If you’re anything like me, your For You Page is filled with the advice of influencers that promise following these ‘simple steps’ will energize you enough to live to your full academic potential. These videos often consist of how waking up at 5:00 AM has helped max their productivity for the day, or how working out in the morning vs night makes your body feel more awake, or how studying until you drop is the only way to succeed – and I am sure some of these habit changes do have a positive impact (if you actually commit to them). My problem with these videos isn’t within the influence of themselves; my problem arises from my lack of self-accountability and discipline.
If I’m tired before finishing my work, I go to sleep; If I’m not at my step goal for the day, I still take the elevator. Sometimes I forget to take my vitamins – and the world doesn’t end. In this article, I’ll explain some habits I have consistently implemented and how they have helped me.
Make a schedule
When I say make a schedule, I mean set aside (realistic) academic goals for the day. My problem when I started this was that my ‘realistic’ goals included 10+ chapters of reading and notes, as well as a random lab report per day. Believe it or not, that was incredibly unrealistic. Not being able to cross these goals from my to-do list was very mentally unsatisfying, and for a long time I struggled with realizing what I was able to do in 24 hours a day. Now that I understand my academic capacity, it has allowed me to make realistic goals for myself, and I feel AMAZING after crossing them all off. Every Sunday night, I block off about 30 minutes to make my weekly goals. I include all my assignments due for the week, as well as block out ample time to study for any exams or quizzes I have that upcoming week. Getting a grasp of what is coming allows me to mentally prepare myself for any events or assignments I have to do. I found that this helps calm anxiety I have about missing assignments or not being prepared enough for exams.
Move your body
This one was challenging for me. My campus is HUGE, but very walkable, and I often had a hard time motivating myself to walk, rather than taking the bus. It irritated me because I would get to class and feel sweaty and disgusting. I realized I felt that way because I would give myself 10 minutes to make a 15-minute walk. Not giving myself enough time made me speed walk everywhere I went, and I always felt rushed. I started giving myself more time, allowing me to really appreciate where I am and how beautiful my campus truly is. I let these walks clear my mind, which not only maximized my concentration in class, but also helped increasingly with my mental health. I definitely don’t do intense cardio every single day, but the movement I have implemented has helped tremendously.
Don’t seclude yourself
One thing about me is that I love to talk (a lot). I’ve noticed that if I have too much quiet time, or too many quiet days in a row, I get really down about myself. This feeling makes me feel unmotivated and sad overall. I notice I usually feel that way during exam weeks – I spend so much time with my face in my notes that I don’t remember what is good for me. It is a bad snowball effect that, unfortunately, impacts my academics negatively. My advice is to TALK. It is okay to talk or sing to yourself. Quiet time is good for the soul, don’t get me wrong, but consistently being surrounded by no noise has only ever gone poorly for me, so I make it a priority to add time to be surrounded by noise.
Affirmations
I know these are all cliché, but if you take away anything from this list, PLEASE be affirmations! I’ve started doing daily affirmations and it has truly lifted my confidence to a completely different level. Even when I start to pick myself apart (as so many of us do), the bad feeling never lasts long because I know who I am and what I am capable of. I tell myself my worth every single morning when I wake up and right before bed. I start and end my days feeling great about myself, and I truly believe that it has helped me academically. I know I belong where I am, and I know that I can do hard things. I can learn this hard topic, and I can do it without breaking down over it. It is so important for us girls to remember that we belong everywhere. We belong in male-dominated fields; we belong where society says we don’t. Don’t EVER let anyone tell you your worth is lower than it is – and my affirmations have helped me realize that. My last piece of advice is that exams are NOT a quantitative value of your self-worth – do not let a bad exam destroy how highly you see yourself. Elle Woods and Princess Tiana both failed before they succeeded.