October is the month of pumpkin spice lattes, sweater weather and when mid-terms are fast approaching into our college lives again. As we are quickly move towards the half way point of the semester it’s good to start thinking about how to avoid end of semester burnout. Not to mention, what are our plans and goals for the spring semester.
1. What do you want to accomplish in the weeks after midterms? How are you going to do it?
We all love the end of midterm’s celebrations, but they come to an end eventually. Now, what do you? You can absolutely do a lot over the next several weeks. Are you struggling in one of your classes? Make a commitment to go to the tutoring center more. Have you been bored lately or want to be more active on campus? There are many great ways to get more involved on campus and you’ll make a lot of friends doing it. Trust me!
2. How is your work-life balance?
Are you working all day and never taking a break? Or, are you spending too much of the day as free time? It’s called a balance for a reason. We have to focus on our studies, but we all need time for ourselves. “Me Time” is a must for a healthy mind and body. If we don’t care for ourselves, we risk burnout.
If you feel you’re not seeing your friends enough try having dinner with them for an hour every day. You get to eat, take a well-earned break and see your friends. If you need to focus better on your class work and projects, maybe the issue is where you’re working. Get out of your room and try some new places. Maybe, the college library or a classroom not being used. A great work-life balance will serve you well in college, but it will also help you many years after college.
3. What classes do you want (cough’ Required cough’) to take?
We have those annoying classes or academic subjects we are required to take, but have no idea why. There’s no spinning the fact we got to take the classes, pass and move on. However, don’t think they have to run your entire semester? Balance out the classes you wish you could skip with classes you’ll enjoy, are taught by amazing professors or not add too much to your weekly workload. Finally, take a few minutes to think about what classes will teach you the skills you need to get that internship or job you’re applying for.
I know it may sound like extra work, but its work that will have big pay offs. We all want to reach our goals, have a great work-life balance and have a good class schedule (hopefully with the required courses behind us). In typical college fashion, we got to do our homework.
Matt Reich is studying Media Studies: Television and Radio Production with a minor in Journalism at Mercy College. A pop culture enthusiast, news junkie and passionate about social media. Feel free to connect with him via Twitter @Matt_Reich7.