The year is winding down. The stress of preregistration and housing for the fall semester has pretty much ended. Students are running out of Dining Bucks and actively trying to get rid of meal swipes at UpC at an alarming rate. And, let’s be honest, it’s gotten to the point in the semester when everyone is calculating how little work they have to do to pass all of their classes.

The taste of summer is in the air, the number of weeks left of school can be counted on one hand, and motivation is at an all time low. Why would you want to spend an entire day shut up in some building working on your ten-page research paper when it’s so warm and sunny and gorgeous outside? You might manage to make it out of your dorm on the way to the library, totally prepared with your backpack filled with all of your textbooks. But seeing everyone out on the quad looking like part of a typical college brochure—people frolicking about, playing Frisbee, sitting in groups playing instruments, laying in the grass reading—would certainly be enough to convince you to drop everything and join them instead. Believe me, I know how enticing the prospect is of blowing off all schoolwork. Obviously, though, that probably isn’t the wisest thing to do, so here are a few tried-and-true methods for keeping productivity at a respectable level, despite how much you would rather not.

• Set rewards for yourself. After you study for an hour, bask in the soft chewy goodness of a Nilda’s chocolate chip cookie. It may seem somewhat primitive—like bribing a dog with treats—but it’s a pretty efficient method, nonetheless. Food rarely fails as a motivation device.
• If you have a roommate, make a pact with them to yell at you and force you to go bed at a reasonable hour so that you won’t wake up at 3:00 p.m. the next day and waste the entire rest of the afternoon forcing yourself out of bed.
• Think about the fact that the earlier you get to the library, the better location you’ll be able to grab. That way, you can avoid being stuck in the horribly squeaky chairs or some dark corner of the basement. Preferably you’ll find a spot close to a window so that you can still get your dose of natural sunlight even if you’ve spent the entire day indoors.
• Even better than the previous suggestion, sit somewhere in the library where the screen of your laptop is visible to other people. Knowing that they will be able to tell when you’re procrastinating by watching YouTube videos or creeping on the Facebook photos of that person you kind of have a crush on instead of writing your lab report will probably drastically decrease the likelihood of such dilly-dallying occurring—unless, of course, you just have no shame.

I could probably think of a few more tips to add to this lis,t but I should really start my homework now. Good luck to you all.