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5 Ways to Get Out of a Slump

Kashmira Heaton-Vakharia Student Contributor, Pennsylvania State University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PSU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Diagnosis: Two exams, three hours of readings, two group projects and one essay.

Cure: Do nothing and rot in bed?

Wrong. It can be easy to revert to rotting in bed and procrastinating all of your assignments when you get overwhelmed. But I promise, there is an even better cure.

Here are some ways to recharge that motivation battery and get yourself out of a slump.

Anna Schultz-Girl On Computer Stress
Anna Schultz / Her Campus
Clean your space

Having a clean space means having a clean mind. With so much going on, it can be easy to keep your space a mess. But taking 30 minutes to deep clean your space can make such a difference in your motivation. 

When your room is clean, you might feel less daunted by other tasks on your list and start tackling bigger projects.

Practice Hobbies

Remember that hobby that you ditched to doom scroll? It’s time to revive it and put the phone down. 

It can be so easy to sit in bed and scroll on social media for hours, but picking up a hobby can keep you distracted and get your mind active. 

Exercise

Even when it feels like all you want to do is lay in bed, getting some movement might be exactly what your mind and body need.

Getting some endorphins can jumpstart your motivation, the perfect remedy for a slump.

Journal

When we have going on, our minds can quickly become cluttered with all our thoughts swirling around. There is, however an easy solution: dump them all out.

Writing out some of the thoughts going on in your brain can help bring clarity and peace to the mind. Once your brain is emptied of those anxious thoughts, you can bring your full focus to the tasks that you need to complete.

Make a To-do list

When balancing school, extracurriculars, and a social life, it can feel like you are drowning in tasks to complete. To make everything more manageable, it can be helpful to write out a list of all the things you need to get done. 

Once you finish writing out your list, pick one of the items to complete. Once you are done, you get the satisfaction of crossing it off and remembering you are capable of managing all of your tasks.

School, extracurricular activities, relationships, and life in general are all stressors.

It is completely normal to find yourself in a slump. It is also important to remember to give yourself a break and take the time you need to recoup. 

I hope that these tips can help pull you through your next period of struggle. Good luck!

Kashmira is a Junior at Penn State University studying Psychology with a minor in French. In her free time, she loves reading, watching rom-coms, and running.