It happens every time. You’ve almost made it through the semester when suddenly it feels like tackling one more assignment may just be enough to push you over the edge.

It’s during these difficult times that we can all turn to the miracle of music. So without further ado (because I know you’re dying to get back to that study), here are five great songs that can help you claw your way back to motivation and assignment success!

Trust me, it works.

#1 Countdown – Beyoncé

Yup, we’re starting with the big guns. Usually when an assignment has gotten you into a battle of wills between your heart telling you you need to have fun, and your head telling you you need this degree, it can be very hard to snap back into action.

Listening to some Queen B is an almost sure-fire way of achieving this. Basically you need a little pint-sized party song that makes you want to get up, dance around the room, and sing your heart out.

#2 Spit It Out – Slipknot

In my experience, frustration is one of the main emotions that crops up when you lose motivation to work on your assignments. ‘Spit it Out’ can work absolute wonders for getting those frustrations out, it’s like a punching bag for the mind.

Even if you aren’t usually the biggest fan of heavier music you may well find that being halfway through a tedious assignment becomes the time and place where you begin to appreciate it.

#3 Burn The Witch – Radiohead

When you listen to and watch the music video for ‘Burn the Witch’, you may come out of the experience wondering what exactly you’ve just witnessed. That confusion isn’t a bad thing though, you can use it to your advantage.

Watching music videos like ‘Burn the Witch’ and ‘This is America’ by Childish Gambino with strong messages can actually be really helpful for getting you to think more laterally and creatively. It’s great when you’re struggling to come up with your next point in an essay and really just need to take a new approach.

#4 The Less I Know The Better – Tame Impala

Usually, the trickiest part of writing an essay is working up the motivation to sit down and start researching. Finding some music that’s relaxing enough to have on in the background is absolutely the key to overcoming this.

Rather than trying to jump over the (almost impossible) hurdle of starting the assignment seriously and in complete silence, you can ease yourself into it by opening both Google scholar and Spotify.

#5 Take Me Out – Franz Ferdinand

This song is really quite clever in how it helps you find your assignment mojo. Assuming that you’re now a few songs into your little dance break, there may be a temptation to just keep on dancing forever. It’s songs like ‘Take Me Out’ that can help you with this problem.

While ‘Take Me Out’ is an amazing song, I would argue that the best part of it is the build up at the start and the first chorus. This is great for helping you propel yourself back into doing some work. You rock out for the first few minutes, but by the three quarter mark it starts to get that tiny little bit repetitive. That’s the perfect moment to segue back into your assignment with a new lust for life.

So next time you’re staring blankly and helplessly at your laptop screen, remember that music has and always will have your back.

(Lead image: Bring It On/Warner Bros)