If you are anything like me, you’re beginning to feel that infamous mid-semester slump that never fails to provoke your deeply stored away laziness. The kind of slump that makes your everyday routine a little harder and a little more exhausting. We are out here in numbers; working hard, but sleeping harder as the semester persists. The first step to recovering from the mid-semester slump is acknowledging ~the slump~. No matter how large or small. So now that we are on our way to getting over the hump and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (or semester), here are a few more tips to get us all the way there.
- Make a daily list of what you want to accomplish
The key here is to take it day by day. Perhaps we all started out the semester a bit more ambitious than we are feeling now–making lists for the week even. Now, in the final stretch, it is the return to baby steps. I keep a bulleted list on the Notes app on my phone of a few tasks (school, non-school and everything in between) that I want to accomplish that day.Don’t underestimate the satisfaction of seeing those boxes checked when you get into bed at the end of the day.
- Reward yourself
Be nice to yourself! School throws many challenges our way and you ought to recognize that and reward yourself for it. Maybe at the end of a busy day you eat from your favorite restaurant, or you do that thing you’ve been meaning to do for a while but just haven’t. I find a reward system to be particularly helpful when I’ve got a lack of stamina. Set mini goals, but don’t forget to set mini (or big!) rewards in between too.
- Pick a new TV show
Pick a show that you will watch throughout the remainder of the semester. Maybe it will be something stimulating and intellectual, or maybe it will be your mindless kick-back show. Mine is currently Love Island Australia (because I finished U.K.) season 2. You can decide which show category that falls into…
- Switch up something in your routine…or all of it
Things get old! Switch up your walking route, your workout routine, your daily breakfast. Get into new fads, ditch the old ones. I recently put LED strip lights in my bedroom and it has revolutionized and transformed my nightly ambiance. It’s that easy.
- Look forward (and back)
We’re almost there. But also recognize what it took to get here. Take a moment to pause and put yourself back in all those challenging moments and acknowledge that they’re now in the past. After doing so, welcome the future in. And without even realizing, you’re over the slump and on your way!