I set out to write an article on motivation, which is the desire to act to achieve a goal. But then I realised I was not fit to write that considering I started writing this last year. For as long as I can remember, I’ve struggled with motivation, where I’m a major procrastinator, running on discipline and just going through the motions. I thought with it being my final year of university, I would turn my annual lie of “I’ll work harder this year” into truth. But I still turn back into my old habits of just ‘working because I have to’, rather than ‘working because I want to’. Sometimes I wonder if you have to have motivation as an element to reach your goals. Whilst motivation is a crucial element for humans to reach their objectives, so is discipline, organisation and turning the right cogs to work efficiently. I’m a pretty proactive person – I like to keep busy, often to the point I’m actually overworking, overplanning and overdoing. But me doing all these things isn’t a product of motivation. It’s a recipe of multiple things, and here are the ingredients.
Organisation
I’ve always been an organised person, but often I fall into a trap of being lazy and it can be hard to get back on top of things. Whether or not you just have one thing to keep track of or several, organisation will prevent you from being overwhelmed, forgetful and will allow you to see when you have space and energy. There are also multiple ways for you to keep organised, even efficient. I love writing and journaling, so physically writing on paper gives me more joy than doing so digitally. I take a notebook with me almost everywhere, where everything will be jotted down into this sacred object rather than sheets of paper I’ll lose or drown in a long document on my laptop.
If you like to keep things digital, I recommend using Trello and/or Notion. Trello is a to-do list website which I have been using for a couple of years now. There is no right or wrong way to use Trello, but for each semester, I plan boards and create a card for every week with everything I need done, including mini check-lists within each task so I can manage things in small chunks. You can also set a deadline and trust me, it’s very satisfying to see everything ticked and in green!
My Trello board last year, colour coordinated by subject with mini check-lists within each task
Notion is similar to Trello and also has this function where you can create boards and make to-do lists. Notion, however, has more functions and more templates which you can have fun with. It is a great tool for organisation and I highly recommend it. I probably could do without using Trello because Notion already has this function, but I quite like keeping my weekly to-do lists separate and instead use Notion for a Life Wiki and keeping certain documents in the same space.
Take action
As a procrastinator, I often fall into the habit of saying I will do something and never actually doing it. It makes me a fraud, constantly putting things off till it’s too late, then making more excuses as to why it didn’t happen. Most of the things I procrastinate from are also things that would take a minute to do or change so why can’t I just pull through and do it right there and then? One thing I’ve learned is rather than using that time to say you were going to do something, use that time to actually do it. Instead of saying ‘I’ll write that email later’, write it now. Call that person now. Arrange that meeting now. Answer that message now. Don’t make any excuses for yourself. Do the little things first and then it will be out of the way, you will have completed a goal and you won’t have to worry about it later.
Find like-minded people
Find people that share the same, or at least, similar goals to you. I have an amazing group of friends. We all have the same goals but a different mindset to get there. So, I’ve found the ones with a similar mindset to me and made it a striving group goal for us to get to the same goal, together. Often you need a nudge, sometimes gentle, sometimes fierce to help you along the way and a good support system is always necessary. I always get more motivated when more is at stake and more people are involved.
There are different ways to do this. In the past, guilt pacts were created where every week a fun activity was planned and if you didn’t complete the to-do list you had set (and shown the rest of the group), you can’t attend. This year, I have a group chat with my friends so we can go on campus together, take breaks together and support each other. It’s motivating to see your friends be so hard-working in the library, making things happen, but in our spare time we still hang-out, without the talk of our overbearing work and just relax. Sometimes, you don’t even have to be doing the same thing, but the company of people who care about what they are doing and uses their energy to get there are good people to find. Find people who have similar goals to you, as like-minded people can be motivators.
Throw out bad habits
Be aware of your bad habits and make an active effort to change and grow. Everyone has their own habits, whether that be not giving yourself enough time to rest, scrolling endlessly on social media or procrastinating. Stop saying ‘I’’ll do it later’, ‘I’ll finish it tomorrow’, ‘I’ll remember that’ because let’s be real. You will never do it if you don’t do it now. Take action to throw them out the window. Take course into making the bad habits into good ones, find ways to change, grow and evolve.
Time management
Whilst this goes hand-in-hand with organisation, time management and prioritisation is crucial for true effectiveness. Plan the night before. Do your most important tasks at the very start of your day so they are out of the way and you start your day accomplished. Make use of your calendar, not just your to-do list. Allocate certain amounts of the day for managing your inbox as replying to other people is fulfilling their needs, not yours.
Let go of negativity
Take out the negativity. I wouldn’t consider myself an overly negative person, but sometimes I can be pretty pessimistic. And negative energy isn’t really the best motivator. There is one crucial word that can help change negativity to spin it more positivity. And that word is ‘yet’. Stop saying you can’t do something and start saying ‘I can’t do it, yet’. This one word calls for growth as you may not be able to do something right now, but that doesn’t mean you never will. Some things just take time. Positive vibes only!
Find an outlet where you can take a breather. For me, I am guilty of having a casual rant to my friends about anything that’s bugged me however small just to release it and hopefully not keep it in my system. As previously mentioned I also love to journal, and sometimes you may just need a more private way of letting go of negative energy.
As well as just negative energy, surrounding yourself with negative people can make it worse. Drift away from toxic people in your life and let in ones that do you good. I learned this the hard way to the point I’m not used to how lovely my new set of friends treats me, but trust me, it’s worth it!
Set realistic goals
As a very ambitious person, often I find myself creating unrealistic goals and get disappointed when I can’t reach them or never seem to be near the end of it. Be realistic with yourself, your body and your mind. You are the only person who will know whether you can or can’t do something, nobody else can do that for you. One thing that helps is listening to your body, knowing when you have to stop and when to take breaks.
Break things into manageable chunks. Split that goal into something more realistic, something that works for you. It’s also a better motivator because you can complete things one by one, which will make you feel more productive rather than just ticking one big tick off an assignment when you can split it up in abstract, introduction, analysis, and discussion…
Give yourself rewards
Sometimes motivation is lacking within yourself because you don’t see something come out of what you are doing. It might be difficult, but try to see the good that will come out of your hard work. One thing I found really helpful is planning something to look forward to. Knowing you’re going to have a catch-up with a friend, a games night, a social or anything you see as rewarding? It’s motivating knowing you will be enjoying something at the end.
Social media management
Being on your phone can often be exhilarating at times, and even helpful (depending what you use it for), but it can also be incredibly toxic. Seeing the constant messages flooding in, whether that be for work or for your social life can sometimes be too overwhelming. Comparing yourself to others on social media can also be too much sometimes.
Find a way to drown out the worst parts of social media and only keep the parts that make you happy. Unfollow people who make you feel bad about yourself, surround yourself with pages and people you relate to or like. Delete apps that aren’t helpful to you and keep certain parts that you want to keep private, private. This ranges between people, but remember most things on social media are fake, so keep on top of it and make sure you aren’t sucked into bad habits that can make your mental health suffer.
Rest
This is something I am still coming to terms with being able to do. I suck at resting and anyone who knows me in any capacity knows I do. But suffering from burnout is 100% worse, so find a time a week, even if it is just the evening to relax. Figure out the best way for you to rest and do it. Whether that is taking a nap, chilling with friends, watching a tv show, reading a book… people rest in different ways. There’s no right or wrong way, but you definitely have to rest.
At the end of the day, people feel motivated in different ways. I write this at the end of my academic career, having slowly accumulated the best ways in which I think are great motivators to be productive. When you are feeling demotivated, don’t fret too much, you’ll bounce back! But do remember that motivation is not the only thing that will keep you going – it’s not the only ingredient for the recipe to work.