With no breaks to look forward to, De Anza College students are feeling less motivated in school — though they still prefer the rigor of the quarter system.

“I like a fast-paced environment, which is why I chose De Anza,” said Josh Magnaye, 22, sociology major. “But sometimes it’s too fast-paced for me, just knowing everything is crunched down to 12 weeks.”

While fall quarter is followed by three-week break and spring quarter gives way to nearly three months of vacation, winter quarter only ends with one week of break.

“Every winter quarter, I can just see myself drained from the past quarter and it makes me not want to work as hard,” Magnaye added.

This lower motivation may cause students to submit assignments late.

“During winter quarter, I feel less motivated,” said Cristel Blankenship, 20, undeclared major. “I become very stressed and tend to fall behind on my schoolwork.”

Some students hold off on completing school assignments altogether.

“When I lose motivation, I notice that I am more moody and stressed,” said Cerina Balderas, 23, communications major. “I tend to procrastinate on my assignments, then I just beat myself up about not doing them when I stay up late at night trying to finish.”

Balderas said she has tried to stay motivated this winter quarter by starting off the year with a “new year, new me” mindset.

Magnaye said he found motivation elsewhere: working with others.

“Being with people who also have work to do motivates you to work as hard as them,” he said.

Magnaye suggested practicing self-discipline and using the Pomodoro Technique to study.

Writing in a planner can also help students to organize and stay on top of their assignments.

“When I deal with low motivation, I like to set a schedule and give myself a designated time to do schoolwork everyday,” Blankenship said.

De Anza’s winter quarter ends March 26.