It’s that time of the semester again — temperatures are dropping and so is almost every student’s morale. While Pinterest boards flood with cozy fall crafts and local coffee shops begin serving pumpkin spice lattes, I rarely feel like I can truly enjoy everything that comes with fall. There’s always something in the back of my mind, somewhere I need to be or something I need be doing… I guess that’s just part of being a student. The newness of classes has begun to wear off, and midterm season is in full swing. We’re deep into our material, yet the end is not exactly near. And no matter how much we want a break, we all know that now is not the time to start slacking. Need a little more motivation? Here are my tips for rebooting your inner student:
- Organize all your class materials.
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Maybe you had everything together since the first day of school. Or, maybe you’re more like I am, and still haven’t gotten that folder for the class you added on the last day of the add/drop period. Take some time to dump out all your class materials: throw out or recycle scrap paper and change up your organizational system. Do this with your online notes, also. This is a great way to jumpstart productivity without doing hardcore work. I like to go back and fix typos and print hard copies to have with me. As I was doing this, I ended up spending an extra hour just re-reading my class notes over again — unintended, yes, but ultimately very helpful.
- Re-read your syllabi.
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Think about what made you excited to take your classes: did the name of the course captivate you or have you had the professor before? Looking over the syllabus will allow you to see how much you’ve done so far, but possibly more importantly getting a sense of what is coming up next. Knowing thy enemy is key.
- Schedule, schedule, and then schedule again.
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Along the same lines, rewriting not just your schedule but also all your upcoming exams, papers, and projects will give you a visual of what to expect and help avoid the blindsided effect. I like to highlight important dates in my calendar and rewrite them all on a sheet of paper so that I can check it each week. I also prefer large calendars showing the entire month so that I can see heftier projects’ due dates well before they’re due. Because once you know, you’ll have a sense of urgency to tackle it (as long as you don’t procrastinate!).
- Catch up in one class per day.
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Not that you — cough cough — have been slacking a little lately, but if you happen to have realized that you’re randomly behind in some — or all — of your classes, fix it before the snowball effect happens. Instead of looking at all the classes I could be working on at once, I take one day to fully catch up, do homework, reread notes, make study guides, or work on long-term projects for a specific class. I always feel much more accomplished when I know that I at least have one class down. As it may take a few days to become completely in charge of your classes, make sure to keep up with homework for the classes you’ve already caught up in as you work on others throughout the week.
- Office. Hours.
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Now that you’re all caught up in your classes, now would be the perfect excuse to reach out to your professors (or just one!). Find one question or topic that you have been confused with or simply want to know more about and force yourself to go. I always feel 10 times better leaving office hours than I do, um, not going. I also find that talking directly with my professor motivates me to divulge into the course and the class becomes more personable and less like a syllabus.
- Make Zzzzz’s a class.
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I won’t lecture you on the importance of sleep, because I haven’t had the best habits either. But I’ll just say this: this past week I stayed up way too late one night and almost slept through my psychology class (I made it) and the lecture just happened to have been on the importance of sleep and its impact on the brain. I took this as a sign. There are enough hours in the day to go to class, do your work, enjoy free time, and get some sleep. You will feel better and your school life will seem less tragic and more manageable — read that again. Sometimes I could swear there isn’t enough time, but if you consciously remind yourself of that amazing (and rare) feeling of being well-rested, maybe you’ll become more motivated to hit the hay before your roommate does.
- DO take some time to enjoy the beautiful change of seasons.
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Yes, like sleep, breaks DO help your cognitive functioning. You will actually work better after stepping away from it after awhile. So wear a warm jacket and take a walk with a friend. Admire your campus’s foliage or if you can get off campus, even better. Before we know it, the trees will be bare and we’ll be studying for finals!
However you choose to revive your school routine, try to remember that the student you aspire to be is always within reach. Just finding that side of yourself mid-semester will be half the battle.