This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at KCL chapter.
Five steps to get yourself out of that rut, sit down, and master self-discipline:
A couple of weeks into starting university, I caught freshers flu and was bedridden, watching everything from online lectures to American Horror Story from bed. Despite recovering, I remained lazy and behind on assignments. So here’s your guide to get back to your usual self this November:
- Self-care. Buy an overrated, expensive Halloween bat bath bomb that stains your tub yet makes you feel rejuvenated and clean. Paint your nails dark purple or deep red. Light a candle and watch it flicker while you study. Start romanticising your life, as cringe as it might be! Enjoy yourself but understand your priorities too!
- Master your autumn outfits, dress like a hot witch daily. Wear big jumpers and little mini skirts, or whatever you feel comfortable in. Studies show that what you wear has great effect on your productivity, so maybe it’s time to get out of those PJ’s! “To pick the most productive clothes to wear, decide on what will make you the most productive: being more confident, or being more relaxed. Then wear clothes that make you feel that way,” says Chris Bailey (alifeofproductivity.com) in his social experiment.
- Sit down and do the work, there’s no time like the present. Despite saying to romanticise your life, there isn’t a special given time to study, sit down grasp your Apple Pencil and scribble till you need to stop! Here’s a tip: Force yourself just another 5 minutes like you would do while watching ‘You’ at three in the morning, chances are you will forget all distractions and end up doing more work.
- Get out, socialise. Push yourself to go to those lectures and tutorials, but don’t feel guilty if you don’t, you’re at your own pace. Go and grab a coffee on the way, ask how your barrister is, or even Uber Eats an excessively priced Costa just to see your delivery driver. This is a way to get over social anxiety.
- Read, educate yourself, realise you’re probably in a much better place than others, especially if you’re buying fancy bath-bombs. But these little rewards go a long way and so does reading, escape into another world or read your endless lecture notes.