How to Stay Motivated When the Weather Gets Nice: 5 Spring Study Tips

The snow has melted, the grass is green and you’re finally swapping clunky winter boots for sassy spring sandals. But like it or not, there are still a few weeks left in the semester, which means you can’t kiss the campus library goodbye just yet. Between daydreams about summer travel plans, the internship of a lifetime you’ve just landed or just simpler days spent in the sun, here are a few ways to get yourself motivated and finish the semester strong.  

1. Stay studious in the sun

On those days when beams of sunlight are coming through the blinds and the thought of spending one more minute among stacks of books or in your stuffy dorm room is too much to bear, take it outside! It might sound challenging, but studying can be done outside. The trick is to find something on your massive to-do list that can be checked off while getting your daily dose of Vitamin D.

“I try to find something that can be done outside that’s not on a computer, like reading or sketching,” said Julie Herbert, a senior collegiette™ at the University of Maine.

So when warm weather calls, don’t ignore it — just grab your shades and a textbook to combine cramming with satisfying your spring fever. Leave the laptop behind and you might find yourself actually reading that hefty anthropology textbook instead of checking Facebook every five minutes. And no, that doesn’t count as studying anthropology.

2. Learn your study style

If you’re the type of person who can sit in a silent room for hours on end and get everything on your to-do list checked off, great. But if you need to set up regular study breaks for yourself in order to get through a term paper or the study guide for a final exam, be realistic. Holing up in your apartment with the blinds closed or hiding away in the library while your friends work on their tan might not be the answer.

Instead of fighting your personal study style, work with it. Write down every task that you need to finish within your day or weekend and get started, item by item. Putting everything you need to do down on paper will not only ensure that you don’t forget anything but also will show you exactly what needs to be done. Finish as much as you can in, say, 20-minute blocks of time, and take short breaks in between.

Study break ideas:

• Make a quick call home
• Tidy up your apartment or dorm room (think spring cleaning!)
• Check Facebook (you know you want to)
• Respond to a few e-mails
• Catch up on your favorite web site
• Do some stretches