Pushing Through the Senior Slump
During the spring semester of your senior year, it is very normal to feel burnt out and have little to no motivation when it comes to completing your schoolwork. I have a theory that this motivation issue is due to the amount of time you have spent (at least seven semesters) dedicated to college and succeeding academically. And, for those of you who went straight from high school to college, you have been in school for at least sixteen years consecutively with no meaningful break. The sound of that alone is exhausting, let alone actually completing sixteen consecutive years of school.
Furthermore, for those of you who have already determined your post-graduation plans, you no longer have a goal that you are actively working towards where your grades really matter. If you have already landed a job or have your admissions letter for graduate school, then there is no longer the goal of achieving either one of those that helps fuel your fire to stay motivated for your many pending assignments and due dates.
So, having identified the issue of the senior slump; now what? Well, you should select at least one of the strategies below to try and stay motivated.
Give it 15
One strategy I employ is to give a task I am avoiding 15 minutes of focused attention. Before I start a task, I set a 15-minute timer on my phone. Usually, I get so much completed in 15 minutes that I either complete my micro task, make a dent in some task that originally seemed daunting, or see enough progress that I want to complete another 15 minutes.
Set a Specific Goal
Goal setting is a terrific way to stay motivated and on track. A goal can help you to understand how every small action (or lack thereof) contributes towards your goal. Your goal can be obtaining a specific GPA for this semester, obtaining a specific course grade, creating a timeline for the assignment, or something else related to academics. Then, I would also intentionally make a list of actions that help you make progress toward the goal and a list of actions to avoid or limit that would hinder you from completing that goal. For reference, I have a whole post about goal setting; head there for more information.
Break it Down
Instead of deciding to complete the entire 20-page paper you have been assigned, I suggest you break this assignment down into smaller parts. You can set a realistic micro-goal for a singular homework session. Your micro goal for the paper could be something like finding ten potential quotes, writing an introduction, or locating 3 primary sources. A small micro goal can help you feel like you have made progress and can encourage you to continue with the larger assignment
Buddy System
Finding an accountability buddy can help both of you stay focused. Positive peer pressure of working together in the same space can be mutually beneficial even if you are doing different work. This positive peer pressure is an especially strong strategy for those with ADHD to stay motivated in general and focused on a task.
Change Your Environment
It might be time to switch things up and find a new study spot. Have you been able to study in your room in the past? Now might be a great time to start studying somewhere on campus, like in the library or an empty classroom. We associate spaces with behaviors, and therefore, switching your environment can help you stay motivated and focused.
Set Fun Plans
Although setting alternative (non-academic) plans may seem counterproductive, it might be worth trying. Setting plans you are actually looking forward to can provide a narrow time frame to complete your current work. Completing your work before the plans then allows you to meaningfully relax, disconnect, and enjoy whatever you planned for yourself. Just make sure not to over-plan fun extracurriculars, so you have enough time available to complete your work.
Create a Sense of Urgency
Although your due date provides a sense of urgency to complete the work, sometimes an earlier self-imposed deadline can be particularly helpful. A few great examples of creating urgency are setting an appointment with the writing center to review a paper prior to the due date, meeting with a professor to review a problem set before you submit, reviewing homework questions with a study group, or meeting with a TA to review an assignment and ask questions. All these examples force you to complete an assignment or try to complete an assignment in full before its actual due date.
Schedule it
Lastly, scheduling time to complete each of your assignments is key to staying motivated. Along with that, I suggest that you plan extra padding time for each assignment as well. So, if you think the assignment will take 2 hours, hold 3 hours in your calendar to complete it. This way, if you end early, you now get some free time to reward yourself, or you will feel so accomplished you will continue with other assignments.
Hopefully, you now have at least one strategy of interest that you will try to help increase your motivation in your final semester. I know you are mentally exhausted from school, but as you get work done, let your shrinking to-do list be the motivation to continue to complete your work. And, if you find yourself falling into the senior slump again, revisit this post
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