How to Beat the Summer Slump
Source: Unsplash (@ralppie)
With the start day of school inching closer at an alarming rate, you’ve realized that summer break is somehow already over. While the past few months may have been fun–staying up late, hanging out with friends, ingesting sickening amounts of ice-cream–the work you may promised yourself to do in the summer is still largely untouched, and the guilt and stress of the time you supposedly wasted is really starting to catch up. Although there may be no way to turn back time, wallowing in your supposed lack of productivity will also not be productive, so here are some ways to get over the summer slump and start the school year strong.
#1: Get over the Guilt
Remember, summer is the time to enjoy yourself and recover after a long school year of hard work, so recognize that your summer break was meant to be a BREAK. While it’s always good to get work done, the time you used to hang out with friends, have fun, and rest yourself is a productive use of time, because we all need to rest and summer is the perfect way to do that. Remember, time spent on yourself is not a waste. Science has shown that taking a holiday is good for your mental and physical health–especially after a long period of stress–and that the benefits of the break will last for months. In addition, it will even make you more productive, so not doing anything also counts as a form of preparation for the start of school. Feeling good about yourself and your summer is a good way to start the year off strong and productive, because you will be more happy with yourself and better rested. Those feelings of guilt are not going to help.
#2: Set Yourself Up for Success
With only a couple days before school starts, it is unlikely that you can do anything drastic, and it's always bad to overwork or stress yourself out before school even starts. What we want to do is go into the year with confidence and a good mindset. This can be done by spending the next few days organizing and preparing yourself for the first day. An article by Homework recommends students spend half a day revisiting materials from last year and organizing anything that may be needed, which includes notes and getting rid of last year’s clutter. This can also double as homework review, especially if you are taking higher levels of the same course (e.g. pre-calculus 11 to calculus 12). By sorting everything, you can start with a clean state and also re-stock the materials you may need during the school year. This way, you can start school with the confidence that you have everything prepared.
#3: Self-improvement
As a continuation of the second tip, setting yourself up for success should also mean a way to aim for self-improvement during the school year. A great way to do that is by setting up goals and a routine to follow during school. SMART goals provide a guideline to set S(pecific), M(easurable), A(chievable), R(elevant), and T(ime-bound) goals that will help keep you accountable and provide a clear setup on how to achieve them. Make sure that when writing your goal, you keep all of those factors in mind and address each in a reasonable and specific way. Having something to aim for during the school year will help provide you with direction and a positive, personal-growth-focused mindset for the year. Additionally, if your sleep schedule during the summer took a serious nose-dive, start following a good morning routine, or at the minimum, start waking up at the time you will usually wake up for school. Feel free to experiment with morning routines, because different routines work for different people. Try something new to find out what works the best for you.
So even if you feel your summer has been wasted, that doesn’t mean you’ve ruined the start of your school year. Above all, go into school with a good mindset and organized drive, because while negative emotions can be fuel for productivity, the benefits are unsustainable and often harmful. School is a time to learn about yourself as well, so always remember to have patience with yourself and enjoy the process.