How to Find and Keep Motivation (Tips from a Current Student)

Why is motivation important? For one thing, motivation helps you be productive. Motivation will help you achieve your short or long-term goals. With all kinds of distractions like social media, it can be hard to stay on top of your task(s) and it is very easy to push priorities later.

Motivation is important to make sure you stay on top of your work and limit distractions. Being productive can also make you feel good about yourself and boost your confidence!

How to Get Motivated

Okay, so you want to become motivated. But how? Staying motivated is easier than you might think. Set goals that you can accomplish that are attainable. Don’t say, “I want to finish all my work for this whole week in one hour.” In reality, that most likely won’t be achievable. Something that might be more achievable would be to say, “I am going to finish all my work for this week by Thursday, so I get off Friday and the weekend.” That’s better! If you set an unreasonable goal, you might get upset that you didn’t achieve it. We don’t want that!

If you have a long-term goal you want to accomplish in a couple months or a year, try setting smaller goals that will eventually lead to your big goal. It’s like small baby steps! If you are struggling to manage your goals, your family, friends, teachers, coaches, or just about anyone that you know will be there for you! They will help stay motivated and achieve your goal.

How to Stay Motivated

Now you are motivated, but oh no! There are challenges and things that discourage you and now you’re thinking about quitting…

How do you keep your motivation? The first thing to do when you think about quitting is remember why you started. Did you start studying because you wanted to do well in high school so you could get into a good college?  Whatever your reason might be, it was an important reason. After all, that reason motivated you in the first place! Another way to make yourself accountable is by telling others about it. You are less likely to quit something after telling people about it. With that being said, it is important to maintain a balance between talking and walking. 

One thing that I do is take small 5-10 minute breaks in between doing work. This is important because it will give both you and your brain a break. Whether it’s eating a snack or playing with my dogs, I get a nice little recharge! It is also good to take breaks when you get stressed. When you walk away from your computer, it is good to get your mind off the stressor and on to something that will make you laugh or put you in a good mood. Then try to come back, and assess the problem that was stressing you out. Maybe think of some way to fix it.

Science has proven we can become fixated so much that we cannot see a problem any other way than how we see it at that moment. If that’s not working, try doing something else for a while, then come back to it!  It’s better to give your mind a break than to overwork it to the point where solutions may be completely overlooked. 

How to Find Extra Motivation

Something that I do to stay motivated is to make a to-do list of everything I have to do over the week. After that, I try to split up all my work evenly throughout the days. If I can’t get one of my tasks done, then I add it to the next day at the top of my priority list. I also make sure that I schedule what times I want to work from. For example, I normally work from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. I also tell myself, “If you get all your work done over the week, you will have the whole weekend to relax, and you might even get Friday off as well!” The last thing I do is put on some of my favorite music to try to get me pumped about doing my work! When I put on music, I get in a happy “I-can-do-this” mode.

Storytime, dear readers!

I fell in love with Peter Lik and Tim Shields’ photography. The way they captured the beauty of the world, the inner beauty of people, and the very whimsy they see the world in. It amazed me that a photograph could capture such emotion and how different angles of the same object could make you feel different things. I loved their photography so much I decided to try my hand at photography! When I first started, I was disappointed with how blurry my photos came out. I just couldn’t seem to keep my hands from shaking long enough to take a clear photo. I remember staring at my fairy lights and cookbook, thinking about quitting. Then my creative spirit saw something else there…the photo I wanted to take. I visualized it, pictured how I wanted the photo to look, and that motivated me to try some more. I googled to see how to keep my hands steady. Sure enough, after a little research and practice, I was able to train my hands. After several blurry photos, I was able to create the photo you see down below. I felt satisfied that my photo was clear and it captured my awe and wonder. I have now been taking photography for over a year, and I can honestly say I love it and I am glad I didn’t quit.

Thank you for reading! If you have any sort of motivational tips that you do to stay motivated, put them in the comments. We would love to hear them!