Catching up and Staying Motivated

Posted:

17 Feb 2025

Nearly all students fall behind with work at some point – it’s quite normal so don’t panic!

As soon as you realise this could be the case, ask for some support or seek out information and tools for yourself.

Three smiling women sitting beneath a tree. They are the Trinity Hall (Cambridge) Wellbeing Team.

There are many sources of support here at Cambridge, these include:

- College Tutor
- DoS
- Supervisor/s
- Trinity Hall Student Wellbeing
- Student Support Services
- Student Advice Service
- Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre
- Peers/fellow students
- You can also seek support from friends and family.

If you do fall behind, take time to:

- review your key deadlines
- review your commitments and plan how you might meet those deadlines
- consider where you can compromise and identify what’s preventing you from keeping on top of study.

Finding Community

Some people find it helpful to enlist the help of friends, in sharing what works for them and forming study buddy groups. Others like the accountability of working in a communal space. Cambridge University has lots of different places where you can study which you can find on Spacefinder or you can also join our Trinity Hall Write TogeTHer sessions (Crescent Room Mondays, 2-5pm) or the new Goal Setting Breakfast sessions (JCR Mondays, 8:15-9:00am).

Check out all our Wellbeing events this term

Staying Motivated

Once you’re back on track, it can sometimes be difficult to stay motivated if you don’t have a clear sense of purpose or direction. If you feel like your motivation is slipping, try taking a step back and remind yourself of why you’re pursuing your degree in the first place. It can be helpful to identify the end goal of your education. For example, maybe you wanted to increase your earning potential so that you could travel the world or support your family. Maybe you wanted to learn skills that you could use to serve others and change the world for the better. Maybe you simply wanted to challenge yourself.

No matter what your vision might be, keeping sight of the bigger picture can help maintain the motivation to push through challenging periods.

And remember, if you are experiencing any difficulties that are impacting on your Wellbeing, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by emailing the Wellbeing Team.

Email the Wellbeing Team

Online Study Resources

There are lots of good study support material and ideas online, including practical tips on time management and procrastination. Check out some study skills resources below.

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