How To Stay Motivated While Taking Summer Classes

Summer classes can be difficult to maintain when the sun is shining and all you want to do is hit the beach with your BFF’s. Tip number one is to take online classes when possible. Nobody wants to deal with driving back and forth to campus or even having to live away at your school for the summer. Online summer classes allow you so much more freedom and to do work from wherever you want! But even with online classes, finding the motivation to get your schoolwork done isn’t easy. Check out these tips to get your work done and still have time to enjoy your summer break.

Wake Up Early

Get your work done before the UV gets strong! This is so important when taking online classes. Yes, we all love to sleep in, but save that for the weekends. The best way to stay motivated while taking summer classes is to set an early alarm. Waking up around 7:30-8 works best as you can make something quick to eat and get to work. Say you wake up at 7:45 and spend two hours doing your schoolwork, then by 10 a.m. you’ll have the entire day ahead of you, and for some people, that’s still earlier than you’d usually wake up! Now that your schoolwork is out of the way so early, you can hit the gym, head to the beach, go out to lunch, anything you would do on a normal summer day. Don’t worry, you won’t miss any prime tanning hours either. By getting the work out of the way, you’ll be able to enjoy the day without worrying about when you’re going to do your assignments later, and you definitely won’t have to cancel those happy hour plans because you have homework to do. Yay!

Treat Yourself To Coffee

I don’t know about you, but to get me out of bed and move in the morning I need to know there’s a delicious cup of coffee waiting for me. A great way to stay motivated for your summer classes is to treat yourself to your favorite cup of coffee on days you have class. Now that you’re going to start waking up earlier, you’re definitely going to need that double-espresso iced coffee. Squeeze some time in the morning before starting your schoolwork to head over to your local Starbucks of Dunkin and treat yourself! Taking summer classes is not an easy task and you deserve it. Depending on how often you have to sit down and do your work, buying an iced coffee every day might not be in the budget. A simple solution is to brew a pot of coffee at home and throw it in the fridge the night before. When you wake up, mix it with some sugar, cinnamon, your favorite creamer, whichever way you like your coffee. A similar idea to help you get your work done is to reward yourself after each day. It’s 10 a.m. and you’ve just finished your work, so go get yourself a bagel! You deserve it and if you have a tasty treat to look forward to after your assignment will keep you motivated and even excited to work through the summer!

Plan Out Work Times

Whether you plan on waking up earlier or not, it’s important to plan out your work times. Create a schedule, sis! Staying neat and organized is the key to success no matter what time of year you’re taking classes. But when it comes to summer, we all can admit it’s much harder to stay on track. Using a planner or a printable calendar, schedule times to work as if you were in a regular semester of classes. So, if you plan to wake up earlier to complete your work, add into your planner “class 8-10” on the days you have to meet. Writing down those days is also important. Say your professor says you guys will only be meeting on Monday and Wednesday, highlight those days in your planner so you don’t forget! The idea is to create a set schedule as you would have during your fall or spring classes. If you know one morning you and your friends want to go to an early spin class at the gym, you’ll need to find a new time that day to get your work done. The same goes if you want to go to dinner with your friends but also were too busy that morning to do your assignments, you’ll need to find a section of time to complete it. Use your planner to your advantage and make sure to highlight and check assignments off when completed! I live by my planner no matter what season it is, and you should too!

Set Goals

Setting goals goes hand in hand with planning out your work. Go through your syllabus and pick dates that you want to finish assignments by, even if it’s before the intended due date. Once you pick the date you want to finish something by, write it in your planner and highlight it so you don’t forget. Or maybe you want to balance working out and taking online classes. Set some goals! By Saturday, June 20, you want to have three assignments done and be able to run three miles straight. Keeping goals will only push you, motivate you, and help you better yourself!

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Get Outside

Just because you have work to do doesn’t mean you have to feel stuck inside! If you have access to a backyard, set up a workspace out there. Early summer mornings are so warm and beautiful, so why not enjoy the nice weather as you work? Bring your laptop and coffee outside and you’ll enjoy doing your work so much more, you might even look forward to getting out of bed to get some fresh air! If you have reading assignments you can bring your book to the beach. There’s nothing more relaxing than reading a book in the comfort of a beach chair. You’ll get to tan and enjoy the beautiful view all while getting some schoolwork done! Who knows, maybe you’ll even start reading for fun?

Work With Friends

As you get into your last year or two of college, you’ll notice a lot of students are taking online classes to catch up in credits or fulfill any major requirements. Chances are, you are not the only one out of your friends that will have school work to do this summer. A great way to make homework more enjoyable is to grab your besties and set up a work spot, outside of course. You guys can either go out to a café and sit there as you work on your assignments, or set up an outdoor workspace. Planning homework dates with your friends will keep you motivated and keep all of you on track with your schoolwork. You guys will definitely have more fun working as a group, just remember to stay focused and be productive!

You’re now ready to ace your summer classes. What courses are you taking and how are you planning to stay motivated? Let us know in the comments below!