While the end of the spring semester is still a few weeks away, it may feel as though that last week will get here sooner than you think, but that doesn’t mean all hope is lost if you’re not happy with where your academics are.
Expecting to get perfect scores on every single assignment, project and paper is not completely unattainable, but it is about as equally as difficult to get there as trying to get a 4.0 GPA with very limited time. Not impossible, but a lot of work is required to get to that point.
But if it’s a lot of work, does that mean it’s too late? Not at all.
Getting caught up with everything before the end of the semester starts with communicating to those around you. After recognizing your struggles, you may realize you need some extra time to do the work piled onto you. If you’re honest about why, you shouldn’t have a problem getting an extension or some grace from a professor on their assignments.
Once you’re getting caught up, the first strategy you may hear for preventing this from happening again is self-discipline. This is true, but it takes more than effectively punishing yourself for falling off track to get back to where you want to be.
Maybe you can use this time to try a different strategy for doing your work? It can be as simple as going somewhere else to do assignments instead of staying in your dorm.
Our campus is full of different spots to do your work and go study if you need to. Even if the cold weather makes it seem otherwise, spring is here. The occasional warm day is perfect to go outside, sit in Village Park and get some work done.
What if the weather doesn’t agree with you, or if it is so sunny that you can hardly see your laptop’s screen? The latter doesn’t sound so bad, but every building on campus has study spots. The University Center is among the best due to the many different tables available, the vast space and the private study rooms. The building looking beautiful is a bonus, even if that could be distracting.
Why bring any of this up now? The semester ends in less than a month, and the end will get here faster than you realize. This is even more of a harsh reality for the seniors graduating this semester – how many times did someone tell you that college will go by a whole lot faster than you expect? Were they right?
And despite the rest of this semester only lasting a few more weeks, that doesn’t mean all hope is lost or that there’s no way to recover if you have fallen into a rut of not turning in assignments. This is true even if you’ve been struggling with motivation to do your work.
We all have a lot on our plates – other classes, internships, apprenticeships, part-time jobs and more. College is almost always going to be a busy time, and nobody said it’s easy to juggle your assignments, jobs and social life at the same time.
But if you were able to do this once before, there’s no reason you can’t again. Have faith in yourself, put away distractions like your phone if you know they’re affecting you and ask for help if needed. Your friends should be a good support system for you, and we will always encourage people to utilize the university’s therapy options.
Time to lock in, Pioneers. We all got this.