How to Do Something When You Feel Stuck During Freshman Year

Several years ago Shia LaBeouf’s “Just Do It” motivational speech became a notoriously cringy meme. But this quasi-Nike slogan is onto a critical tip for college freshmen.

Perfectionism, apathy, or procrastination can keep you immobilized. Should I join this group? Should I pursue that extracurricular? And on and on the mental gymnastics go on and on.

There’s one not-so-secret secret to getting out of this funk: Just do something. It doesn’t matter quite what that something is. Not sure how to do this? Here are a few tips to help:

“What homework should I work on first?”

You can think about your different assignments different ways. (More on this in other posts like this one.) But at the end of the day, sometimes you just have to pick something and get to work.

Special tip: Sometimes it’s helpful to pick something easy and quick to give you momentum for the more challenging tasks. If you can break down a bigger task into mini tasks, try tackling one of the mini tasks.

“Should I skip class in college?”

You won’t be surprised that this former teacher would suggest you don’t skip any classes, but realistically you may need to skip a class in certain situations (more than on days you’re sick or have a family emergency). If you have a paper or project due that’s unfinished but worth 20% of your course grade, you may need to skip another class. While ideally you wouldn’t be in this situation, it’s better to make your decision and put your best foot forward.

Special tip: It’s tempting to tell your teacher why you’ve skipped and ask for an exception on missed work, but don’t. Teachers tend to prefer students that claim responsibility, get what notes from a reliable classmate, and get caught up.

“Should I change my major?”

Declaring your college major can be an extremely stressful experience. It isn’t a decision most students make on a whim (and that’s wise too). While taking time to reflect and talk to trusted advisors, sometimes you just have to choose the best option for now.

Special Tip: You can actually pick a safe major for now if you’re struggling. This can look like being an undeclared major, taking a gap year, or choosing a general degree in the field you like. That’s okay. You need to do what’s best for you.

College is full of lots of “there are no wrong decisions” decisions, which can make it easy to get stuck or in your head. It’s okay not to be 100% sure what you should do and still taking action. You’ve got this!