With my first year of university nearing its end, I’m finding the motivation to finish my final work extra hard, and I bet a lot of you are too. Whether you’re in your first year or your last, burnout hits us all and it can be really hard to get out of that. I feel lucky as an International Education Studies student that my education courses don’t have any midterms or exams. Unfortunately, on the other side of this program is Global Studies–which always comes with final papers and exams.
Academic burnout is a huge hurdle; dealing with finishing assignments while the weather gets warmer, but also having cold, windy days where you don’t want to get out of bed. How do you get around this? Personally, I’ve been trying to really enjoy the sunny days and force breaks into my schedule so that I can get outside and give my mind a break. While this isn’t necessarily great for my bank account, I do love adding in a sweet treat or drink to my outings to reward myself for doing the work.
Now, finding actual motivation doesn’t just come from the fun stuff. To be honest, to-do lists and my calendar have recently been my lifeline. It not only makes me extremely organized but the satisfaction I get from crossing off a task or checking it off digitally makes me feel so fulfilled. I’ve recently learned how to add widgets onto my MacBook background and the reminders widget allows you to make lists so easily. What’s cool about this feature is after checking it off you get to watch it simply disappear and no longer be something on your mind and watch the total task number go down each time. While I love the digital features because it’s super accessible from both my laptop and phone, the element of paper and pen is a feeling like no other. I have lists upon lists in all of my notebooks categorized for different parts of my life and it makes it super easy to compartmentalize and stay organized with everything going on in my head.
Lastly, this was recommended by my friend to add, but study groups! Whether you venture out to a coffee shop or the library or maybe explore campus and find a new space you don’t normally work in, getting out of your room and with other people can be so helpful. Working in group settings can be tricky sometimes though, as you might end up just chatting the whole time. Recently my friends and I have been setting ourselves timers where we can’t talk and have to keep working for 10 or 20 minutes and then get a five-minute break to relax. It’s easy and gets the job done and gets you into the mindset of being productive.
I hope this helps motivate you during this tougher time of school and I’m wishing you the best of luck in exam season!