Getting back into the swing of studying

How to stay motivated and focused after Spring Break

I hope that everyone enjoyed their Spring Break; people (like me) could not wait for it and now it’s over in just the blink of an eye.

Here are some ways to keep focused/motivated for class after the Spring Break:

1. Planning and getting organized

This week would be the best week to get into it—reviewing the syllabus, reviewing your calendar and marking out important dates, such as deadlines for assignments and exam dates, to make plans to finish them all on time. Create goals. Create a to-do list for your daily planner and plan to get everything done on time. Draw out strategies that could help you in order to be better than the previous half of the semester.

2. Assess your learning to this point in the semester

According to Tory Rogers in his article, “Surviving College after Spring Break” (Augsburg University), after Spring Break, it is beneficial for students to review their performances on tests, projects quizzes and papers from the previous weeks and read the class notes that were given before Spring Break. This helps the students to refresh what they have learned previously in class and adjust study strategies that would help them to keep their grades up or try to get a good grade for a class.

3. Meet with other students and your professors.

Meeting other students outside of class will help you to be aware of what is happening in class. It will keep you refocused and updated on the deadlines for upcoming assignments and projects. Also, going to the professors’ office hours when you are stuck or have questions or concerns can help; the earlier the better, as there may still be time to make up for missed points.

4. Prioritize and focus on only what is important

All your body wants to do now is to catch up with friends and talk about how your Spring Break was and want to know of theirs. The last thing you want to do right now is focused on school-related activities, such as catching up with classes and getting all your work done. However, once you get all your work done, you will then have time to catch up with friends. For some students, there may be lots of tests and assignments just after this Spring Break; if you know that you have a major exam or assignment, try to get it done before the due date. Also, breaking big projects into parts will help you get your work done and increase your self-confidence.

5. Finals

This may sound too early but this is the time to start studying for finals. This would help you to be familiar with previous topics that were talked about in class. It will be helpful for final exams that are cumulative. This will help reduce the stress of studying a week or two before finals.