These past few years have been hard on everyone and especially with “zoom university” it has become increasingly difficult to find motivation to complete seemingly easy tasks. With everyone confined to their home offices and desks it’s easy to feel stuck in the mundane everyday walk from your bed, to your desk, to the kitchen and then back to your bed. After a few months of feeling unmotivated I have finally found my stride again. Here are 5 ways to get the most out of your day and re-discover your motivation to accomplish your personal and professional goals!
1. Make a Daily List of Things You Want to Accomplish
Making lists for yourself is a powerful way to keep yourself accountable and motivated. When it comes to juggling school work, clubs, internships, work and other aspects of your life, I have found organization plays a key role in being able to do everything and anything you want to do. In addition it helps to visualize everything you want to accomplish throughout your day to prioritize and budget your time accordingly for each task so you aren’t scrambling to finish something or forgetting to complete an assignment. I often write down a list of things I want to accomplish into my planner the previous night and wake up prepared to start my morning checking off the things I have completed. And I mean who doesn’t like to check things off their list?
2. Wake Up Early
As a dedicated night person who hates early mornings, waking up before 10 am has been a constant struggle for me. My advice for my fellow night owls is to set a loud, really annoying alarm and throw your phone across the room so you have to physically get out of bed to turn it off. Or just get a furry companion like a cat and they will wake you up early to be fed! As much as it pains me to wake up in the morning, I must admit, on the days I wake up earlier I am more productive and focused. An early morning routine is important to a productive day! Whether your routine is working out in the mornings, making a yummy healthy breakfast or taking a shower, anything to get you vertically upright and moving is already a great start to a prosperous and productive day.
3. Take Breaks
Burnout is one of those things not many people talk about. Constant positivity and working can be draining and lead to a few weeks of hard work followed by a few weeks of no motivation. One of the ways I have prevented burnout is by taking breaks. It’s important to know your limits and know when it’s time to take a step back and focus on your mental health. And by break I don’t just mean scroll on instagram and TikTok for an hour, I mean get out of your room and go to the beach, go on a hike, workout, work on a creative project you have been putting off or make some yummy food etc. It’s easy to feel stuck in a routine and lose motivation so don’t feel guilty for taking a break and indulging in something that makes you happy.
4. De-clutter Your Life
De-cluttering your mind and your surroundings can have an exponential affect on personal growth and focusing your mind on achieving personal and professional goals. The first thing I try to de-clutter is my room. It’s easy to forget to deep clean and organize your room, however I always believe it’s important to keep your safe haven clean. Another aspect of keeping your room clean is making your bed in the morning. I think there was a statistic that those who make their bed in the morning tend to be more successful, but maybe that was a tactic my mom used to get me to make my bed! Another aspect of de-cluttering is cutting off people whose values and goals don’t match your own. Surround yourself with like-minded motivated people who have big aspirations and goals like yourself! Finally de-clutter your mind and protect your own energy by feeding yourself positive thoughts opposed to negative ones. In doing so you focus on all that you have accomplished and how far you have come, whereas focusing on how far you have to go has a belittling effect causing you to feel stuck and unmotivated.
5. Manifest Your Future!
I have said it once and I’ll say it again.. MANIFESTATION is real and extremely powerful! Manifesting your future by putting energy out into the universe that you will accomplish your dreams and goals is an important part in keeping yourself motivated and on the right path. It can be as small as, “this week I will catch up in my Chemistry class,” or as big as, “in the next 5 years I will have my dream job at Spotify.” That is the beauty of manifesting, you can set big and small goals for yourself and let your imagination soar. There is no limit to the things you can manifest as long as you put your whole heart into your manifestations and pair it with a plan to achieve them.
These are just a few things that have helped me exponentially get back on my feet and I hope they help motivate you to continue to push yourself to be the best student, employee or boss that you can be!