School is killing me right now! It’s difficult to maintain a positive mental state during the hardest part of the semester. This is especially true for me because I am taking the hardest coursework of my major right now, so I’ve really had to work to stay motivated in this last year of my college experience. I know it’s probably really hard for a lot of you in this last stretch of the semester too, so I thought I would share my tips for keeping ahead of assignments and not getting too drained!
Tell yourself nice things.
Sometimes we’re really hard on ourselves! We need to take a step back and look at the good things too.
Some nice things I tell myself about my schoolwork are:
These are the hardest classes I’ve ever taken, and it’s okay if I’m struggling. I will only have these classes for a few more weeks and then I get a break. This situation is temporary. I won’t be in college forever, and in a few months, I’m going to have a lot more control over my life and my schedule. (It might be a few years for some of you, but just remember, it’s still temporary, even if your finish line is further away.)
Tell yourself the work you are doing is meaningful! Find examples of things you’re learning in your classes that will help towards your future, or that what you’re doing in your workplace is needed and important, even if it doesn’t seem to be true. If you believe your work is meaningful, it will be much easier to motivate yourself. There is always something meaningful to find!
Take the due dates one at a time.
This is so simple and obvious but helps so much. I used to be a big procrastinator, but that is just something I can no longer afford, or I would probably be a big ball of stress and end up missing a lot of assignments.
One way I manage due dates is that I not only write down the due dates but also plan when I will do them. This helps me because sometimes there can be a bunch of things due in the same week or on the same day, but I can plan to work ahead for some things.
Do things in small chunks.
Sometimes it’s nice to just get a whole assignment over with at once, but if you can plan ahead to do some small parts of the assignment before you sit down to do the whole thing, it makes sitting down to do the whole thing a lot easier if you already know what you’re going to do. They say the hardest part about doing something is starting, so I like to start it and then come back to it later. That way, I get the hardest part over with when I’m under less pressure. Like I mentioned above, planning out when you’re going to get stuff done takes so much stress off me.
Take a lot of time for yourself.
This has been tremendous for me. Learning to say no has been a game-changer. I have to say no to a lot of things and people because I simply don’t have the energy. I can’t let myself go to every event or every hangout that I would like to because that would be so draining for me.
I understand if you’re extroverted this really doesn’t sound appealing, but I think everyone can benefit from taking time for themselves. I like to take my cat on walks in the park by myself to reflect on my blessings and watch my cat try to eat garbage. It’s very meditative. Don’t worry—I don’t actually let her eat garbage or dead rats or bird poop or whatever she finds interesting at the park.
If I need people time, I might hang out with one other friend that I have a very uncomplicated relationship with for an hour or two. I actually am extroverted, so this way I can get people time without being in a large group setting.
After school and work obligations are done, make sure to put yourself first (not in a selfish way, just in a self-care I need space kind of way). Make some paintings of things you like. Buy a nice latte if you can afford it. I highly recommend taking walks in the park just to give yourself space to breathe and let yourself think of other things besides school or work. Prioritize doing things that make you happy!
See a therapist.
I know that they sadly don’t have enough Florida State University therapists for everyone, and not everyone has insurance or can afford the copay. But if you do have the opportunity, definitely take it! My therapist has given me great advice on how to manage stress. For example, I still do procrastinate sometimes if a certain assignment is making me anxious because I feel like I can’t do it or I will get a bad grade, but my therapist told me to step back and look at the facts. The truth is that I can try to do it, and the professor hasn’t even seen it yet, so I can’t say that I will do badly on it because that is simply not the truth.
She told me to replace “I can’t” with “I can try” because the reality is that it is possible that I can do whatever I’m telling myself I can’t do. This is just one of the cognitive distortions that can come out of stress, and why acknowledging those cognitive distortions and telling yourself the facts is so important.
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