We’re all familiar with the “mid-semester slump,” a period of time around the height of midterms in which every college student lacks motivation and only wants to binge the newest Netflix original instead of studying. If you’re a freshman, this sudden laziness might come as a complete surprise, but as someone who has been through it before, let me reassure you that it’s completely normal. After pushing your body through the absolute worst with exams, it’s natural for it all to backfire, and it’s not unusual to fall behind on your readings and essays.
I can’t promise you a surefire way to counteract against the slump. After all, people respond to it in different ways. Some start binging a new show (me), some can’t bring themselves to tackle any kind of school work, and some get distracted by their friends. But I can help give you tips on how to fight against the mid-semester slump so that you’re prepared next time around—or maybe I can give you some motivation to keep moving forward.
Reward yourself.
If you’ve finished midterms, then you deserve to give yourself some kind of reward! You made it out of the woods, and regardless of how well you did, you did them. It’s important to give yourself positive reminders about why you push yourself so much and why you want to succeed.
Look up motivational quotes.
I happen to do this a lot. Whenever I feel my worst, I search up some of the most motivational sayings or speeches. It’s incredibly helpful to hear someone come out of the other side of the tunnel and remind you how hard they worked to get themselves there. It doesn’t matter what they do for a living: if they work hard, their ambition can reflect your own, and it’ll inspire you to continue too.
Make an upbeat playlist.
Compile a list of your favorite songs—or a series of songs that manage to lift your spirits, and make sure to listen to it whenever you’re struggling to focus. If you use that playlist solely to brighten your mood, your mind will immediately associate those songs with something positive.
Prioritize your self-care.
Clean your room, take a shower, organize your notebooks and papers, or redo your desk calendar. If you keep a planner, sift through it again and remind yourself that you’ve made it this far. As long as you’re remaining productive in certain aspects of your life, the rest will follow.
Call your parents.
Hear me out: if your parents are anything like mine, then hearing their voices remind you why you are where you are in the first place, and focusing on the conversation for a bit can leave you feeling motivated to crack back down on your work.
Call your friends.
Don’t just call any of your friends! Call your most well-rounded, ambitious, busy friends and chat with them a while about what they’ve been up to. Trust me, leaving a phone conversation with my friends always makes me want to work harder because they tell me all about the extracurriculars they’re doing or how much they’ve been studying, and I feel like I have to keep up (in a good way). It isn’t about finding opponents in a competition, but rather, it’s about understanding their ambitions to better understand your own.
Look up studyblrs on tumblr.
If you aren’t familiar with studyblrs, studyblr is a community on tumblr filled with students! These students spend time taking beautiful notes and posting them on the social media site for all to see, and whenever I look at them, I’m immediately envious that they seem to work harder than I do and take better notes than me. Instantly, I want to recreate my own study habits and note-taking skills, and it definitely reminds me that I’m not alone in my struggles as a student.
These are only a few things you can try to plow through the mid-semester slump. Keep in mind that not everything works the same for everyone, and even this tips can’t help you avoid the inevitable laziness completely. If they could, I wouldn’t be writing this article instead of starting my assignments for this week.
Don’t worry! Everyone has to work through this slump, and it’s completely normal to feel lazier than usual and dejected when nothing seems to be going your way. But remember that there is a way out of the tunnel, and you will get there. Don’t give up now!