How I Stay Motivated

College has been a rollercoaster; there’s no doubt about that. Between going through different friend groups, failing exams that I thought I had aced, and feeling like I’m never going to figure out my future, it’s been a bumpy ride. All the bumps in the road aside, I have had a lot of good moments while being in college. 

Throughout the almost three years I’ve been at college; I have found ways to stay motivated and keep myself going even when I feel like I’m running on fumes. 

•  Staying active 

I’ve found that being active is a great way to relieve stress while in college, so I started going to the gym consistently. It’s my time of the day to work on myself and stay healthy. I also go on walks with my friends on the trail around campus when its warm out. This is a way we can be active but also can spend time together and debrief our day. 

• Join a club

Before I joined any clubs, I found it hard to stay motivated because most of my time was being spent going to class, doing schoolwork, and bed rotting in my room. But after I joined clubs on campus like Dance Team and Her Campus, I started filling my schedule more and had less time to bed rot. I’ve found that when you have less time to be lazy it’s easier to stay motivated because you will always have something to do. A club is also a great way to maintain a support system. 

• Have a reward system

Sometimes after I take a hard exam and I feel good about it or get a lot of homework done, I will reward myself. I will either get Starbucks as a treat or let myself chill for a few hours, usually that’s watching my favorite show or having a movie night. I use this to stay locked in so once I get my to-do list done, I know I can either chill or do something fun. 

• Taking care of myself

I can’t lie I am a night owl, but one of the best ways to stay motivated is getting good sleep. When I can get my beauty sleep, I wake up earlier and that makes my days longer, which leads to more time to get things done. Another way I take care of myself is taking an “everything shower” before crawling in to bed to do homework after a long day, I always think of it as ‘feel good, do good’. 

Now the list could go on, but these are just some of the main ways I stay motivated. College is one of the most important times of our lives, so keeping your motivation is crucial to your success and your well-being. I know it can be hard at times, but the simple things can make a big difference. 

• college
• health
• mental health