Ace fall semester with these motivation hacks
As the upcoming semester approaches and another long summer comes to an end, students find themselves in two camps: either dreading September or overjoyed to be back on campus again. If you're a member of the former club, these next few weeks may feel especially hard to get through for a number of reasons.
One of them is burnout — it's easy to assume that it goes away once the previous semester ends, but sometimes, it lingers and it takes a lot more to work through. This can feel daunting, but there are tangible ways to get out of a slump and start the semester off strong.
Prioritize your mental health
This is easier said than done, but it's a crucial step in ensuring that you're in the right headspace to perform well in school and feel good overall. When you're not taking care of your mental health, it's easy to fall back into bad habits or make irrational decisions that don't correlate with who you are or where you want to be.
You know yourself better than anyone. If you're struggling and need to seek affordable help, Rutgers Counseling Services is a great place to start. They have a variety of options best suited to your needs and readily available at your service.
Prioritize things that you know will make you feel better and make a list of non-negotiables. Some examples of this include getting better sleep, taking your medicine, seeing your friends a certain number of times a week — whatever gives you that extra pep in your step.
By setting these aspects of your life aside as things that you can't compromise on, it'll stay in the back of your mind throughout the semester and you'll be motivated to stay on track.
Meet with an academic advisor
This one especially applies to underclassmen, who may be grappling with a lot of unanswered questions going into the fall semester.
If your major is undeclared and you're not sure where to go, you're struggling with credits, or don't know which classes to add or drop, meeting with an advisor can help you figure out the details of your academic plan in a quick meeting.
It can feel scary to reach out to someone, but if you know that you're confused, the best option is to have a conversation with someone who knows the ins and outs of this process. An advisor has all the knowledge and experience you need.
Create a course plan
If you just want a clear direction on what your semesters are going to look like, make a course plan spreadsheet. This is a tried and true method of planning, not to mention efficient and convenient for any stage of your college career.
This will also make it much easier to schedule your spring semester classes when that time comes around, and you won't feel overwhelmed with options and requirements. You can keep this open as a tab on your laptop or just save it in a folder on your Google Drive and refer to it whenever you need a reminder!
Get a physical or digital planner
This option looks different for everyone. For some people, this may be buying a physical planner and writing in it daily. For others, this could be an app or website, like Google Calendar, Notion or even using your Notes app to make a to-do list.
Similar to the course plan, there's something potent about writing things down — you're able to visualize ideas better and actively advance those goals. Invest time into organizing your responsibilities: putting your classes, work hours, meetings and errands into a schedule, while also leaving room for spontaneous activities that may come up.
Having too rigid of a schedule can be restricting, so start small with easily doable tasks, and then end with bigger assignments and projects that take more time. If you're checking off smaller things as the day or week progresses, you'll feel that sense of accomplishment and be more motivated to do the rest.
Accept that work isn't everything
This can be a tough pill to swallow, but immersing yourself in constant work is just as damaging as not doing anything at all. This makes it even more difficult to overcome burnout or feel productive during the semester because you're stuck in a cycle of constantly working and dreading the work that's pending.
Similar to prioritizing your mental health, make sure that one of your non-negotiables is making time for your loved ones and socializing. This reinforces a reward system that prevents the feeling of being too overwhelmed, especially when exam season comes along. Not only is socializing necessary to live a balanced life and have fun in college, but also keeps you in check and reminds you of what's truly important.
Make dinner plans with your roommates, go out with your friends, attend interest meetings for clubs you might want to join and stick with the clubs or activities you think you'll really enjoy. The college experience is what you make of it, and you'll feel much better about doing the work if you know you have something to look forward to after it's done.
