I struggle immensely with finding my own motivation and discipline; it can send me down a spiral of “how” to find the “why” to get anything done, from homework to housework. The weeks have been blending one into the other, and the amount of time to complete tasks is no longer a factor into my consideration. However, when the assignments start piling up and I need some external stimulation there are a few YouTube videos I have kept going back to. So, here is a list of three videos that have helped to push me in a more motivated direction, and I hope they can help you out, or give you an idea of other types of videos to check out!
How to Get Up in the Morning | Zibby Lindholm | TEDxYorkSchool
Most of the Ted Talks I have watched were in an academic setting, but occasionally I would listen to some of the TEDx talks on my own time. I found this video during this last calendar year called “How to Get Up in the Morning” by Zibby Lindholm. The first time I listened to her talk I was overcome with chills from her resonating on living your life in your head. She spoke of the fear in “what if” and that in the process of attempted improvement, we can be constantly bombarded by negative thoughts and fear. Her speech in finding confidence was motivational to me and in under 10 minutes it gave me a better piece of mind in simply starting to try and follow through with my productive thoughts. I have watched this video several times and use it to just listen and reflect when I notice I am being too hard on myself.
Extreme 1 Hour Long Clean with Me
This “Extreme 1 Hour Long Clean with Me” video from Naturally Brittany, a channel that focuses on lifestyle, fashion and food for her family with healthy living. I stumbled across this video by accident last year when I heard about cleaning videos like this. I did not know they existed, and the real time videos helped hold me accountable. Even if I do not watch it in full it is nice to have the video serve as a timer when trying to tidy up. I also liked the playlist in this video which she linked at the bottom of the video. Cleaning up after your own space is something that may not feel like will have a big impact in the long run but in the moment, it can completely change your outlook and start the ball rolling with more motivated energy.
lofi hip hop radio – beats to relax/study to
Finally, is the lofi hip hop live music channel from ChilledCow. You can also find their compiled playlists through Spotify. I like having the YouTube page open on my phone so I cannot use it while its playing, and having no lyrics in the music means I am not openly distracted by the music. When I desire background noise but am trying to complete homework or simply cannot decide what music to have on this is always my go-to video. Music to me is a good way to push out negative thoughts and having a clearer head leads to more thoughtful decisions when trying to work under pressure. They also have another video that is advertised to help with sleep as the music is slower, but still in the same genre.