16th August 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
For many students the summer is a time to take a break from studies and get some rest, or take up a holiday job to earn extra cash for the new academic year. However, others will have been set assignments by their university which will need to be completed by September. In some cases this will be completing a reading list in order to prepare for the new term, and for others this will be assessed coursework which will contribute to their final grade. Once the pressure of the university term is over and students are no longer attending classes, it can be difficult to find the motivation to complete the required work, especially when the sun is shining! Home tutors often find at some point that their students experience a lull in motivation or mental blocks, and are used to providing tips to help their students get the work done.
One of the most important things a student can do is to get out of the mind-set that they are simply ‘on holiday’ for the summer. Thinking like this encourages students to feel that they shouldn’t have to do any work, and it will often be left till the last minute when students begin to think about heading back to university for the Autumn term. The best way to ensure that this doesn’t happen is to create a timetable for the summer vacation, which outlines the weeks a student intends to work, and the time which is clear for holidays and rest. This allows students to plan their work, and feel good about having leisure time as a reward. It is often useful to think of time which is allocated for work like having a 9-5 holiday job. That way they know that for those weeks, they must be up and working at a set time, and they know that they can finish for the day with a clear conscience.
A mental block is most likely to arise when students are on holiday and out of the habit of working regularly. A good way to crack this is to set small targets, for example writing a paragraph on a certain topic a day, or to read one chapter of a book. Once students get back into the habit of working they are likely to get into the swing and be able to complete more work per day. Setting small and manageable targets is a good way to begin, and helps alleviate the worry that comes with having a significant amount of work to complete over the summer.