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Being Young; Tackling the ‘second-week slump’

Defeating the slump is difficult.
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Marlowe Evans.

With the winter break officially over, and everyone settled back into school and work, it seemed to me that the natural order of the world had been restored.

Until this week. This week hit me like a tonne of bricks.

This ‘second-week slump,’ as I’ve dubbed it, began after I realized that while my new semester of classes and lectures was off to a fun start (I am taking a whole class about witchcraft), I actually had assignments to do again. Showing up to the lectures and learning is one thing, but actually completing assignments – that’s how knowledge is proven. I know that.

However, whether or not I was happy about remembering that I knew that, I won’t say.

I’m not alone. After some quick reading (and talking with my friends), I found out rather quickly that disruption to a regular routine can often lead to a drop in productivity and difficulty focusing on one task.

Focus? I laugh. Over the winter break, I caught myself texting two different people, reading the news, and watching television, all at the same time.

After trying to do my Latin translations the same way I’d been watching TV at home, it dawned on me that something had to change before I could possibly escape the dreaded second-week slump.

I had to up my productivity and improve my focus. It wasn’t easy. I first had to rid myself of distractions, which included but were not limited to: the evening activities planned on campus, my phone, the new novel I bought, and the set of paints I brought back to Fredericton with me from Maple Ridge.

Defeating the slump is difficult. There are always so many amazing things going on at school– clubs, events– that it’s hard to say no to things that I might want to do.

Still, it is possible.

I’ve set myself simple goals (two readings finished by four o’clock) and then I collect a reward (a walk down to the outdoor ice rink). My productivity rose dramatically by giving myself a work/play schedule and removing distractions (I’m going to the library to study, I swear!).

The body responds well to rhythm. By making my school day take on a solid rhythm once again, I’ve managed to defeat the second-week slump so it didn’t drag on into my third week back at school. I’ve completed my assignments, done my homework, and watched hockey – all before eleven o’clock each day.

Taking a long break from routine never really agrees with me in the long run. Even though my parents tell me I should start getting up later or going to bed earlier before the winter break ends, I never end up doing it. Staying up late and sleeping in are singular pleasures to be taken in whenever and wherever possible, whether school is on my horizon or not.

However, after my experience with the slump (a rather nasty shock, I will say), I might have to stop indulging my raccoon-like sleeping patterns and figure out a way to keep my rhythm going before it gets to the point where I have to implement another ‘anti-slump strategy.’

Marlowe Evans is a student at the

University of New Brunswick from Maple Ridge who writes about

youth issues.