Motivation During the Next Couple Months
Motivation is always key for both highschoolers, and for college students. Both of you are at very different stages of the motivation cycle, however.
High School:
The end is near for high school–you’re almost done. It’s easy for motivation to drop as spring moves in. This applies whether we are going into finals with a strong average, or with a weaker record, and the stress of wondering if you’ll make it bring unpleasant feelings you’d like to escape. Yes, it’s the end of the marathon, but the race isn’t finished. If you are meters away, there’s still the last meters, the last centimeter. It’s how the running saying goes: “Don’t bonk!” and fall off the track before you’re done. The uncertainty of whether we’ll have summer activities, disappointment over grad ceremonies, uncertainty about fall classes–these add to the usual end-of-term stresses.
First key motivator: Congratulate yourself on making it this far. You have made it this far in spite of COVID, in spite of the rules not only changing, but being unknown from time to time. Your worries about COVID may continue. But despite that, you have made it thus far. Remembering and congratulating yourself on the race so far helps you keep confidence that you can do it. To keep from “bonking” in this last stretch, however, the focus also needs to be on this final stretch.
Second key motivator: Focus. To keep from being overwhelmed amongst competing interests, write out your list of tasks: review of past exams, assignment completion, project completion. Schedule, and prioritize. Consult with your instructor, if necessary. Set up study buddy dates. Build a realistic schedule that allows for some down time, some exercise, and some wiggle room.
You can do it. You’ve come this far, and as an academic marathoner, you are not about to trip on your shoelaces in the last meters. Remember, by maintaining your focus and being prepared, you can achieve your best.
Post-Secondary Spring Session Courses
Spring Session courses are more of a sprint than a marathon–and if we’re used to the thirteen week pace, the six week pace (or three week pace!) can catch us by surprise. Especially with the sunshine, and easing of COVID restrictions.
This week is the first week for many of you, and getting into sprint mental mode needs to happen as you very read this. There is simply less time for everything–less time to do the research necessary for papers and projects, less time to prepare for group projects, less time to get the same amount of reading done (before lectures). Lack of awareness of just how much needs to get done can result in feeling overwhelmed and defeated.
So the key elements for this first week can be summarized:
- Read the syllabus. Schedule the assignment deadlines. Schedule the prep time. Allow for wiggle room. Allow down time, R&R.
- Make sure you can use the on-line tools that may be new to you, and may be new to your instructor.
- Form your group and schedule your group work sessions for group projects. Allow for some flexibility in scheduling.
- Line up and reserve resources.
- Plan to set up meetings with the instructor to discuss your plans for hand-in work or group work.
This is also the week to reduce non-academic demands as much as is possible. Call on the family to help out with routine; be careful about taking on extra load at work (while not slacking off); get creative about unavoidable commitments such as family reunions.
By next week, both you highschoolers and you college academic sprinters may be too immersed in the race to take a breather–but I hope to see you here anyway!
Let me know how it’s going [email protected]