Students: Are You Going Through “The Dip” Again? [Video]

Hey, what’s up, everybody? It’s Seth from SethPerler.com.

This video is for students—middle school, high school, and college students—and it’s about something I call the Dip.

I talk about this a lot because right now it’s the end of February, which means we’re approaching the middle of the second semester. Around this time, many students go through what I call the Dip.

Usually, about six to eight weeks into any semester, students who struggle with consistency begin to experience it.

The Dip is that point where you start the semester strong. Everything is going well. Then, a few weeks later, things start getting weird.

Your grades might be really high one week, really low the next, then back up again. Things start feeling all over the place.

At the beginning of the semester, you have mostly A’s and B’s. You’re turning things in. You’re keeping up.

If you’re watching this video, you’re probably a good starter.

The challenge isn’t starting.

The challenge is finishing.

A lot of my students begin the semester doing really well, and then something happens around the six-to-eight-week mark.

Teachers start entering grades.

Maybe you’ve turned in assignments late.

Maybe you have a few missing assignments or zeros.

Maybe teachers are finally entering a backlog of grades.

Suddenly—boom—the Dip happens.

Everything starts going downhill.

You might have a small dip and recover, then another dip, then another.

Eventually, all those A’s and B’s can suddenly turn into C’s, D’s, and F’s.

It can happen very fast.

Right now, if you checked your grades, you might discover something crazy, like four F’s and two A-pluses.

This is actually a very predictable pattern.

So the question is:

What do you do about it?

There are three options.

Option 1: Do Nothing

Keep avoiding.

Keep procrastinating.

Keep telling yourself you’ll feel motivated tomorrow.

Keep making excuses.

Stay in the Dip.

Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.

If you do that, you’ll probably end up with low grades at the end of the semester.

You may think you’ll magically pull everything together later, but it rarely works that way.

Before you know it, there’s only a week left in the semester.

You scramble to catch up.

Then report cards arrive, summer begins, and it’s too late.

Now you’re dealing with summer school, credit recovery, or repeating classes.

Option 2: Partially Dig Yourself Out

You start trying.

You do a little better.

You work harder sometimes.

But you’re not consistent.

You make some progress, but not enough to fully recover.

You end up with average grades.

Maybe mostly C’s, with a few B’s and D’s mixed in.

You’re swimming upstream the whole semester.

Option 3: Completely Turn It Around

This is the option I want for you.

You decide:

“I’m not going to let this happen.”

That’s why I’m making this video now.

The Dip is happening right now.

If you address it today, you can make the rest of the semester dramatically easier.

Believe it or not, getting A’s and B’s doesn’t necessarily require a lot more effort than you’re already putting in.

But it does require some different actions.

Here are a few things that will help.

1. Advocate for Yourself

Do this immediately.

And honestly, some of you won’t want to do it.

Sit down today.

Look at your grades.

Write an email to your teacher.

Say something like:

“Hi, this is Seth. I’m currently earning a C, D, or F in your class. My goal is to improve my grade. Could I meet with you during office hours, or do you have any suggestions for what I can do to improve?”

Be honest.

Connect with your teachers.

Now, I already know what some of you are thinking.

You’ll say:

“I’ll just talk to them when I see them in class.”

No.

Don’t lie to yourself.

I’ve been doing this for a long time.

I work with all kinds of students.

The students who say they’ll talk to the teacher later usually don’t.

A few days later, I ask if they talked to the teacher.

“No, I forgot.”

Then they say:

“I’ll do it tomorrow.”

And they don’t.

Just send the email.

The students who actually email their teachers almost always get positive responses.

Teachers respect students who advocate for themselves.

Don’t wait.

Do it today.

2. Do a Complete Overhaul

Bring home everything.

Every paper.

Every notebook.

Every worksheet.

Everything from your backpack, locker, desk, folders—everything.

Dump it all on the floor.

Then go through it.

Recycle what you don’t need.

Archive what you want to keep.

Create a pile for assignments that still need to be completed or turned in.

Organize everything.

Reset.

Think of it like restarting a computer or resetting your Wi-Fi router.

You need a reset.

Do it today.

Or tomorrow.

But do it.

In fact, you should probably do this every couple of weeks for the rest of the school year.

Trust me—it helps.

When students do this, they often discover things like:

“Oh, that’s where that assignment is.”

“I’ve been looking for that.”

“No wonder I have a zero—I never turned it in.”

An overhaul can instantly uncover problems and opportunities.

3. Create a Sacred Study Space

If you’re studying on the couch one day, your bed the next day, and the kitchen table after that—stop.

Choose one place.

Create a study space that is dedicated to studying.

Don’t pile laundry there.

Don’t store random junk there.

Don’t use it for unrelated activities.

Train your brain to associate that location with focused work.

When you’re studying, study.

When you’re done, be done.

Enjoy your life.

Be present with your family, friends, hobbies, and interests.

But when it’s time to work, work.

A lot of students take one hour of homework and turn it into four hours because they’re constantly distracted.

A dedicated study space can make a huge difference.

4. Create a Routine

Here’s the trick about routines:

You don’t have to follow them perfectly.

But you should have one.

Maybe homework time is from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m.

Maybe it’s from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m.

I don’t care what your routine is.

Just make one.

Write it down.

Put it on the wall.

Make it visible.

When you don’t have a routine, it’s much easier to become disorganized, forgetful, and overwhelmed.

A routine gives your brain structure.

It doesn’t have to be perfect.

It just needs to exist.

5. Prioritize

What’s the real priority?

Creating an amazing future for yourself.

Creating an amazing life.

You are the priority.

Delete the distractions.

Delete the games if they’re getting in the way.

Get rid of apps that waste your time.

Remove things that consistently distract you from your goals.

There are endless distractions in our world.

Learn to prioritize yourself.

Learn to protect your future.

For example, the last time I played a video game was about thirteen years ago.

Why?

Because I know myself.

If I play one game, I won’t stop at one game.

Three hours later I’ll wonder where the time went.

So I removed that temptation from my life.

I don’t have cable TV either.

If I had it, I’d sit there flipping channels.

I know myself.

Get to know yourself.

Be brutally honest about what’s distracting you.

Maybe it’s electronics.

Maybe it’s toxic relationships.

Maybe it’s something else.

Whatever it is, remove the clutter.

Prioritize yourself.

Prioritize your future.

Prioritize becoming the person you want to be.

All right.

Have an awesome day.

If you’re in the Dip right now, don’t stay there.

Take action.

Do a few things today that will help you climb out of it.

And have an awesome week.

I’ll see you soon.