5 Ways to Stay Motivated All Semester
A new semester is in full swing! If you’re anything like me, then you’ve managed to stay pretty organized up to this point. However, if you’re anything like me, then you’ll shortly be finding yourself a stressful, unorganized mess.
Homework and exams will start to pile up, work and activity schedules will collide, and of course, your social life will need a little bit of attention for the sake of your sanity. You’re probably going crazy asking yourself how you can make it all work. Stress can often lead to feeling unmotivated and tasks being unfinished. While it may seem impossible, there ARE ways to stay motivated and have the best semester yet.
- ) Get ORGANIZED!
While it may seem redundant to write every detail and assignment down, It WILL help in the long run. Taking it from personal experience, I would always be super organized until a month after the semester started. I would be even more stressed out because I felt like I didn’t know what was going on, when something was due, or how to complete something. Writing assignments and their due dates in a planner, putting class materials in a binder, and frequently checking for class announcements will dramatically ease your stress level. These strategies will help you re-assess what needs to be done and will help you to prioritize everything else you have going on. The hardest part about this strategy is keeping up with it. Once you apply these strategies for a period of time, it will become like second nature, and you’ll be on your way to having a more motivated mindset.
2.) Ask for Help
Sometimes, asking others for help will seem like a harder task to complete than the assignment itself. With this fear, you’re more susceptible to having a “give up” attitude if you’re struggling with the coursework or a particular assignment. One of the best things you can do is simply ask your professor for assistance. Whether it’s after class or during their office hours, 99.9 percent of them (believe it or not) are there to help you. If you feel your professor is unapproachable for some reason, ask a fellow peer in your class or join a study group with other students from the class. Having a better understanding of the material assigned will keep you motivated to continue doing your best in that class. You’ll never be wrong in asking for help to succeed.
3.) Eat a Balanced Diet
The stereotypical diet for a college student consists of four main food groups: pizza, alcohol, ramen and coffee. While it’s all fine and good to indulge on the weekends, you’ll realize how much better you’ll feel after eating a balanced diet. Taking advantage of healthier options from the dining hall, such as the salad bar or wrap station, will open you up to a variety of ways to customize a healthier meal each day. Don’t be afraid to get creative with your meals either; eating the same thing every day will bore you back to your old habits. Sneaking a few things “to go,” such as fruit, nuts, or veggies will provide you will a healthier snack to munch on in between classes later on. After about a week or so of eating a more balanced diet, you’ll be surprised as to how energized and less sluggish you’ll feel.
4.) Meditate or Exercise
As a college student, it can sometimes feel impossible to find time to attend a yoga class or do cardio at the gym. While this may be true for most students, it isn’t impossible. Waking up 10 minutes earlier in the morning to do some breathing or stretching exercises is a start. Meditation and exercise are the best ways to reduce stress and keep you going for the rest of the day. However, if you need to blow off some steam, and your schedule allows time for it, take advantage of your free access to the university gym. If the gym isn’t your ideal setting to relax, do some research about any yoga, meditation, or other exercise classes available around campus. Taking a few minutes from the chaos of the day can help you prioritize tasks, set goals for your day, and help you come up with creative ideas. Those 10–15 extra minutes of your day to meditate and relax will keep your mind at ease and will help your brain put into order what needs to be done first.
5.) Get Some Rest!
Another common college ritual is staying up all night to cram for the next day’s exam, party, or catching up on every episode of “Breaking Bad” because you’re just realizing how amazing of a show it was. While this seems like the most reasonable thing to do at the time, it will all eventually catch up with you. You’ll come to find that you’ll fall asleep in class and miss an entire lecture, or you’ll daydream and still miss everything. This will cause you to get extremely far behind and confused. I promise you that taking a few extra hours of sleep will not kill off your social life or make Netflix disappear. Don’t feel embarrassed if you decline an offer to go out late with your friends so you can study and get extra sleep. If they really are your friends, they WILL understand and will invite you out again. If they don’t understand, don’t even bother with them. Netflix, however, will ALWAYS be there no matter what! Getting some extra rest will help you feel energized, focused, and ready to take on any tasks that wait for you that day.
Finding the motivation when transitioning from summer to a new semester is simple for some, and more difficult for others. Staying motivated for the entire semester is a challenge for everyone. However, making these simple changes and using these tips to help guide you through the rest of the semester can help you look forward to what is to come!
