Struggle is inevitable. From finding motivation to start your homework to remembering to call our parents, college has a special way of making our to-do list seem impossible. Our problems overwhelm us until we reach that “out of control” point. You know the moment, where you’re sitting at your desk at 11 p.m. on a Sunday and you realize you didn’t accomplish anything over the weekend. You can’t decide whether to sleep now or stay up working until three and silently curse yourself for being unproductive. The danger zone of procrastination and distracted behavior is familiar to everyone at some point whether they admit it or not.
First, we must realize that it is natural to reach this point in a semester. Finding the perfect balance between every area in our lives requires an adjustment period. Distraction in one area may mean that you are putting in too much effort somewhere else in your life. If you’re struggling with school work that may mean you’re making more of an effort to be social, or vice versa. We must first recognize what areas we are neglecting, then begin to tip the scale back toward an equilibrium. This starts with working on the things that have been intentionally swept under the rug. Once you face these responsibilities head on, everything else will fall into place.
Second, we must recognize small victories. It’s one thing to sit in front of your computer, but it’s another to actually start your work. Even the act of writing something in your planner is something to feel proud of. The more you start to take note of your productive behavior the more you will realize how positive the outcome can be. Regaining control is all about breaking down the things that aren’t working in your life and rebuilding. It can start with something as small as getting out a notebook and choosing to simply start your work.
Control is all about choices. The first step to building the more productive version of yourself is the basic desire to start. If you feel like deadlines are flying by and you can’t seem to catch up, remember that you are in control of your life. All it takes sometimes is one night of uninterrupted work to get back into the groove. Never treat anything as impossible and never give anything the right to own your life and your happiness. By magnifying our responsibilities, we turn something easy into something daunting for no reason. All you need to do is follow a flicker of motivation to set you back on the path to success.