This week was the week before Spring Break, and boy, let me tell you, it has felt like the longest week of my life. What’s worse is that I had absolutely no motivation to do ANYTHING. Did I have homework? Yes. Did I have midterms? Yes. But none of that mattered, I still put my homework off until the last minute and pulled all-nighters to study the day before my midterms. In the end, I felt extremely exhausted, short-tempered and more emotional than usual. So, I would like to use my mistakes as a cautionary tale and share a few ways to get and stay motivated so you don’t end up like me.
1. Set goals
One easy way to motivate yourself is to set goals. Whether it’s to finish a chapter of reading or getting all your math homework done, these goals give you a direct plan of action and provide a start and end.
2. Give yourself incentive
I, personally, sometimes have to bribe myself to do things. Whether it is food, sleep or playing with your dog, do something that’ll make you happy to give you a little extra oomph to get things done.
3. Manage your breaks
I believe that you need to give yourself breaks here and there in order to not fry your brain and get overwhelmed, but I know that if I don’t time my breaks I’ll end up being on my phone for an hour and forget that I have actual responsibilities to attend to. So, I would suggest setting an actual timer so can stay on track.
4. Realize the big picture
At the end of the day, even though homework sucks or school can be hard at times, you have to realize the big picture and tell yourself that this is all for a reason.
Now everyone, go out there and be motivated!