How to Avoid Mid Semester Slump and Stay Motivated

Ways to stay motivated so you can avoid mid semester slump

Mid semester slump is something that creeps up on you. One minute you are excited to be back in school, your classes are going well, then boom! You find yourself struggling to get through your classes, or complete assignments, and all you can think about is for the semester to be over.

Lots of students start the semester earning good grades on tests and exams, but by mid semester, they start struggling to hang on to their good grades. If you have experienced this, then you know exactly what I am talking about.

So, how do you motivate yourself to keep pushing on? How do you avoid mid semester slump so you can stay on track, and achieve your goals?

Here are some ways to stay motivated and avoid mid semester slump.

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1. HOW TO AVOID MID SEMESTER SLUMP: WATCH YOUR WORKLOAD

It’s easy to get carried away at the beginning of a new semester, that you might end up enrolling in too many classes.

Mid semester slump usually happens when your workload becomes overwhelming. So, the best way to avoid this problem is to watch your workload. Think carefully before you sign up for classes. Consider your outside commitments and how they would affect your studies.

At the beginning of a semester, it’s easy to think you can handle three to four classes or sixteen to eighteen credit hours, but by mid semester, you realize you have beaten off more than you can chew. That’s why it’s really important to pay attention, not only to the number of classes you take but also what classes you take at the same time.

So, the first step to avoiding mid semester slump is to consider your workload. Always think about how much schoolwork you can handle along with your other responsibilities.

2. REVIEW YOUR CLASSES BEFORE ENROLLMENT

Along the same lines as above, you can stop yourself from getting overwhelmed or losing motivation by taking some time to review your classes before enrolling in them.

What I mean is, go through the syllabus of every course you plan to take. Look at the requirements, and try to assess how much time you will need to spend on each class.

Since some classes are more time-intensive than others, it makes sense to not take two or three of them at the same time. Try to mix things up by taking a hard class or classes with some easy ones. While you still need to spend time on the easy classes, you won’t have to spend as much time as the harder classes.

The key is to find a balance and mix up your classes. For example, I took A&P II and microbiology at the same time, and I can say that it wasn’t a very good idea because of how much time I had to devote to each class.

Thankfully, I only had one other class to deal with, so I managed to survive, but I ended up with a “C” in A&P II, which was a bit disappointing. So, give some thought to the classes you take, and how many you take in a semester.

Don’t allow yourself to get too overwhelmed, otherwise you risk falling behind in college.

3. DON’T OVERSCHEDULE YOURSELF

At the beginning of this post, I talked about the importance of watching your workload, now I want to talk about the danger of overscheduling yourself.

For some reason, many college students think they can juggle a lot of things or activities at once. While you may be able to get away with this for a while, sooner or later, it will catch up with you. So, the best way to avoid this is to stop overscheduling yourself.

For example, if you are a mom, it’s going to be hard to be a full-time mom and a full-time employee. That’s why a lot of moms or working students take a longer time to complete college.

There are college students who work more than one job, do sports, take a full course load, and are involved in lots of other activities. Unfortunately, when you overschedule yourself, you have little room for rest and self-care. No wonder many students are burned out and lose motivation by mid semester.

So, don’t overschedule yourself. Don’t fill every waking minute with one activity or the other. Leave some time for rest and rejuvenation. If you keep going without taking some time to unwind and destress, you are going to hit a wall sooner or later.

Be smart with your schedule and always try to pace yourself.

4. MAKE TIME FOR SELF-CARE

One of the best ways to keep yourself motivated as a college student is to make time for self-care. It’s so easy to get so wrapped up with school, work, and family commitments that you forget to take care of yourself.

Everyone needs self-care no matter how strong they think they are. Just taking a few minutes out of your day to breathe can make a big difference in your life, and improve your mental state.

Self-care can be anything you want it to be. You don’t have to follow a particular routine, all that is important is that you enjoy what you are doing, and it helps you relax.

Here are some ideas for self-care for busy college students:

Get enough sleep. Don’t stay up late every single night.
Read for pleasure whenever you can.
Go for walks.
Watch some of your favorite movies.
Get enough exercise, eat healthy, and hydrate.
Ask for help (yes, this is a form of self-care too).
Try to keep your stress levels low. Avoid stressful situations as much as you can.
Stay positive. Surround yourself with positive people.
Write in a journal.
Treat or reward yourself when you can.

As you can see, there are lots of ways to care for yourself, so pick some ideas you like, and make them a part of your life.

Now, let’s look at what to do if you are going through a mid semester slump.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE GOING THROUGH A MID SEMESTER SLUMP

What do you do if you are already experiencing a slump mid semester? Here are some things you can do to dig your way out of it.

1. ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR FEELINGS

I know it’s hard for some people to acknowledge they are overwhelmed or in a slump. But, acknowledging your feelings can be helpful.

Instead of ignoring your feelings or thinking you can just keep plodding along, it’s better to stop and acknowledge them. It’s okay to admit you are struggling or you feel overwhelmed.

This isn’t always an easy thing to do especially when you are surrounded by unsupportive people. But, for your own peace of mind, and to help you work through the issue, it’s good to acknowledge the mid semester slump.

After you do this, then it becomes easier to work on finding a solution. So, don’t bottle up your feelings. Let it out, then work out a solution.

2. FIND AND UNDERSTAND THE REASONS FOR THE SLUMP

I truly believe that the first step to solving a problem is to identify the cause. You can’t fix a problem if you don’t know the cause.

So, if you are going through a mid-semester slump, try to find the reason, so you can fix it, and avoid making the same mistakes next semester.

Sometimes, the reasons aren’t clear-cut or what you think they are. Giving yourself some space to assess the situation can be very enlightening. So, spend some time reflecting on what is going on, and see if you can pinpoint the reason you are going through this situation.

3. THINK ABOUT CHANGES YOU CAN MAKE

Once you identify the reason or reasons for the slump, the next step is to come up with a solution.

Start by looking at what changes you can make to improve the semester. Sometimes a small change can make a big difference to your mood and the way you approach your schoolwork, so don’t overlook those small changes. For example, going to bed an hour early, altering your diet a bit, or cutting down on some activities.

Identify some changes you think would help, then go ahead and implement them.

Below are some other changes you can consider making.

Drop a class if it isn’t too late or if there are no penalties.
Reduce your hours at work (if possible).
Get some help (if you are a mom, get some help with some household tasks or babysitting, so you can get a bit of rest).
Start exercising (if you haven’t).

The changes you have to make depends on the reason for your slump, so go ahead and make whatever changes you think will help you get out of this funk.

Finally, let’s look at how to find mid semester motivation.

HOW TO FIND MID SEMESTER MOTIVATION

Finding motivation mid semester is not the simplest thing to do, however, it can be done. As long as you are willing to make some adjustments and put in some effort.

Here are some ways to find motivation in the middle of the semester.

1. REVIEW YOUR GOALS

When I was in college, there were times when I felt dejected and discouraged because of how hard things were. Being a single mom in nursing school was pretty rough. But, reviewing my goals kept me motivated and gave me the strength to keep pushing on.

One thing that worked for me when I felt down was to ask myself “What is the alternative?” Well, since I didn’t have any at the time, that question forced me out of my slump and motivated me to keep pushing on.

Now, I am not saying this will work for everyone, but I believe reviewing your goals can help you find some motivation when you start running out of steam.

So, revisit your goals, and if they are still relevant, continue to focus on them, and hopefully, they can motivate you to keep moving forward.

2. HOW TO FIND MID SEMESTER MOTIVATION: REFOCUS, PRIORITIZE, AND MINIMIZE DISTRACTIONS

Finding mid semester motivation is all about refocusing on your goals, knowing your priorities, and getting rid of distractions.

Lots of college students (especially moms) tend to lose their focus and get distracted by other things as the semester progresses. Many students get bogged down with housework, kids, and other activities, they forget to prioritize their studies.

If you are in a slump, it’s time to refocus, cut out distractions, and make your schoolwork a priority.

Focusing on what is truly important will help you to stay motivated throughout the semester. So, go ahead, refocus and minimize distractions.

3. CELEBRATE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

By mid semester, you should have accomplished a few things. If you need some inspiration, try celebrating some of your accomplishments no matter how small.

Take a look at the goals you set at the beginning of the semester and see which ones you have completed, then take a moment to celebrate those wins. Doing so can help you stay on track.

Whether it’s completing an assignment on time, getting your desired score on a test, or studying every day, it’s okay to celebrate it.

Celebrating your accomplishments can help you stay motivated and stop you from experiencing the dreaded mid semester slump.

4. TAKE TIME TO RELAX

No matter how busy you are, you still need to take some time to relax without feeling guilty about it. Yes, I know it’s hard to do when you are behind on your schoolwork or you have a few deadlines around the corner.

However, if you are in a slump and feeling a bit burnt out, you will do yourself a world of good by taking a break.

Now, I am not saying you should go on a vacation or take a long break in the middle of the semester. But, you can try a few hours or a whole night. Spend that time doing something you love, and don’t feel guilty about it!

Guilt only serves to rob you of your joy.

Trust me, a good night’s sleep can do wonders for your mental health and state of mind, so give it a try. Relax, put those books away for a while. Play with your kids, hang out with your friends, or enjoy your own company.

Taking the time to relax will leave you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, ready to tackle the rest of the semester.

5. BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF

You can fall into a slump if you have been working hard and not seeing the desired results. It’s hard to stay motivated when it feels like your effort is not paying off. I have felt this way about a few things in my life.

At times, I gave up for a few weeks or months because I was deflated and lost motivation. But, one thing I have learned through it all, is the importance of being gentle with myself.

It doesn’t help when you get too hard on yourself or beat yourself up for perceived failures. So, if you are in a slump and in need of a pick me up, learn to be more accepting of yourself.

Be kind to yourself and understand you won’t always achieve your goals or get the grades you want. Just be thankful for how far you have come, and continue to work hard.

Finding mid semester motivation is all about giving yourself grace, practicing gratitude, and finding inspiration from the little things that are working well in your life.

Closing thoughts on how to avoid midsemester slump and stay motivated

Mid semester slump can happen to anyone, so there is no shame if you find yourself experiencing it. As long as you don’t allow yourself to stay in a slump for too long, you should be just fine.

To get out of the slump, figure out the reason why you are in a slump, make some changes, and revisit your goals. Finanlly, find some ways to stay motivated. Take care of yourself, and keep moving forward?

Are you struggling mid semester? What do you think is responsible?