How to get motivated

We all have times when we know a task is important, and we just can’t ourselves to do it. For whatever reason, the motivation isn’t there, and anything: social media, television, staring at the wall, is more appealing. Obviously, we can’t spend all day watching tv and staring at the wall, so here are two great ways to find your motivation.

Chunk Down
It’s difficult to motivate ourselves to start a big task. If we tell ourselves that we need to learn geometry, it’s going to be difficult to start, because who knows when we’ll finish, or even what it entails?

It’s much easier to start tasks we know we can finish quickly. It’s just how our brains work. If instead of learning geometry, we tell ourselves that we need to go over the basic rules of triangles, we’ll be much more likely to do it. If you’re struggling to start a task, see if you can break it down into smaller bits. Try to break it down until you have tasks you can complete in fifteen minutes.

Examples:
Instead of I’m going to write my essay, chunk down to I’m going to write the outline for my essay.
Instead of I’m going to clean my room, chunk down to I’m going to clean my closet.
Instead of I’m going to make my life perfect, chunk down to I’m going to organize my backpack. 

Set an End Time
Setting an end time fits in nicely with chunking down your work. If you set an end time for your studying, you’ll be much more likely to start. Your brain appreciates knowing that a task will end, and when.

It can be a short period of time in the beginning, 15 or 20 minutes. Set an alarm and sit down. Don’t get up until your alarm goes off. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get anything done; stay there. When the alarm goes off, stop working. It doesn’t matter if you want to work more. Stop. Next time you can work for longer.

These two tips have helped a lot of my students get motivated, and they’re the tricks I use when I’m feeling apathetic. Try them. You’ll get a lot more work done. I promise.

To your success!