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When I was a little girl, I always had trouble keeping up with my work in school. After being depressed about it for a while, I knew I had to change my mentality and become a more driven, positive, and lively person. Nursing school in general is a lot to take in so having a strong and positive outlook towards your journey to be a registered nurse will get you through! Here are some of things that I continue to do each term to ensure that I am motivated and feel positive to continue to achieve this BSN degree! 

SET GOALS 

Personally, I like to make "term goals". My school term is ten weeks long, and there are plenty of items to check off during this time. You can adjust your goals to however long your semester/quarter is, but I've learned that having smaller goals broken into my term makes it more exciting to achieve. For example, this term with my Public Health rotation, one of my main goals is to average an A for all my exams. Another one could be for clinical where you make it a goal to successfully administer at least two IVs. Whatever it may be, the smallest goals/wins are the best (which transitions into my next point...) 

CELEBRATE THE SMALL WINS 

If you’re like me, the biggest win you've had so far is getting accepted into nursing school! You are still in your nursing program and CRUSHING it! You want to be able to celebrate the little things that you do. Whether it’s getting a passing score on your exam, killing your validations check offs, or having a really good day at clinicals—GO CELEBRATE! Bring your nursing buddies with you for a bite to eat, a nice drink, or head to Disneyland (this is my favorite celebration after each term). 

TAKE BREAKS 

I think this is CRUCIAL when it comes to studying your material and just keeping up the motivation to study at all. Your brain and energy levels can only take on so much information at a time - sometimes a break is necessary. I know a lot of my nursing friends would say that time is precious, but a healthy mind is too.  

I use the Pomodoro Technique in my study sessions. This technique can also be used outside of school, and improves productivity and efficiency in everything that I do in my daily routine. The Pomodoro Technique has six steps: 

1. Decide on the task to be done.
   
2. Set the Pomodoro timer (traditionally to 25 minutes). 
   
3. Work on the task. 
   
4. End work when the timer rings and put a checkmark on a piece of paper. 
   
5. If you have fewer than four checkmarks, take a short break (3–5 minutes), then go to step 2. 
   
6. After four pomodoros, take a longer break (15–30 minutes), reset your checkmark count to zero, then go to step 1. 

POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS 

If you were to only take one thing away from this blog post, please make it this... Positive affirmations have gotten me through some of the roughest, toughest, and most rewarding situations in my time during nursing school. Putting things out in the universe gives a sense of hope in the goal that you strive to accomplish. Examples of positive affirmations that I always tell myself are that "I will be a Labor & Delivery Nurse", "I am good enough to be in nursing school.", "I can accomplish anything I put my mind into." Anything that says that you are, can, and will be is a possible affirmation. I recommend writing these on sticky notes, or even on a bathroom mirror, somewhere you can see them every day as you work toward your reality.