How to Stay Motivated During a Tough Load at College

The last month before the final exam (or the first one in your life) can be a nightmare that will wake us up amidst the night even years after. The extreme load in the college is tough by design, but what is more unbearable – it is psychologically exhausting. The constant stress makes us turn on our most primal fight-flight-freeze responses.  The ape in us doesn’t know about exams and marks. It wants to survive. So, how to survive and preserve our motivation when the world shows the tough side?

1. Schedule is our saviour

Some of us (okay, most of us) hate strict schedules. Seriously, what may happen if we wake up not at 7AM, but, say, at 7:40? Nothing, right?

Wrong.

The time of crisis is a time of micromanagement. Imagine that you are playing the most difficult mode of Starcraft. The wrong building schedule at the beginning may become a disaster during the endgame. So, you should pay attention to the minutes in the dire times. It might be uncomfortable at first, but you’ll really know how much time you have for the different tasks. A minute lost here and there may leave you unable to finish an essential daily task – and all for the want of horseshoe nail.

2. Listen to your body and mind

Using the advice from the previous paragraph, you may try to squeeze all you have to do in several days. But usually this approach doesn’t work. We are not machines. All work and no play make us dull – and not motivated – people. We may build a perfect schedule, but we do this considering our average productivity. After completing nine hard tasks like writing law essays or preparing a project, you’ll need three times as much effort to complete the tenth one – if you’ll be able to complete it today at all!

We don’t urge you to pity yourself and allow yourself to do only one or two tasks per day. Just be a realist: take into consideration your current physical and psychological state, the difficulty of the tasks, the proximity to the deadline etc. Sometimes you just wake up tired and need something good and energizing before you enter the productive mode. Sometimes you get from the bed full of energy and it’s a good idea to do something challenging now and relax later.

Use your schedule as a guideline. You know when you wake up, when you brush your teeth, when you have dinner and your work and leisure time ratio. But you may shift the blocks of your daily schedule to make the day the most productive.

3. Set realistic goals

Sometimes we just have to let it go. If you can’t do something until the deadline and you are sure about it – it’s better to admit it as soon as possible and either move on or ask for a rescheduling. There is nothing wrong or shameful in it, we all are people and at least some of your teachers will show compassion and let you proceed at your own pace. Their goal isn’t to get you expelled, but to teach you their subject, so, if there is no external pressure, the rescheduling is something that just happens.

But if you are sure that you can do it, but reaching the goal is challenging – you do need to put all your effort into achieving the goal. It’s like winning the Olympics – the medal don’t just appear out of the blue, there is always a ton of hard and, what is most important, consistent work behind it.

Just sit still for a while and reflect on your current goal. Should you let it go? Or should you cling to it and do anything to achieve it?

4. Leisure time should charge your battery, not use it

During the time of extra stress you need your own ways to replenish your physical and psychological resources. Your leisure time should be used for that. So do what really excites you and fills you with energy! If you are invited to the loud party, but all you want now is to have a pizza delivered and binge on Netflix – it is fine to reject the invitation (or, if you are socially obliged to go, just don’t put it as “leisure time” into your schedule).

For now “work” is anything that takes your resource and “rest” is anything that gives it to you. Sometimes even trying to fall asleep may exhaust you more than a sleepless night. So, crisis is a good time to review your ways to enjoy life and leave (temporarily or not) only the most effective ones. Time is now one of your most precious resources, so use it wisely. Don’t do anything you don’t want to and don’t have to.

5. Use the support of your significant others

Sometimes it’s just too much for you alone. Lots of us have issues with asking for help, but the hard times are just the right moment to put them aside and ask. You may use counseling, psychotherapy or just good old talk with your best friend. Maybe, someone can walk your dog or help you clean your house, while you are finishing that one damn task. Maybe you may just cry into someone’s shoulder, saying how tired you are, and get comforted. Maybe, you need help in any other way you just don’t see through all that stress.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. We are social beings and helping each other allowed us to survive through all our harsh history. If it’s good for humanity, it’s good for you too!

The time of tough load in college isn’t the best in your life, for sure. But you can do it at least more tolerable, by yourself or with your friends and family. Just remember that it isn’t the end of the world: the college isn’t created to break you, but to teach you (though sometimes it’s really not that obvious). You will make it. We know.

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