When students return from Winter Break, they arrive on campus revamped, revitalized, and fresh, often riding the highs of New Year’s Resolutions and their desperately needed R&R.
However, for many, these good habits are not long-lasting. A Forbes Health survey found that average New Year’s resolutions tend to cease fully after around 3.74 months, with about 50% of goal-setters failing by this point.
This makes sense. Midterm season has rolled around, and students find themselves overwhelmed, sleep-deprived, and burnt out. Additionally, the enticing shift in warmer weather, holidays like Saint Patrick’s Day that encourage days of tomfoolery, and the promise of Spring Break not far ahead make it easy to push off assignments in favor of lounging on the Main Green or enjoying fun social events with friends. Amid all these variables, it’s no wonder students find staying on track and being productive a daunting, if not impossible task.
Lucky for you, there are some steps you can take to keep your motivation high and procrastination low. Here are some of my tips and tricks for maintaining productivity during these spring months and avoiding the mid-semester slump.
Plan Out Your Days
I like to set time out at the end of every day before I start winding down to plan out the day to come, scheduling out my classes, meetings, homework times, mealtimes, and rest times. As someone who is goal-oriented, I find this practice makes me more likely to accomplish all the things I set out for the day (I love the feeling of crossing off a task or agenda and like to follow out the plans I set for myself). Additionally, I find this practice helps to quiet my mind before bed and keep myself from cycling (an anxious tendency I have). And having a calmer mind helps improve the length and quality of sleep, better setting me up for success and productivity in the morning.
Journal and Affirm First Thing in the AM
Try writing out some affirmations or journal about what you want your day to look like in the morning. When you first wakeup, your brain begins its transition from delta waves to theta waves. Theta waves are are when our brains are most flexible and malleable. Thus, we can take advantage of this state by helping mold our mindsets for the day. Avoiding your screen for the first 30 minutes of waking up and turning to activities like journaling where you are focusing on how you want your day to go can make a huge difference in the outcome! Avoid doomscrolling first thing in the morning and instead write and think about what you are going to accomplish, how you are going to feel, and what your plan is for success.
Keep a Consistent Routine
Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, morning, and evening routine during the week can be such a huge help in keeping your productivity levels stable. Try to set a consistent wake up and sleep time for the week days, and build consistent habits you do each morning.
For example, I start every morning by making my bed, journaling, drinking a coffee, and stretching. I wind down every night before bed by setting out my schedule for the following day, drinking a decaffeinated tea, and spending an hour of screen-free time (reading, meditating, etc) before sleeping. Not only does this allow for some normalcy in the week, having consistent routines helps send cues to our brains that autopilot successful habits.
Schedule Time to “Rot”
If you know me, you know I religiously make time to rot — to spend a little time where I rest my brain and body in the middle of the day to rejuvenate myself later.
Expecting to always feel 100% on top of your game is not only unrealistic, it is also a surefire way to increase your likelihood of burning out and becoming more unproductive. It is important to set out time in your day to rest your mind and body and treat yourself to something fun.
For example, I am an avid power-nap supporter; I schedule a 20-30-minute block in my day to sneak in a little shut-eye. I find this helps me maintain my productivity, motivation, and energy levels throughout the day, and this is backed by research.
If you’re not a napper, find some other restful activity that helps you refresh – maybe that’s watching a show you like for 20 minutes, meditating, or reading for pleasure.
Romanticize the Mundane Tasks
Try to find ways to make completing your tasks fun and something to look forward to! Try bringing your studying to a cute cafe or beautiful library (I’m a huge Fleet Library fan), and have some friends tag along. Making studying a kind of event takes away some of the unpleasantness and dread associated with getting the work done.