Whenever a new school year starts I tend to be very motivated and I tell myself that I'll be super organised with exams, homework and other things. A new agenda, new supplies and stationery help me to keep that mindset for a few weeks but then once the initial phase is over, motivation begins to fade a bit and procrastination makes its appearance.

I've been back at school for two weeks now. Actually, I started my last ever semester because I'll be graduating at the end of the year. That's not the point of this post though, what I wanted to share today is a goal I set myself for this last semester. Or I guess you could say the one piece of advice I gave myself which I hope is somewhat helpful to you guys as well. I think what I mentioned in the introduction is something a lot of people can relate to so I asked myself: what is it that makes me lose my initial motivation? And I came to a conclusion.

In the weeks before summer break there was so much going on, I felt overwhelmed and my life became this routine of going to school, doing homework, studying, going to bed. Basically, I felt like school was taking over my life and that's what I think is the main problem. The reason why I get into this routine in the first place, is because I'm sometimes way too focused on school work. Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't want to do well in school or that you shouldn't care about your exams and your grades. My grades have always been quite good (I'm not trying to brag, it's just a fact) because I do invest time in studying and I don't want it to be any different this semester.

However, there is something I want to do different so let me explain. Like I said, I do invest time in school work but for this last semester I also want to focus on doing things for myself more often as well. Because I believe that's why I tend to lose motivation: all I'm focusing on is school work and I tell myself there's no time to make any other plans. Last semester I was at a point where I was at home every weekend because I felt stressed out and thought that all the work I needed to get done made it impossible to have any spare time. Instead of actually getting work done I then ended up procrastinating and being annoyed with myself though. 

So, what I want to do better this semester is setting priorities. What I mean by that is I want to do well in school but I also don't want to fall back into this routine where that's all I'm focusing on. Because sometimes, you have to make what YOU want to do a priority as well. So here's a note to myself as well as to everyone reading: balancing school work and not school related things is possible with the right time-management. You just have to plan ahead and really use your spare time instead of procrastinating.

For example, when I wrote down all the things I had to get done during the weekend this past Friday, I felt pretty overwhelmed at first. But, I managed to do everything. On Saturday, I got a lot of school work done and wrote all three blogposts for the following week because I didn't procrastinate. Then I rewarded myself by watching a movie in the evening and on Sunday I got to spend the day with a friend to enjoy some free time.

I hope you'll all do well this semester but don't forget to enjoy life and allow yourself to have breaks.