Hey blessed, brilliant, beauties!
Happy Fall! I am absolutely so excited that Fall in Pittsburgh has finally come. Of course, as many of y’all know, this southern girl is not a fan of the northern winter weather, nevertheless, I love how beautiful Fall is up here! Sweaters, salted caramel mochas, pumpkin candles, boots, and…midterms. That’s right, I said it. With Fall comes those annoying late night study sessions and overwhelming thoughts of “How can I learn all this information in one night!” Actually to be honest, I have to study for an exam as soon as I finish this post. Lord help me!
Although studying for exams can be extremely exhausting, I find that if I am not conscious of my time and energy, I get really burnt out of my semester and I am just not as motivated as I was during that first week of school! Do you know what I am talking about? That mid-semester burn out? Below are five things that I do to avoid any type of mid-semester burnout in any of my classes.
1.Plan Accordingly!
Remember that super cute planner that you got at the beginning of the school year that you barely wrote in over last six weeks of school? Well, sorry to break it to you sister, but its time to crack that beauty open and get your #girlboss on! I find that when I make a schedule and I stick to it, I am less likely to cram and become overwhelmed with loads of homework, lab reports, and exam prep! Stop waiting until the last minute to do your homework. Spread it out during the week so that instead of doing 20 questions of physics each week in three hours, you can do five questions a day and have it turned in a day before its even due! Remember to take time out for your workout sessions and club meetings. All of these things are important to your growth as a college student. The better you get at controlling pressures around you in college, the more prepared you will be for the real world. Remember, diamonds are made under pressure. Make sure that you plan accordingly so you can be shining bright come December!
2. Give Yourself A Break!
Choose an hour out of the week to dedicated to an “escape.” Whether its writing, working out, editing photos, or even reading poetry, you have got to give yourself a break from school! I find that when I plan accordingly, I am able to set out some time for myself to step away from the chaos of my schoolwork and just breathe! This really helps with avoiding any burnout because I am not always in a library doing work. Dedicating time to myself helps me get even more motivated to studying harder! There is nothing ever wrong with taking a break. Just make sure that when it is time to get back to work, you get right to it!
3. Eliminate Distractions
Okay blessed, brilliant, beauties, so this is a hard one for me. If y’all know me, you know I love my Instagram, Pinterest, and occasional visit to Facebook however, sometimes, social media can be a big distraction for me. It causes me to loose focus on what I actually should be dedicating my time to and in turn, causes me to do work for hours longer than I actually have to. When it is time to study, study. When it is time to be in class, be in class! Stop texting your significant others and bffs because remember, since you planned accordingly, you are already going to have time set out to talk and giggle, so why not focus on the task at hand now to avoid extra time spent on it later. And trust me, I get it. I am pre-med and my boyfriend is a mechanical engineer, so we don’t exactly have a lot of time to spend watching movies in this lovely Fall weather and going out to dinner. Instead, we decide to study together! After class, we meet up at the library and spend a couple of hours studying and doing homework. (And I know you are reading this bf so thanks for the physics help!) This way, we both can eliminate the distraction of texting each other but at the same time, spend time with each other while making sure we are getting our school work done. Focus is everything blessed, brilliant, beauties. Don’t take advantage of its power!
4. Motivate Yourself
After taking that first exam, sometimes if you don’t score as high as you want, it can be very discouraging. Trust me, I am pre-med…I know that feeling way too well. This can surely start to give you that burned out feeling towards your semester but, you can’t let it get to you! Use that first exam as a lesson to evaluate your study tactics! What worked? What didn’t? Were you too distracted in class? Did you not plan accordingly? What can you do next time that is different to avoid scoring like that again? After analyzing your first exam, keep motivating yourself! Did you do well on a quiz? Reward yourself! Answer a question in class correctly? Sounds like a cup of frozen yogurt to me! Be gentle and honest with yourself. College is hard and requires a lot of perseverance and determination. Don’t sell yourself short of all of your accomplishments and don’t let a friend scoring higher on an exam, disappointing of your parents with a not so high grade, or even not even scoring average make you give up! You got this! Look how far you’ve already come! You can’t give up now! Believe it or not, someone is looking up at you watching as inspiration. Don’t let them down. Don’t let yourself down.
5. Get Involved!
When you are always doing school work, sometimes being on campus can be resentful. Keep in mind that going to college isn’t just about graduating with some bachelors degree. It is so much more! Find something that interest you, be brave, and go for it! Stop allowing the judgments of others to control your growth! Wanna join a club? Do it! Wanna attend a guest lecture? Go by yourself or invite a friend! Wanna attend a conference near by? Register! Who cares what people think! My momma use to tell me, “They talked about Jesus and they are going to talk about you too!” So go out and get involved on your campus. Study hard and make a difference in your community and your world! Life is too short. Learn something. Try something. Find your courage!
So those are the things that really help me avoid that mid-semester burnout! Comment below what you like to do when your studies seem to be drowning you? Also, what are you guys studying in school! I’d love to learn more about my readers so I can make content that best fits y’all! Wishing you guys a successful month in school this October! Don’t forget to rock it out and remember, you are blessed, brilliant, and beautiful!
“but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” -Isaiah 40:31
<3 TD
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