How to Motivate Yourself after Spring Break

The last two months after spring break are a special kind of hell here at sunny old Harvard. Students are coming right out of spring break and are caught between missing that carefree week and ticking off the days left before summer break. If the taste of approaching freedom is seriously affecting your ability to tackle your academics, consult our tips on how to inspire yourself to get through the homestretch while, you know, only crying once a day. At most.

By Sidni M. Frederick

Create an inspirational Pinterest board

Cheesy motivational posts might not thoroughly impress a ~sophisticated~ Harvard student but who are we kidding right now? You are desperate and you need this. That poorly photoshopped “Live. Laugh. Love” picture might be the answer to keeping it together during yet another all-nighter.

Make a to-do list

To-do lists can do wonders to your productivity, as crossing that pset off your list is not only oh-so-satisfying but also a pretty strong confidence booster. Your pride in finally being less of a broken mess might even motivate you to knock any upcoming assessments out of the park.

Treat yourself...

...to some new stationary. Getting new school supplies is unquestionably the best part of going back to school. So, relive that fresh new feeling of shopping at Staples with randos you met during Opening Days by engaging in some productive retail therapy. After all, that reminder to study for your LS1B quiz seems less nagging in a fancy notebook than it does in a crude push notification.

Take baby steps

Don’t get us wrong—we’re not here to promote procrastination, unless you’re procrastinating by reading Flyby ;). However, trying to tackle all of your neglected reading during the first day after break is a yugeee mistake. Please do yourself a favor and ease into your workload by dividing your tasks into manageable chunks.

Manage your sleep routine

Whether you spent the break staying up all night getting lit with your besties or wasting the hours away watching Netflix (or Netflix and chilling), your sleep schedule is probably all out of whack. Getting up for your 9 a.m. is going to be even more painful if you don’t ditch your spring break lifestyle, so it might be time to start going to bed before El Jefe's is the only place still open.

Use these tips to get back into the scholarly spirit and hold onto the fact that in two shorts months you’ll be able to shove this advice aside and embrace your inner sloth. Just hang on!