jpg

 

Jessica Nelson is a sophomore at West Virginia Wesleyan College, majoring in English: Creative Writing. She is also an intern for Inspiration for Writers, Inc., an editing company out of Parkersburg, WV. In the summer of 2015, she studied Children's Literature in London, England for three weeks on a Fulbright scholarship. She would read all day if she could, staying snuggled up on the couch with a cat on her lap. On the rare occasions the Muses bless her with their divine touch, she writes her own fictional stories and poems.