At the beginning of the semester, we are so confident that this will be our best semester yet! After a long break we are feeling refreshed and eager to do our very best in school…But it doesn’t take long for that momentum to burn out once the semester officially starts and the assignments begin rolling in. Trying to keep your grades up can take a toll on your mental health, but the key to thriving in school and being happy is finding a balance. Here are some tips for how to stay motivated without compromising your mental health!
- Schedule Homework Time
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Having a routine is a great way to make sure you are getting things done on a daily basis. Your homework has to get done so why not make it a part of your routine? Dedicate yourself to at least 1-2 hours of homework per day (yes that includes weekends!).This way, you can at least get one assignment done per day, and you’ll be able to work on long term assignments in small, less intimidating pieces.
- Get Out of Bed in the Morning
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If you’re like me, the temptation to lay in bed and scroll for hours or watch Netflix is what you want to do in the morning. Laying in bed in the morning is time consuming! Before you know it, the morning has escaped you and now you’re left with only the afternoon to take care of your responsibilities. Or worse-you take an extra 15 minutes after your alarm goes off to contemplate why you even need a degree more than sleep. Either way, you’re awake! So motivate yourself to get out of bed and start the day. Take advantage of the time that you have to get work done, exercise, or just make breakfast. Oh, and make your bed. If you make your bed in the morning, you’re less likely to be in and out of it throughout the day! Plus you’ll sleep better at night if you come home to a made bed!
- Limit Your Screen Time
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If procrastination is a supervillain, then social media is its cowardly sidekick. Whenever I really don’t want to do something, I find myself scrolling through my instagram feed. I can do this for several hours and realize that was time I should have been doing homework, studying, or reading for fun! Anything is more productive than scrolling through celebrity vacation photoshoots (I promise). I have made a rule that I do not scroll on social media before 10 a.m. or after 10 p.m. In addition to that, I set my phone to go on Do Not Disturb automatically at 10 p.m. and it turns back on at 9 a.m. Limiting your screen time will help you be more productive, enjoy your downtime, and keep your mind clear.
- Don’t Let School Stress Take Over Your Life
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While it is important to keep up with your studies, it is okay to turn school on “Do Not Disturb” too. Set aside time to relax everyday. Don’t do your homework all night! If you committed to your 1-2 hours a day, don’t work yourself to the point of exhaustion.You are just robbing yourself of sleep and that is bound to show up in other areas of your life- including your grades. Don’t hit the books too hard or they will start hitting you back! Remember that everything in life is about balance, and you shouldn’t feel guilty for needing to take a break.
- Remeber You Deserve to Have Fun!
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When you have a lot of work to do, it can be difficult to convince yourself that you deserve a night out. All of the time that you are on the dance floor, catching a movie with a friend, or even getting a bite to eat can feel like a waste of time. Remember that having fun and doing things for pleasure are absolutely not a waste of time! That break is a mini summer vacation that you needed to propel you to the finish line-to rebuild your momentum. Working all of the time just leads to feeling stressed, unhappy, unmotivated and burnt out. If you are stressed all the time that can also lead to things like depression; and feeling miserable can definitely lead to things like class assignments or test scores slipping through the cracks.
It’s difficult to build a routine. Sometimes, scrolling through social media is a bad habit that it feels like you cannot overcome. Just like studying, building strong academic and personal habits take practice. It is okay if you slip up one day. You can start again the next day. You deserve the effort and so does your future!