Self-Motivation

Originally published on Apr 20, 2020 by Cassandra Holcombe

Spring break is over. It is time to get back to school work and finish the year strong. I need to get moving. Now.

I told myself all of this as I lay cradled in the warmth and comfort of my bed. Despite these words, however, my body stubbornly refused to move a single muscle, and my eyes itched to close again.

You cannot just lie here all day. Get up.

I rolled over onto my back and looked up at the ceiling. The blankets were so soft and inviting. Surely, it would not hurt to close my eyes for five more minutes...maybe even ten?

By the time I finished with my ten more minutes, it had lengthened to thirty. I rolled out of bed with a sigh and reluctantly, began my day.

Now that classes are entirely online, this scenario is all too common. Without the schedule of classes to attend or teachers to look over our shoulders, schoolwork has become our responsibility like never before. That means that the temptation to procrastinate is greater than ever before.

It now falls to us to motivate ourselves and, sometimes, we just do not feel like doing it. With that in mind, here are five tips to help when you just do not feel like doing anything.

1. Lose the Pajamas

The lock-down that so many states have gone into means that few of us are leaving our homes at all. This makes it easy to decide that there is no need to change out of the comfortable pajamas we love to wear. What we do not realize is that clothes have an effect on our state of mind. You usually are in pajamas when your work for the day is done and you are relaxing. You are used to wearing them when you are doing nothing, so it should come as no surprise that you feel like doing nothing every time you wear them. This may seem like a small thing, but it will make a big difference in how you feel.

2. Stick to a Schedule

Much like the pajamas, this may seem like a small thing, but it is important. If you stick to a schedule then time does not seem to fly away from you in the same way. Your brain will also be ready to get things done because it is used to working at this particular time. Without anywhere to go, it is easy to just let time slip by. Fixed schedules keep this from happening.

3. Have an Accountability Partner

One of the benefits of going to class was that you had a teacher and classmates to hold you accountable. Now that you do not have that, though, who is going to care if you get nothing done and wait until the last minute?

That state of mind is all too easy to slip into, but there is a way to counter it. Choose someone to tell what you want to get done for the day. It should be someone who you know will check back with you and who you will want to impress. A classmate will work for this or maybe a friend. Possibly, you can both hold each other accountable. Class is a community, and you still have access to it.

4. Rewards

This is an important part of getting things done, and it is really easy to do. Simply take your favorite snack or something else you like and promise yourself that when you get a certain amount done, then you can have a little of it. It is best not to bribe yourself with things like YouTube or games because it would be far too easy to just keep watching or playing. This tip will require a bit of self-control because if you constantly reward yourself without getting much done, it will back-fire.

5. The Writing Center

A great way to make sure that you get things done is to schedule an appointment at the MC Writing Center (https://mc.mywconline.com/). That will set a firm time in which you are working on and thinking about your school work. Our tutors can also assist in helping you plan what exactly you will do for assignment.

The most important thing to remember is that while it is hard to motivate yourself in these times, this is an opportunity for you to create habits that will help you for the rest of your life. By the time we can leave our houses again, you just might be better at motivating yourself than ever before!