April 1, 2015

By Alyssa Kirchen

[typography font=”Cantarell” size=”25″ size_format=”px”]Q: After spring break I always feel myself “checking out.” How do I get back into the rhythm of school? [/typography]

A: Coming back from spring break is really tough after having a little taste of freedom. Having no worries about going to class or turning in assignments makes returning to a normal routine dreadful.

You really have to push yourself into getting back in the swing of things because, after all, it is only a break.

The Monday after spring break can be the hardest day of the week. You are hit with a reality check of all the things you didn’t do before or during spring break, along with the Monday blues. You are flooded with updates of upcoming exams, papers and daily homework that you just don’t want to do so you don’t end up doing it.

When you first come back from break, make sure you take a deep breath and remind yourself everything will be OK.

Don’t stress yourself out the first day back by trying to play catch up. This will make you resist getting work done later in the week, and ultimately, the point of no return will come, the checking out phase.

The very opposite can happen as well, which is returning back to school and not doing anything. You’ve come to like not doing homework and going to class, so you continue to not do these very things even though class is back in session.

The most important thing to do at this point of the semester is getting on top of what is due in the final weeks to come.

You are so close to the end that you can’t afford to mess it all up now! You have to think of the long term instead of reminiscing on how amazing spring break was.

Start to make a list of items on your to-do list. List them in order of upcoming due dates and then importance. If you can visually see what needs to be accomplished, you won’t get confused and it will aid in getting back into the school rhythm. When you make this list, don’t look at it and freak out and think it all needs to get done within the same day. This list is a reminder of what you need to get done and gets you back into a daily schedule.

At this point, keep telling yourself, “you have made it through most of the semester and in a few weeks school will be over with.” Then you can relax all you want in the warm sun during summer vacation.