Dear Erin, 

Every year, I struggle to keep up the motivation to do my school work during second semester. Are there any tips you can give to help break this yearly cycle? 

Dear struggling student, 

When we return to school in January after the long-awaited winter break, students tend to lack motivation in the last stretch of the academic year. One of the easiest ways to keep yourself motivated and afloat is to set clear goals for yourself. Setting goals gives you something to continue to strive for. One of the biggest mistakes students make when setting goals is once they attain their goal, they continue to lack motivation. The key to success with goal setting is to accomplish and reset said goal. For example, if your goal is to study and achieve an A on a math test and you achieve an A, then you should reset the goal to get an A on your next test as well. 

Another big way to stay motivated is to pace yourself and focus on the task at hand. A lot of students tend to bite off more than they can chew and it causes them to drown in school work. In order to pace yourself, you must take things one step at a time. Instead of procrastinating which causes you to complete all of your work in one sitting, get the assignment done as soon as it is assigned to you so that you can move on to the next task that needs to be completed. Going hand-in-hand with that is prioritizing assignments. For example, you have a ten-point math homework assignment and a fifty-point English paper due the same day. Be sure to get the small math assignment done as soon as possible so that all of your focus is on the bigger English assignment. 

Finally, the biggest tip to keep you afloat during the second semester is setting a schedule and sticking to it at all times. Building a routine and healthy habits are vital to keeping academic motivation. For example, setting aside a specific time frame every night dedicated to completing assignments and not being used for any other purpose can ensure that you get all assignments done in a timely manner. 

School is tough, there is no denying that. But setting effective goals, pacing yourself, prioritizing, and creating a schedule can really help with staying focused and on task academically!

Sincerely,

Erin