With finals week just around the corner, I have found it harder and harder to focus on my assignments. Although I am not a senior just yet, the feeling of being “checked out” is a real struggle for everyone this time of year.

While writing long-winded papers and creating PowerPoint presentations, I find myself rewarding a few minutes of work with hours of social media scrolling. Then, with a brief look at the time, I panic and feel guilty that I wasted so much time away from my assignments. Unfortunately, I don’t have a quick fix answer for this problem.

Personally, I need a strategy for self-discipline or maybe I need to go to a place less distracting than my room. That being said, I know that at a certain point at the end of the semester, the library offers extended hours for students to buckle down and get to work.

If you would like to avoid walking far or commuting from where you live off-campus, a simple alternative is just getting out of bed and working at a table or desk. The more you associate your bed with schoolwork, the less likely you are to be motivated and more likely to feel tired. This is definitely perpetuating the laziness that I have been feeling lately, and I can’t even guarantee that this problem will get any easier. Maybe next year?