Give Yourself Credit!

Towards the end of the semester, the stress level of every student skyrockets. So many papers, exams, quizzes, and projects are thrown at every student all at once. With only 24 hours in a day, it may seem impossible to students to get everything done.

Students may start the day with a mental list of all the things they have to get done in that day. It may feel frustrating not to be able to achieve everything on their list by the end of the day.

I know this is true for myself. As I approach the final weeks of the semester, I notice that I mentally beat myself up when I don’t cross everything off my to-do list. I sometimes call myself “lazy” or “slow,” even though I’d been productive all day, working on all the things on my to-do list. This mental name-calling would discourage me and make me feel really down about myself.

Over the past couple days, I’ve noticed that I was being overly critical toward myself—so I’ve made it a point to be nicer to myself. I’ve learned to give myself credit for what I have done.

Just because you did not achieve everything on your to-do list does not mean you are a failure. Maybe you set unrealistic goals for that day, which is something that I do quite often. What you do is enough! Focus on what you did get done. You will feel a lot better about yourself and feel very accomplished!