Motivation is what keeps us going. Energizing, maintaining and controlling our behaviour in whatever we do in life. The role of motivation is to continue pushing us so are the best possible versions of ourselves, to achieve in life and to keep us there.
For me, my exams are approaching quickly, much faster than I would like, and motivation is vital in order to get me through to the end of all the revision and planning and preparation, which will hopefully all be worth it in the end.
Due to this, I wanted to write a blog post on how to get and stay motivated for anything in particular.
HOW TO GET MOTIVATED:
- Set small but realistic goals. Achieved it? Set the bar higher and repeat the process.
- Practice small compassion; productiveness relies on you and your feelings. If you have an unproductive day don't beat yourself up about it. Sometimes you wont be able to do any work in one day, that's totally fine and normal and acceptable. Work at your own pace and refer back to the first note being set small goals. If you don't do the work on one day just move it to the next working day, everything will be fine, don't forget it.
- Envision your future. If your goal is to revise two topics in one evening for example, imagine how you might feel after you finish those couple of hours with revision, with your breaks included. Will you be happy? You might because you've done something that can be ticked off your to-do list. If you cant find the motivation to get out the textbook and revise, imagine how you might feel once you've done the exam and then how you might feel on results day when you get the grade you wanted.
- Believe in yourself- this if the first step for most things. Think of yourself in the best possible light and you will achieve great things, block out any negativity that comes your way, because seriously who really gives one about what other people think about you. How you perceive yourself is the most important thing and those who are below you will try and bring you down and you have to block them out, I know its hard but its something we all need to be able to do in order to succeed.
HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED:
- Positivity- we're at our most unproductive when we're in a bad mood. Procrastination is a mood managing technique broken down into little sections. Happiness increases productivity and makes you more successful. Positivity links to optimism. If you're not optimistic, monitor your progress and celebrate it. Nothing is more motivating than progress. Ticking off one thing on my to-do list makes me motivated and makes me more productive and get the work or task done.
- Reward yourself- rewarding yourself feels good. Research shows that rewarding yourself is responsible for 75% of the things in which you do according to Dickens too. Treat yourself when you complete a homework assignment or when you finish your revision for the day. Personally, for me I like to treat myself to watching an episode of the Netflix show that I'm currently watching in the evenings after I've done everything that I wanted to for the day.
- Peer pressure- the good kind is the best kind of peer pressure. Surround yourself with people who you aspire to be. I've been brought up around some of the strongest, most independent and hard-working women I know and that is what I aspire to be. The people you associate yourself with are a key part in the person in which you become. Looking back on things, I have certainly adapted some of my friends habits, them all being good ones with have helped me grow as a person and an individual and I don't think they even noticed, I certainly didn't until recently. I'm incredibly lucky to have the friends that I do and they're all very amazing in their own way and I know they will all aspire to greatness and go on to be what they want to be.
-Stay active- I recently touched on a healthy lifestyle in one of my recent blog posts. A sedentary lifestyle can lead to a lack of energy which will then affect your motivation. Try and attempt to do something pro-active at least once a day, could be a short walk down the road and back if you'd like.
-Light- It's hard to be motivated in a dark room, get in as much natural light as you can. It makes it easier to be productive and stay motivated. All the activity happening outside will also make you more active, referring to the step above.
-Goals- you're not going to work towards something if you don't have a goal, especially if there's no aim at the end of it. The best way to start making goals is to make them small and strategic in order for you to achieve the 'big' goal at the end. You need to be able to visualize your goal down to the very last detail; see it, feel it, hear it, visualise the end of it.
- Make a list of the reasons why you want to accomplish the goal- write your list down with a pen, it helps to reinforce it. By writing it down with a pen, you're helping to engage your brain more within the activity and making a stronger mental connection to the task.
-Chunking- this is making your main goal into smaller goals, as I mentioned above; otherwise known as 'chunking'. By completing a smaller goal you're one step closer to the main and bigger goal. You're less likely to succeed if you set one main goal and try and complete it. In addition to this, you're going to be overwhelmed if you try and do it in one instead of breaking it down.
