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Wellness

My Key to Staying Academically Motivated

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at York U chapter.

Do you ever feel drained, like you don’t have the energy to do your work or go to school? Do you find yourself trying to escape, noticing that you’re mentally not present in conversations? Are there times where you don’t have any energy or excitement in your school work, classes, jobs, or daily life? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, you may have experienced low motivation in your life.

It can get very overwhelming to feel demotivated and we often ask ourselves questions like, “Why do I feel this way? Why am I not who I used to be? How can I help myself?”

With our busy lives and experiences, we often forget that we’re individuals who also need to love ourselves and take care of our mind and body. 

It is normal to feel what we feel but this process of demotivation can be amplified by many different factors. If we realize what causes our demotivation, we may be able to address it.

The first step to addressing demotivation is identifying. Understand why you feel demotivated. Maybe you’re physically feeling drained. Maybe you’re mentally drained. Or maybe you lost sight of your purpose.

Once you have acknowledged your feelings, you can put a plan forward on how to proceed and re-define your goals. Spending time in nature, making a to-do list, or calling up a friend for advice can all help you along this journey. Remember to start slow and always be kind to yourself.

Once you have re-defined/re-declared your goal, take time for a reset. Take a day off or two and do things you enjoy to take your mind off of tasks. Sometimes we just need to spend quality time with ourselves.

Most importantly, never lose sight of the big picture. Chances are, whatever you’re stressing about being demotivated about is not that significant. Every challenge will pass eventually.

When you have positive thoughts, they lead to positive actions. You have the power to take control of how you feel, think, and act. For example, when you take a more positive approach to de-motivation, like considering it as the universe forcing you to take a break, you may actually be able to re-center yourself.

Also, remember the impact that your physical space has on your work. Neat and clean environments can foster productivity.  

Nonetheless, always remember to choose success and happiness, even on your bad days. We all have bad days but it’s about how we get back on track to be positive. We all have situations where we find ourselves burned out but we always need time to ourselves so our bodies can keep functioning. 

At the end of the day, how we handle situations is up to us. We should always be kind to ourselves, practice self-care and self-love, and speak well about ourselves. Staying optimistic is the key to tackling de-motivation.

Ommum Hassan

York U '25

Hello, my name is Ommum Hassan and I am a returning member and am a writer for Her Campus. I spread awareness about many topics and spread as much knowledge as I can. Besides Her Campus I am active member of the community and work at a hospital. I work two jobs and am part of many extracurricular activities around school. The unique qualifications I pertain are FPLT and a first aid CPR certificate. I am currently affiliated with York University doing a double major in Health science and Kinesiology. I also work closely with my faculty and take part in research. In free time, I enjoy reading, working out, and recently started cooking. I enjoy my free time watching Netflix and spending quality time with my family.