Its been a few weeks since the new semester started, and I think we´re all feeling the stress of the upcoming deadlines slowly sneak into the back of our mind. This time of year can be a bit depressing and demotivating for a lot of people. Probably because you have spent most of the holiday with friends and family, got to sleep in a lot, and some of you might’ve gone back to your home countries. Going back to school might be difficult, seeing as you’re probably feeling a bit out of the loop. At least, that’s something that I’ve been struggling with these last few weeks. I remembered that I had this same struggle last year around this time, so I decided to do something about it. As I was compiling this list of tips on how to start this new semester prepared, I remembered my roommate Nina Theeuwen. She’s a third-year forensic science student, who knows a thing or two about motivating yourself. So, I decided to sit down with her and look into the best ways to prepare yourself. Time to turn this frown around and ready yourself for the new semester!
Try to fix your sleep schedule!
During the holidays, your sleep schedule can get pretty out of control. Especially if you’re going out more, and don’t have to wake up early to go to school. It starts by going to sleep at 1 am and waking up around 10 am. But as the days go by it gets progressively worse. Before you know it, it’s the night before the first day of school starts and you’re laying awake at 3 am, wondering why you can’t fall asleep. Nina, who is very smart and structured, already starts to fix her sleep schedule a week before school starts. For example, if on Monday she went to bed at 2am, on Tuesday she would go to bed at 1 am, etc. She would also try to wake up as early as possible, so she would get the most out of the day and be tired in the evening. “I always find it nice to be well rested whenever I start a new semester or big project, getting motivated while you are exhausted will always be a lot harder.” says Nina.
It might seem obvious but, read the brief!
Teachers tell us this all the time, and I feel like for some reason students (myself included) don’t really take it seriously. But, when you feel lost and overwhelmed by the impending doom of the next semester, reading the different briefs of all your classes can really help you get organized. This will not only help you with feeling overwhelmed but also with getting a good overview of when your deadlines are. Nina recommends that if you have some free time around the last few days of the holidays, it could be useful to just sit down for an hour or two and just read over the briefs. Once you've done this, it might also inadvertently encourage you to make a schedule with all the information you've read. Especially because the briefs are usually a great tool for getting an overview of what needs to be done. Putting this information in your agenda or making a Trello board is that extra step you can take which will not only give you some inner piece, but can also get you excited for all the interesting assignments you get to do this semester.
Find new and exciting spots to study
If you’re living in Breda, there are a lot of cute spots where you can go to study. Just sitting at home or at school when you’ve been there for a while may cause you to get distracted easily. Places like the Breda Public library or Coffee Lab, where there are a lot of people studying or working, can help you feel motivated and focused too. Both of these spots are located in the city center, which means they're only a 15-minute walk away from school. Nina told me “For some reason, the library is always the place where I get the most studying done. I found out about this in the second year of my studies, when I didn’t feel like studying at home anymore. I think studying at the library probably works well because you have to be quiet there, and there are usually not a lot of things that can distract you.” Also, if you yourself have any suggestions on nice studying spots, be sure to let us know!
Plan a hangout with your school friends
Spending time with friends is something that will probably lift your spirits the most. When feeling demotivated, a few supportive words from your friends can go a long way. Especially when they’re in the same boat as you. Being able to relate to each other when it comes to school experiences might get you to realize that you’re not the only one going through this and could help you get motivated for the upcoming semester. I personally have some international friends that went back to their home countries during the holiday, which made it very nice to reconnect with them before school started and talk to them about all of this.
Clean your room!
This one might also be a little bit obvious, but cleaning your room will help you get a fresh start into the new school year. “When I’m mentally not really feeling that well, my room is usually a very big mess. This works the other way around too though because when I feel good and get enough sleep, my room is a lot cleaner.” Says Nina. I myself have noticed this too. When my room is organized and clean, my mind also feels that way. This is especially nice when you feel overwhelmed by the new semester. Also, for some people cleaning can be very satisfying or relaxing even, because while you’re doing it you don’t have to worry about anything else. That being said, cleaning your room can also be a struggle, especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Something that might help you then is starting with the small stuff, like cleaning up your desk or emptying your trash bin. Everyone always says that starting is the hard part, and as cliché as this might sound, I find that to be true for most tasks. So, what I would suggest is to just try it and see what happens!
Hopefully, this helped you in getting motivated for the new semester. Be sure to let us know if you’ve used any of these tips, and let us know if you have more suggestions. Also remember that we’re already halfway through the school year, and you’ve survived this far! The next six months are going to be great as well!
