With the holidays and the first week of school over, some students are still finding it hard to get themselves out of bed before noon, let alone sit in a lecture class.

For students who need an extra push to get motivated, some helpful tips are available before you fall too far behind.

“Students should bite off small chewable bits so when they succeed that motivates them to go on to the next one,” said Michael Haines, Health Enhancement Service coordinator.

The first thing students should do after they come back from the semester break is to determine what they want to accomplish during the semester, said Dan Klein, associate professor of health education.

“It’s hard to focus on goals with the war going on, so students should not expect too much from themselves,” Klein said.

But Haines said students can use the war to “light the fire under them.” Even if students are depressed by news of the war, they can relate it to what they are learning, he said.

NIU faculty also stressed that physical well-being is important.

Klein said exercise is an important component to a student’s daily routine during the shorter days that winter brings because it helps them deal with stress.

“A person needs to find an exercise program that suits them. For some, just walking to class a half hour a day is sufficient,” he said.

Jeannine Phillip, University Health Center nutritionist, said the basic three meals a day from the four food groups is still the best advice for a student with low energy.

“When students are away from home they tend to eat fast foods that are fried with lots of fats. Students cooking for themselves usually cook something fast, that turns out to be unhealthy,” Phillip said.

She recommends that students relying on the cafeteria for their meals eat a salad with lots of fruits and vegetables with a sandwich.

Mark Luden, a Learning Assistance and Study Skills Lab graduate assistant, is involved with motivational workshops. He said he sees long-term and short-term goals as a high priority when students come back to school after the holidays.

“Students have to develop structural changes in their schedule,” Ludden said. “They have to wake up and say I am going to do these two things today and make a contract with themselves.”