Congratulations, you’ve finally finished your exams! After weeks-long or a few days of studying before the exam (procrastination man…) you might be a bit tired from all that. Other than exams, we have assignments to submit and projects to finish. Some may feel unbalanced from all of it and lead to being overwhelmed with all that’s going on.
It’s quite hard to start working again after all that, isn’t it? Before going straight to work, it would be helpful to slowly prepare yourself for all the work you’re gonna be doing.
Being that this is something most students experience, even myself, I have a few tips to share with you that can help get you back on track with your academics.
Reward yourself.
Before you start that student grind again, you deserve a reward. Watch that show, you’ve been meaning to see or binge an anime with your friends. Treat yourself to a nice date, and forget all about the work you have to do even for a little while.
I’ve mentioned in my last article “Boost Motivation During Exam Season” (give it a read before the next exam week hehe) that rewarding yourself is very important. When we recognize our accomplishments, big or small, and reward ourselves, our brain releases a chemical in our brain called Dopamine. It has a big part in how we are able to feel pleasure and encourages us to work hard, concentrate, and pursue new experiences. That being the case, after we reward ourselves we become motivated to do whatever we have to do and will look forward to doing similar tasks.
List down all your requirements.
After rewarding yourself, it’s time to do a little bit of preparation. Take note of all the requirements you had and have to do for the term. Now, why would you take note of the projects you have submitted already? From experience, seeing how much I’ve already done motivates me and makes me feel proud of myself for accomplishing multiple requirements this term. If there were more that needed to be done than completed, looking at it just didn’t look pleasing at all, so this motivated me to do most of them. It sounds a bit weird, but it worked for me, and I hope it works for you too.
Now after listing them all down, your next step is to put their due dates and identify which are the requirements that need more effort and time. Prioritization is a very important aspect here. Once you have classified your requirements into categories from important to something you can put them at the back of your head first, you can now plan when you are going to do each and every one of them.
Revamp your workspace.
After the exam, notes and files must be everywhere physically and digitally. Our working environment has a huge significance on our performance, and having an unorganized workspace might be the thing slowing you down.
Declutter your files, move your desk, decorate your room, or even just clean it. Create an environment where doing academics won’t be so bad and might even make you want to stay there longer. A little change in my workspace motivated me to start working again and did wonders to my productivity.
Give yourself time to rest & take it slow.
Getting back on track may take some time, and that’s alright! Take your time and take it to step by step. Rushing will not benefit you or your projects. Don’t sacrifice your sleep or free time for things that could wait even for a little bit.
Not only does working non-stop affect you mentally and physically, but it will also affect your relationships and outputs. No one wants a rushed output or a broken relationship just because we rushed and tired ourselves out, no?
To end this, I just wanted to say that I’m very proud of you and you should be proud of yourself too! It’s alright to take a break and take time for yourself. Getting back on track may be difficult, but it is needed for us to keep ongoing. I hope the tips I’ve given helped even just a tiny bit, and congratulations again on finishing your exams!
Sources:
Lim, S. (2022, April 27). Stunningmotivation.com. https://stunningmotivation.com/important-reward-yourself/
Cristol, H. (2019, June 19). What Is Dopamine? WebMD; WebMD.
Comments