Welcome Back, Spring Breakers

These days most college students are facing reality; spring break is over and only two months remain of this school year. That means two months to get a job, find housing, and overall prepare yourself to shed the sheltered undergraduate life and strike out on your own. This scares me and excites me all at the same time.

An aching sunburn has done little to motivate me as I’ve just returned from the oblivion of spring break in Puerto Rico. After spending days basking on the beach, exploring  the Yunque Rainforest, and lounging on a snorkel boat (unfortunately, the cause of my skin affliction), it’s hard to get back into the college -- and job search -- mindset. I’m trying to follow advice from my last post with a list on how to jumpstart my motivation.

1. Get over SB fever.

I know I still have spring break fever. The reminder of my relaxing week is all over my body. My plan is to head over to the nearest pharmacy and buy some aloe lotion and exfoliating scrub to cure my shedding skin. I have to rid myself of all reminders that I was so relaxed a few days ago. These next two months mean work. The sooner we all realize this, the better off we will be. If you have to download all those candid vacation photos off your camera to get those memories out and to move on, do so! If not, you’ll just reminisce until the metaphorical cows come home.

2. Plan your attack.

Get your planner out or look at your calendar, go over all your syllabi, and figure out what is due these next crucial months. You don’t want to go back to class without realizing your term paper is due in a week, which reminds me, I have an accounting midterm next week, yikes!

Once you’ve gone over everything, start planning out your schedule. Have everything you need to get done written down in one place. That way you’ll never have to sort through all those papers again; just don’t lose your schedule. With everything in one place and mapped out, that alone will lift a weight off your sunburned shoulders.

3. Start off slow.

Getting smaller assignments out of the way will leave you more time and will also ease you into getting work done again. Sure, I did a bit of work over vacation, but nothing comparable to what needs to get done during crunch time. If you need to jump into writing a term paper, work little by little; set a goal of a few pages each day. By the due date you’ll have a polished paper without pulling an all-nighter.

4. Maintain a schedule.

Whether it be working out daily or making sure you eat breakfast each morning, keep it up. Switching your schedule around will just make your mind and body think you’re still on break. I definitely didn’t work out during my island idyll, but now that I’m back at school, I have to resume running and Pilates again to really jumpstart the notion that I am back in reality. Maintaining this balance will help your sleep schedule, which will then help you be more productive during your day.

So now that you have the tools to get back into your working world, get ready. Get set. Life awaits. But first get that aloe to cure that sunburn.  

Work v. Play: List Your Way to a Happy Ending

I’ve been having an extraordinarily hard time focusing lately. I suppose that’s normal for a second semester senior, right? My lack of motivation has manifested itself in my classes and extracurricular activities. This has become a problem for me. I’ve turned to my lists to remedy my lethargy. After nearly four years of college I have found my to-do lists can get me through many situations. You might be wondering, what’s so special about to-do lists?

I asked myself that very same question until I took up list-making. College students have so many activities to balance; here’s my list: 

How do we keep track of it all? Some of you might have photographic memories (jealous!) or amazing planners to mark everything down in, but for many, that just isn’t enough. So we resort to little tricks, mine being lists.

Often times, simply the action of writing down everything that needs to get done gives me a little, but necessary, nudge. Search the Web for correlations between memory and writing things down and you'll find countless articles about muscle memory and the connection between the act of writing and remembering that item. Much like practicing dance steps, writing a to-do list or grocery list helps you remember to turn in that paper or pick up milk, just in case you lose that planner or forget to bring your list to the store.

As a senior, I feel like I’m taking a multiple choice quiz every day: work or play? After three full years of classes, I finally have Fridays off. What kind of a senior am I if I don’t enjoy my final spring to the fullest? With my lists, I can balance the demands of school and the desire to socialize. I never neglect to have a non-school activity on my lists, and I never have to pull all-nighters – don’t you wish you were me?

I’ve solved my motivational dilemma with my lists. They help me to focus on what I need to do, to prioritize my plan of attack, and thus to worry less. Because of this, I can enjoy my free time with friends, rather than worrying about academics and finishing my work.

So get out that little notepad you’ve always wanted to use for something, pick your favorite pen, and write it all down. From working out, to your ten page paper due next week, put your mind at ease. And of course, don’t forget the gratifying scribble you will soon scratch through all of those items on your to-do lists: ta-dah! Happy listing!