It’s cold. It’s grey. You haven’t seen the sun properly in weeks, and your motivation has packed its bags and fled. Welcome to the spring term: the bit of uni that no one warns you about.
The excitement of freshers is long gone, deadlines are creeping up, and dragging yourself to 9am lectures in freezing temperatures feels borderline inhumane. If you’re struggling to stay motivated at uni, you’re not alone. The percentage of UK university students reporting mental health difficulties has jumped from 6% to 16% between 2016/17 and 2022/23 1, and honestly, it’s not hard to see why.
The good news? You don’t have to just push through on vibes alone. A few small shifts can make this term feel a little less like a never-ending slog and a little more manageable. Maybe even enjoyable.
Reset Your Routine and Energy Levels
Over the holidays, your body clock likely turned into a mess of late-night gaming, Christmas snacks at 2am, and rolling out of bed past noon. Relatable. But if you’re constantly exhausted, no amount of “just focus” is going to work – you need to fix the basics first.
Start with sleep. Try going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time every day (painful, I know). Getting some daylight in the morning, yes, even in miserable British weather, helps reset your energy levels. A short walk or even just standing outside with your coffee for five minutes can make a difference.
Also, fuel your brain properly. Living off meal deals and caffeine might keep you going short-term, but proper meals (with, you know, actual nutrients) will stop you from crashing by mid-afternoon. If you’re dehydrated, your brain functions about as well as a laptop on 1% battery, so drink some water. No, a caramel latte doesn’t count.
Make Your Study Sessions More Bearable (and Even Fun)
If the idea of sitting at your desk for hours makes you want to scream, change things up. Try studying in a café, a different library, or even just a different spot in your room. A simple change of scenery can make things feel less monotonous.
Music can help too – some people thrive on lofi beats, others need dramatic film scores to make their essay writing feel like an intense battle scene. If total silence isn’t your thing, try ambient noise apps that mimic cafés or rain sounds.
And for the love of all things good, reward yourself. Give yourself little incentives: finish a section, and you get 10 minutes of TikTok. Smash out a full study session, and you’ve earned a coffee run. The Pomodoro technique (working in short bursts with breaks in between) makes things way more manageable than staring at your screen for five hours straight while getting nothing done.
Find Social Motivation and Beat the Isolation Trap
It’s easy to hibernate when it’s dark and miserable outside, but spending too much time alone makes motivation even harder to come by. Studying with friends (even if you’re just sat next to each other in silence) keeps you accountable and makes the whole thing feel less painful.
If you’re struggling to get work done solo, study groups are a lifesaver. Whether it’s a proper revision session or just working alongside others in the same boat, the shared suffering can be surprisingly motivating.
And if you’re feeling disconnected, get involved in something outside of lectures (societies, sports, volunteering) anything that forces you out of your room and into the world a bit. Human interaction works wonders for pulling yourself out of a slump.
Break the Monotony and Give Yourself Something to Look Forward To
The term feels long because it’s all work, no play. Fix that. Plan little things to break up the routine, whether that’s a weekend trip, a gig, or even just a night out with mates. Having something non-academic to look forward to makes the workload feel more manageable.
Set yourself some non-uni goals too. Want to learn to cook? Pick up a new hobby? Finally start that book that’s been sitting on your shelf since September? Giving your brain something fresh to focus on outside of coursework helps prevent burnout.
And don’t feel guilty for taking breaks. A day off here and there to recharge is not going to ruin your degree. Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is give yourself permission to stop for a bit.
Small Shifts Make a Big Difference
There’s no magic fix for motivation, but small changes add up. A better routine, a more interesting study setup, social connection, and things to look forward to can help make the spring term feel less of a slog.
And if you’re feeling stuck, don’t struggle alone. Unibeez connects students with flexible work opportunities that fit around studies, helping you gain experience while earning some extra cash (which, let’s be honest, always helps).
Hang in there. Longer days and warmer weather are on their way. It won’t feel like this forever.
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