Congratulations fellow IBCoMmers, you have survived another term!
You may not have slept for days in a row, lived off microwave dishes and crackers and gathered more dirty dishes and laundry than you knew you had, but that’s okay. Because this term, everything will be different. You will be motivated, do all your readings, go to all the lectures and not leave anything for the last minute, right?
…Right.
For me, a new term always comes with mixed feelings. On the one hand, I’m excited about my new courses and determined to do well. On the other though, the work piles up really quickly and I often find myself buried in readings and assignments before I’ve been able to properly recover from my previous exams. But practice makes perfect, and after struggling through ten terms I finally feel like I’ve got this. I’m ready for this new term, and so are you. Here are my secrets.
Stack up on cool stationery
This is probably makes me the the biggest nerd on the planet, but nothing gets me more excited to get to work than quirky and nice-looking new office supplies. There’s something motivating about writing your first sentence in a brand new, empty little notebook, with a pen that isn’t broken and almost out of ink. It’s literally a clean slate, waiting for you to fill it with genius thoughts and knowledge. Looking around the classroom full of laptops and tablets I suspect that I may be the odd one out on this one, but trust me. If you struggle to find the motivation to pay attention and take notes (or if you get distracted by Facebook a lot) you might want to give this a try.
Make a bet
Yes, 9 A.M. lectures are painful, and yes, they probably were invented to punish students for staying up late. But the pain is a lot more bearable when you go through it with your friends. Of course, you need to be sure they will actually show up for this to work, and my favourite way to ensure this is to make a bet that will motivate everyone. The first of your friends to not show up buys coffee for the rest of the group the next time you see each other, the one after that gives a round of beers, the next one brings snacks to your next class together, and so forth. This should motivate everyone to show up, and if not? Well, then at least you get to enjoy some food or drinks together.
Find your balance
This should be clear to everyone, but I tend to forget it from time to time: school isn’t everything. Although it may seem like you use your time most productively when you work all day, that really is not true. When you’re planning ahead, try scheduling social events, hobbies and sports first and then fill up the time you have left with homework. This way, you know that hard work is always rewarded with something fun and you don’t get burnt out so easily. This works wonders for me in finding a healthy work-life balance, and it really does make me more happy and productive during the times I do spend on work.
Now, let’s make this our best term yet!!