It’s that time of year. You’ve been going to school since September. The skies are grey and the weather—unless you’re lucky enough to live in a temperate climate—is cold. Nearly everyone is tired of studying, and spring break can’t come soon enough.
Motivation, and its cousin procrastination can be real problems for many students at this time of year. Here are five tips to help you beat procrastination, and produce better work during these winter months.
1. Choose your study environment carefully. Either create or go to a work-space that is conducive to studying. Remove or reduce external distractions, phone, email, miscellaneous noise and chatter, Facebook, the fridge, etc. Choose aplace that is comfortable, but not so comfortable that you are likely to sleep or day-dream.
2. Do at least a little work each day for each of your classes. Waiting till the night before to read that whole book or get that term-paper written will leave you feeling overwhelmed, and make you more likely either to procrastinate more, or just avoid the assignment altogether. As I wrote in my last entry, break things down into small chunks, and commit to getting at least one chunk completed each day.
3. Find a study buddy. In much the same way that having a running partner can motivate you to get up and run in the morning when you’d much rather stay comfortably in bed, committing to another person and promising that you will study with them at a certain time and a certain place, can help both of you resist the temptation to be distracted by more entertaining activities. One caveat, though, choose a partner who will not distract you from your work. Your roommate or a good friend is likely to be a better choice than that guy/girl in your chem class who you’re hoping will ask you out.
4. Tell people about your study goals. No matter what the goal, whether it be related to studying, exercise, or other personal goals, telling others of our plans can greatly increase our chances of success. Just as studying together with a partner can strengthen your resolve to get your work done, sharing your study goals with others will help keep you accountable and increase the likelihood that you will get your work done. You might even make arrangements to have that person check in with you and ask about your progress.
5. Reward yourself when you meet a study goal. Praise yourself for having accomplished what you set out to do. Then treat yourself to something you will truly enjoy: a coffee, some chocolate, watching your favorite television show, or even just time on Facebook. It should be something you will truly enjoy, sort of a thank you to yourself for your hard work.
There’s no question that the second semester is a long one, both because you’re more tired than you were last fall, and because the days are shorter and colder. But with a few strategies such as this, you’ll find it’ll be spring break before you know it, and you’ll have the good grades to celebrate when your break finally does arrive.
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