For college students, staying motivated has never been more difficult than it has been since March. Here are four tips for college students on staying motivated.

Break down your goals

Having to write a 20-page paper sounds like a nightmare — and it will be if you decide to do it all in one sitting.

However, if you set a goal when it’s assigned to write 3 pages a day until the deadline, the workload seems much smaller and you’re less likely to get overwhelmed. This can be applied to any long term paper or project, or even just lengthy weekly homework assignments.

Write down your daily tasks

A few days into the week, it’s easy to feel like you have a week’s worth of work in every one of your classes.

One way to think rationally about your weekly workload is writing down everything you have to do for the week. Not only does this help you remember your work, but most times, it helps you to realize that your workload is never as bad as it seems in your head.

Consider getting a planner or calendar and filling in due dates from your syllabus in advance. Add more events and work days as you go.

Don’t be hard on yourself

It happens to everyone — you fail a quiz you forgot to study for, you fail a quiz you did study for, you turn in an assignment late — all of these simple mishaps can completely crush your motivation for a period of time.

It’s easy to get caught up in failure, but it’s important to take a step back and realize that everyone makes mistakes. You only truly fail when you let a mistake hinder you from succeeding. 

Don’t be afraid to take breaks

With a packed work schedule, it can seem like a far-fetched idea to take a break. However, a study done by the University of Illinois shows that brief breaks from tasks improve focus and long-term productivity.

It’s okay to write a few pages, go out for a walk, and come back to write some more. In fact, that may even improve your writing and your mood. 

Jacob Latimer can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @jacoblatimer_.