Mental motivation is hard. Whether you’re trying to get motivated to write an essay, improve in your sport, work to earn some money or even just leave the house to try and get to lectures it can be an uphill struggle to push yourself to do it. Too often we find it easier to come up with a myriad of excuses for why we shouldn’t be doing whatever we know we really should be doing. So how can you get (and stay) motivated? Her Campus has compiled a list of our top 5 tips!
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1. Set Goals
By clearly defining what you’re aiming to do a task can seem much less scary. Sit down and think about what you actually want to achieve, it may seem like you have a massive workload for a particular module but when you set it out individually as a couple of essays and a reaction paper it can often be far less daunting. Furthermore, try splitting a task into manageable chunks, instead of focusing on getting your lap time in the pool down by 5 seconds, take it a second at a time, you’ll feel you’re achieving more!
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2. Reward Yourself
When you’ve reached one of your goals, or realised you’ve made significant progress in your task it’s important to treat yourself – when you know you’re working towards a reward it can be a lot easier to keep going. Arrange to nip to Costa when you’ve hit the halfway point in your assignment or remind yourself that a whole day’s waitressing can be rewarded with a new pair of shoes for your next formal and the work will seem far more worthwhile.
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3. Find Your Reason
Why do you even want to motivate yourself to do this particular task? Finding the reason behind your actions can give you extra motivation as you’ll realise just why it’s so important. So what could your reason be?
· Step towards your bigger goal/dream – your degree, or getting fitter
· A material reward – such as money
· Personal gain – you might learn something, or become better at it
· A feeling of accomplishment – you know you’ll just feel better if you do it
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4. Face the Task from a Different Perspective
It can be easy to get stuck in a rut and you’ll feel like you’re just hitting your head against a brick wall, not achieving anything despite dedicating your time to it. But if you want to accomplish your goal there is always a way. Try taking a step back; having a pause and thinking of alternate ways you might accomplish your goal. Trying to lose weight? Perhaps you could try out new and alternative exercises. Need to earn money but can’t face dull shop work? Look for alternate employment or try something a bit different like dog-walking or tutoring.
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5. Seek Support
Whether it’s a reassuring phone call back home or a chat with your housemates, looking to others to help keep you motivated is one of the best ways to go. You may just need a bit of encouragement or moral support but you could also ask for advice or help with your task. If your course mates are struggling with the same essay it can feel a lot better to have a bit of a moan to them about it and you could suggest sharing what you’ve got done so far for some constructive criticism or new ideas. Talking to others is a great way to stay motivated as then you can prove to them as well as yourself that you can do it!
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