Getting Stuff Done: How to Deal With Lack of Motivation
āHow can I stay disciplined?ā
āHow can I get things done if I donāt feel like doing them?ā
āHow can I overcome my lack of motivation?ā
As a college student who has had their fair share of being absolutely unmotivated to do anything, I know it can be hard to get things done if you donāt feel like doing them. Luckily, there are some things you can do to become more motivated to finish your homework, write your paper, study for your exam, or whatever tasks you have on your plate.
Part 1: Increasing motivation
Just thinking about one huge task is going to intimidate you so much that youād rather leave it till later, when the urgency of time pushes you to complete it, than start now.
Breaking up your big tasks into smaller ones will make your tasks seem less daunting. Since you wonāt be as intimidated by the amount of effort it might take to complete these tasks, youāll be more likely to start doing them.
For studying, this can be something like āmake flashcards for units 1-3ā or āpractice past exam papers: 2015 + 2016ā. For writing papers, this could be writing an outline, doing research for each point of your outline, writing the first 3 paragraphs, etc.
Working on small tasks at a time will also make you less prone to distractions since you only need to focus for a short length of time.
Make small goals and reward yourself
These goals could be accomplishing one of the smaller subtasks above, or achieving a certain grade on a practice test, or finishing a section of your study plan - as long as youāre working towards something.
The rewards? Maybe going out to eat, watching something, or even just time off. Hopefully these rewards will motivate you to complete your task.
I know some people are more inclined to do their work if theyāre punished for not doing it, rather than rewarded for doing it, so if you wanna take the āpunishmentā approach, you could do something like not allowing yourself to use social media until you finish a set of tasks - this is essentially the same thing, just thought about in a different manner. However, you should always be careful with these punishments/restrictions, because sometimes they can end up harming your health and productivity (e.g. āI canāt take a break until I finish all of my homeworkā).
Part 2: Not relying on motivation
Of course, you canāt always expect yourself to be motivated all the time. In fact, itās very ineffective to rely on motivation to get things done; motivation is fleeting. Hereās an alternative: self-discipline. But how does it work?
Establish a study routine
Humans are creatures of habit. Even if youāre a P-type (like me), habits are hard to break. So making a habit of accomplishing your tasks/studying at a set time every day will help you, well, accomplish them. For example, itās a lot easier to get your homework done every day if you do it at the same time - e.g. once you come home from school - rather than doing it āwhenever you have timeā.
Having a study routine will also make you less likely to be distracted since you know that that period of time had a purpose. If youāre trying this out for the first time, you might wanna completely get rid of distractions so that you can focus (e.g. putting your phone in your bag, on silent). However, with practice, I found that my phone or any other sources of distraction donāt really bother me anymore since Iāve had tons of practice resisting the urge to pick up my phone whenever thereās a notification, for example.
Schedule in time for breaks
This ties in well with the point about rewards: the break might be the reward for your studying. However, this doesnāt always have to be the case. You shouldnāt always think of relaxing as merely a reward for studying or accomplishing your tasks, but rather a necessity for the well-being of your mind. This sort of approach to breaks ensures that you actually let your brain rest once in a while.
After taking a break, your mind will be refreshed and revitalized, and you should have more than enough energy to continue with your other tasks.
Some of you asked - with regards to my previous post on The Mandatory Midday Break - how I can limit myself to exactly an hour, and to be honest, the answer is habit. Itās like having a habit of showering at the same time every day and not extend the length of time you spend in the bathroom (except in certain circumstances, like during a day off, I guess).
This is why itās important to schedule your breaks and establish a study routine or habit - not only does it ensure you get enough rest, but it also prevents you from extending your break so that you donāt become unproductive and leave a ton of tasks unfinished.
It can be hard to motivate yourself to accomplish all your tasks, but there are things you can do to increase your motivation. However, you canāt expect to be motivated all the time, and you shouldnāt rely on motivation to get things done. Discipline and habit are the most important tools you can use to be efficient and productive without having to be motivated.
Hope this post has been helpful, and, as always, feel free to drop me an ask if you have an ask. Have an awesome week :)
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
gamechangershow
amandla
andulkaphoto
ellievsbear
