Midterms should be motivating

Besides finals, it’s the second most dreaded week of the year. Midterms are filled with projects, exams and unnecessary amounts of stress. It can be easy to get swept up in overwhelming thoughts on how to manage your schedule which can end in a mental breakdown. We, as students, shouldn’t think of midterms as draining. We should think of it as motivating.

Midterms in the spring are more easygoing than in the fall. This is in part to midterms falling right around spring break. Instead of having to return to classes the following Monday, a week-long break awaits us. We, as students, are aching to go home or on vacation. It’s the only break we students get before summer and the last thoughts we want to be having is when how we’ll turn in discussion posts or finish assigned reading. Having midterms motivates us to study as hard as we can and finish our homework so it won’t be a thought over our spring break. 

That being said, besides having a week long vacation, having rewards to look forward to can help motivate students through finals. After all that effort we go through, it’s important for us to treat ourselves. Whether it’s planning to binge watch a Netflix show or buying your favorite takeout, having something to work toward can motivate you to get work done as soon as possible.

Another benefit to midterms is there isn’t always a lot of work that week. Because midterms are mainly time-consuming projects and endless studying for exams, most professors don’t tack on extra assignments for class to lessen the load of students having to take multiple tests. While only a few tedious assignments seem to be too overwhelming at times, it lessens the stress when there are fewer worksheets and no new content learned. Having that mindset is critical in making sure that students don’t burn out. 

The biggest motivator for students during midterms is the fact that it marks the halfway point for the semester. At times when the homework and tests seem to be too much, it can be nice to have the motivator that us students have overcome several assignments thus far and that we only have a short amount of time left before summer break.

Instead of dreading midterms as the middle of semester “finals,” we as students should think of it as an opportunity of how far we’ve come with our classes and that it’s only a little bit longer. Besides, with spring break around the corner, why shouldn’t we feel motivated as ever?