There’s never been a time when I considered myself to be a self-starter as a student. I’ve always maintained average grades, followed the rules and got involved in extracurriculars when convenient but there’s always been areas where I’ve lacked. Motivating yourself is difficult when you haven’t had a prior encounter or even the need to do so.     

I consider my experience with PA Distance Cyber Charter School as a crash course in college. My teachers emailed me about assignments and I was expected to do them when they were due. There were never reminders, they never even mentioned it until the due date, quite similar to the structure of classes here.    

There were some things I noticed that helped me as a cyber school student that are essential to having a successful semester here in college – many of which were skills I have acquired from trial and error. I would like to share these skill sets so you can conquer your spring semester.    

Time management is an aptitude that if you haven’t obtained by now, it’s still not too late. Throughout the completion of my last two years of high school via cyber school, motivating myself was no simple chore. While I had the luxury of attending class in my pajamas and sleeping in for the mornings, it took me until my last term to figure out what kind of student I really am.    

Do I study best in the mornings, evenings or afternoons? Am I more productive at a coffee shop, the library or at home? Do I study better in groups or am I riding this out solo?   

Finding what kind of studier you are is helpful if having a more productive semester is your goal. Personally, I find scheduling my study times, class times and extracurriculars first the easiest of my tasks. Then you can divide your time into events you want to attend or when you plan to gather with friends.    

If your phone is a major distraction when you should be doing work, download a Pomodoro timer or an application that temporarily blocks your phone. When faced with a large task or numerous tasks, a Pomodoro timer enables you to break up your time into short intervals so you aren’t overwhelmed doing it all at once.

I use an app called Forest which works similarly to a Pomodoro timer. You set the timer and it gives this incentive that if you exit the app, it will kill the tree (your focus) and your forest (productivity) won’t grow.    

But beware, what people often get wrong about time management is you have to plan out every second of every day. As long as you cover your main bases you should be in good shape. Plan things out week by week rather than projecting the whole semester in one sitting.     

I prefer to make definitive actions rather than speaking ambitiously about what I will do – better for my accountability.  Instead of saying, “This semester I will try to study more,” I try to tell myself, “Today, I will make studying for my psych final a priority.” And of course, there’s following through with your intentions.

Until I began experimenting with different study methods, I never knew the proper way to study. There is no textbook definition on the right way to study because it varies from person to person. 

Flashcards, mind maps, summary sheets, practice questions…there are limitless active studying strategies you can benefit from. They help with storing information into your long-term memory and you can adopt multiple methods for different topics. 

Study accounts on Tumblr, Instagram, YouTube and other social media platforms tend to have an abundance of different approaches to choose from. A bonus is that their pages are always aesthetically pleasing and often have links to study planners and printables that can take the burden out of motivating yourself to study. 

There’s a profound amount of resources on campus and online to utilize. For the tech savvy, you have access to applications on your computer, smartphones and other devices. Install Momentum or Todoist in your google browser to remind you daily of your tasks. Download My Study Life or Quizlet to stay organized and study on the go.

For those who prefer pen and paper, get a 2018 planner or calendar to map out your weeks. Try something new like bullet journaling or putting sticky notes around you as reminders. 

Another biggie is self-care.     

Everyone, I repeat, everyone needs to have at least some sort of self-care routine or Me Day, whether it is just a mental break from class, work or anything else you have on your plate.

I understand that most of us do have bills to pay, places to go and people to see – but if you aren’t charging your battery, you will crash and burn sooner rather than later.     

Whether it is catching up on the second season of the Netflix series you binged through during the break, doing a skincare routine before bed, skyping with your bestie back home or just requesting a day off from work so you can do absolutely nothing – do it. Treat yourself! No one said this college thing would be easy.

To avoid burnout and ensure a productive spring semester, you can incorporate these pieces of advice into your daily routine. The mistakes you may have made academically the last term can help you figure out what you need to improve this semester. 

Luckily, we live in an age where you can find what you need in seconds with a Google search. Consider the amount of options you have at your disposal. Don’t be afraid to try something new and fail, move on until something sticks.