The January Drag

The holiday season has ended, and now that all the decorations are down, the cookies have been eaten and the Spring semester is in session, it is very common for activity and productivity levels to be at a low; but why is that?

“Coming back after a long break…it’s cold, and it’s kind of hard to adjust. I think that there’s a lot of pressure with the New Year to make resolutions, complete goals and be really productive, and I know from myself it’s just not the season that I’m going through right now,” says faculty member Kalli McClure.

“I feel like January just feels worse because everything is just darker, so you feel like you want to sleep more and everything. In general, I think that school is just kind of bleak,” sophomore Eni Wintoki agrees.

“Break is just long enough to get into a new routine and so it can be hard. I know I’m guilty of sleeping in, and even when I’m awake, staying in bed for too long…just noticing what you want to do for yourself and start little…don’t feel like you have to accomplish a ton right now,” says McClure.

Aside from the less-than-ideal weather, there are other reasons that returning to school is difficult. Sophomore Elyse Hammann says, “you get on such a large break that you aren’t really mentally ready to go back to it quickly… and how much work is being put on is really mentally draining.”

Senior Sam Jackon thinks that one of the harder parts of returning to school is the change to his waking up time. “People get used to waking up at the time they want to wake up instead of having to wake up really early, and during winter break, we’re not really forced to do anything especially important,” Jackson says.

The change in a person’s sleep schedule seems to be a common challenge for students. “Waking up in the morning is really hard especially since you haven’t been on a very tight schedule while you’ve been off at break,” says junior David Klimiuk.

McClure offers some tips on dealing with mental block, saying, “For me one thing that’s helpful is keeping my blinds open and getting as much sunshine as I can… Prioritizing social activities is a good tip… I always look forward to Friday night basketball games or making plans with my friends for the weekend and then having that to look forward to.”

Other people agree with McClure about the importance of social activities outside and inside of the school to help get past the burnout. Wintoki says, “Try to talk to people more. I feel like a bad thing you can do is kinda like block yourself away…but I think having fun, talking to people, going outside when it is bright out and the weather is nice is kind of fun.”

Klimiuk agrees that socializing with others is an good way to get through the week. He says he “was excited to see [his] friends and kind of get back into a nice little routine.”

Hammann suggests that to be in a better mental state for the early weeks of the year, “Going outside is really helpful. Working out and making your body healthy, and be doing things outside of your normal routine.”

“Just do [work], because if you don’t do it out of lack of energy, you’re just going to fall even farther behind and want to do it even less,” says Jackson, “It will just become an evil snowball of ‘ugh.’”

Klimiuk offers a similar sentiment to Jackson, saying, “Just remember, no matter how hard it gets, at some points just remember what you’re working for…the things you do at a young age like this, it really does have an impact on when you’re older.”