THE STUB END OF MARCH
This is the time of year many of my students find even more challenging than exam week. During exam week, at least you’ve got the adrenaline going. Now . . . well, keeping motivated can be a challenge. Midterms are over. Unless you are keenly engaged in all of your courses, lectures, labs, and assignments can seem pretty same old, same old. If you have been putting 110% into a tough program, you may be a bit burnt out. If your marks are not what you had targeted, disappointment and discouragement can flavour your days. It can feel like, what’s the point?
Which makes it easy to distract, sleep, procrastinate, put off, lose focus—a bit of that is pretty normal for this time of year. If this is not you, then celebrate and lend a hand to a friend who might not be having the best life right now.
What to do if it is you: The fact that you’re reading this blog says that your academic career does mean something to you, and you are looking for ways to build up from where you are. The two areas to focus on are (a) motivation, and (b) managing your grade outcomes.
Managing Motivation
Ironically, the key here is not to lecture and hector and scare yourself, but to accept that yeah, the enthusiasm of the beginning of term is not there, and that is okay. You pick up and keep going–to lectures, to class. And endorse yourself for each effort. You plan the small reinforcers for sitting down with yourself and reviewing the day, reading your notes, planning the next day.
Social connection rather than isolation helps motivation, too. Not echo chambers of gloom and doom, but people who, like you, are getting ready to wrap up the term. Study groups and peer tutoring groups help you keep focussed and keep you from too much isolation.
You know by now, if you’ve been following here, that exercise, small breaks, and good food are part of the drill, so I’ll leave you to fill in what works for you. You need to make sure there is enough gas in the tank to get to the end.
Managing Grade Outcomes
It’s easy to put off thinking about the courses that aren’t optimal, or to worry about them rather than taking a hard look and planning for as solid an outcome as is realistic.
The fact that it’s so easy to put this off is why I put motivation ahead of managing grade outcomes. This is where you set a time, gather the information, which is usually grades thus far and the amount of work that is outstanding. Know the drop date for each course. Before you assume the worst, you might meet with the instructor for their advice, going in with a plan, of course.
Now sketch out and schedule what you need to do to salvage or to achieve the grade that is the minimum that gets you through the year. Perfectionism is your enemy here, and so is catastrophizing.
It helps to look on this part of your academic year like an investment: How and where do you invest your time and effort for what probable yield? Cutting to the chase, at decision time, a W is likely better than an F, and a B is likely as relevant as an A five years from now.
You Know the Drill
With the academic plan scheduled and self-care prioritized, you can manage a workmanlike result this term. This approach is what builds the foundation that gets you through not just this term, but through the less-than-inspiring periods of a course, a program, or a job project.
Go steady, to go long. You can do this!
Connect:
Connect with me for planning and getting through the long haul before exams: [email protected]
The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS PLEASE DIAL 911.