It's the start of a new semester and you have every intention of pulling off that 4.0, however a college semester is a marathon full of temptation and exhaustion. 

Over the course of the semester it is very easy to lose sight of goals and priorities. It has happened to plenty of people before and it'll happen again, right? No, not this time you can do it this time, you just need a little pep talk. 

YOU CAN DO IT! The first and most important thing you need to realize is you're the only one that can stop you is yourself. 

Here are some ideas to internalize and ignite that fire within which drives you to succeed in all areas of life.

Time Management

     Between school, social life, clubs, sports, and whatever else you have going on in your life you may feel overwhelmed. That is perfectly normal and luckily is an easy fix. I'm sure you've heard the ol' managing your time lecture a number of times so I won't go too much into that, but I do have a question, how well are you managing you're time really? Personally I've been advised to manage my time appropriately and to a certain extent I have but never to the best of my abilities. 

    Stop cutting corners and take it to the next level! Use those syllabi, grab a calendar and write down important dates. 

     Prioritize! make a list "Things I want to do" and "Things I HAVE to do." This will allow you to visualize what you see as important and from there you can decide what activities to address first. 

     Another effective method when prioritizing is to re-evaluate your priorities. How do you prioritize success in school, social life, work and other activities in your life? If studying is not your first priority then don't expect to get high grades. 

     With proper time management you can get your work done prior to any social plans and be able to rage your face off with no stress or worry of assignments due in the morning.

Motivation

     It does no good to prioritize and make a schedule unless it will be followed. Working with friends that have the same objectives as you is great. You are able to motivate each other and have fun while doing it. 

     Motivation is what will get you out of the bed in the morning when you're heavily considering skipping class. Motivation is what will make you work just enough harder to get an A. Recall how it felt to fall short of you goals in the past, use that feeling to drive you forward and succeed. 

Play

     It's college.. If you're all work and no play you're doing it wrong. You only live once, don't look back and regret not having fun. You have to think after you graduate you will not even come close to having the possibilities you have now. Get your work done first and have fun after. 

Say No!

      A little contradictory to play hard, but sometimes you have to say no. Going out on a Wednesday night when you have an exam in the morning should always be a no go. The most powerful word in your vocabulary in college is NO.

The way I see it is "work" and "play are like ting and yang, they balance each other out and you don't want one without the other. Hit the library in the a.m and the bars by night.