4 Ways to Conquer Back-to-School Blues
Ways to Beat the Back-to-School Blues
Need some help getting back into your school routines? There are steps you can take to make the jump back into academics easier. We examine them below.
Finish Your Summer To-Do List
Nothing feels better than crossing that final “to-do” off your list and then shredding the list altogether. All those tasks you set out to accomplish during the summer will haunt you until they are finished.
RELATED: Cheap Textbooks: Here’s How
Start the school year off on the right foot without anything hanging over your head.
Our Director of Marketing shares a tip on how to get “back to school” the right way, “Every evening before winding down for the day, I make a ‘to do’ list for the following day.
The things at the top MUST be accomplished the next day, and then those listed at the bottom are long-term goals or projects that I need to keep in mind or make slow progress on. It keeps me on task and feels good to cross off each task as I complete them.”
Get In Touch
Reach out to your advisor, professors, classmates, or the parents of kids in your child’s class. Touch base and catch up. Find out what has been happening with them and let them know what has been happening with you.
RELATED: Ways for Military and Veteran Students to Save
Reaching out and nurturing these relationships will not only help you emotionally because you will have supporters during this process but also, if you need some assistance or to ask a favor of someone down the road, you have options.
If you nurture these relationships and make yourself available for others when they might need someone to lean on, you create a crucial support system when striving for success.
This is helpful when returning to school and in the future as you build your network and pursue your career.
Plan It Out
Grab your Google Calendar or do it the old-fashioned way and purchase a planner. Mark all of the school holidays, vacations (start out with fun reminders, of course), class schedules, and reminders. You can check with the admissions office of the school you are attending to get a list of all vacation days on campus.
Be sure to include reminders of annual back-to-school sales and discounts to help you stretch your budget while returning to class. You can also use Google Calendar to schedule reminders of important dates including finals week, term paper deadlines, and the next semester’s registration deadlines.
Set Your Alarm
Before those mandatory early morning wake-up calls come in, warm yourself up to the idea of waking up and not pressing the snooze button before you go back to school.
At least a week before class starts, begin conditioning your body to go to bed earlier (don’t stay up until 2 am watching Netflix!) and wake up reasonably without snoozing your alarm 5 times.
This will make getting back into the swing of things much easier as you won’t be exhausted when it’s time to sit in a lecture or wake up to drive those kids to school.
RELATED:
- 13 Tips for Military & Veterans on How to Apply for Scholarships
- Going to School as a Parent: How It’s Possible
- Back-to-School Shopping Tips
- Save With Back-To-School Tax-Free Weekends and AAFES
- 9 Back-to-School Discounts for Military and Veteran Students
- Best Back-to-School Discounts for Military Families
About the author
Terry Howell is a retired Coast Guard veteran, where he served for 20 years.
He is currently the Executive Director for Veterans' Legacies, a non-profit that works to preserve veterans personal stories to help educate our youth.
Terry is also the author of The Military Advantage, an annually updated guide to military and veteran benefits.