Hello, lovelies! Today, I’m sharing about the things I do to keep myself motivated as a college student. Different people have different motivations to do things and the reality is that what motivates me may not motivate you. With that said, I still hope this post helps you be more productive in college. Let’s get into it.
//I Give Myself Good Reasons
When I don’t have a good reason to do something, I don’t do it. Sure, logically saving money and exercise seem obvious in practice, but it can be hard to make yourself actually do those things. You know what motivates YOU to do the things you want to do. Here are a few specific examples based on my experience.
Because I want to travel and I don’t want to do it in a way where I go into debt or live paycheck to paycheck to do it. I value my financial stability, and I don’t want to experience the stress of only having five dollars left in my bank account to do it.
Why do you go to class every day?
Because when I go to class every, I don’t need to study as much on my own. The majority of the test material is covered in class. Also, some of my classes grade based on attendance, so why miss out on those easy points.
Why do you keep your grades up?
Because I don’t want to lose my scholarship and I don’t want to take advantage of my (very generous) parents who pay for part of my schooling and textbooks.
Why do you go to the gym every day?
(Originally) Because my tuition pays for the gym, so not going to my school gym is wasting my money.
(Now) Both the reason above and the fact that I feel good when I work out. I have more energy, sleep better, and feel more confident when I work out regularly.
Why do you finish your schoolwork during the week?
Because I only get to see my family on weekends, so I want to take advantage of my time with them and play with my brother.
These are my personal reasons for accomplishing those goals, but they may not work for you. You need to figure out what makes you tick and go with it. Find your reasons.
//I Use A Goal Planner To Keep Myself Accountable
I’ve always been pretty good at managing my time, but the thing that really leveled up my productivity was the Powersheets Goal Planner. This is only my second year using it, but I’ve talked about it many times on this blog. I owe a huge chunk of my goal-setting success to this workbook. Filling in the progress I make for each goal throughout the month really motivates me to get more done.
Another way I keep myself accountable is that I share my goals. I share some of my goals online every month and write updates on how I do. This motivates me to complete those goals because other people know about them. Any goals I don’t share here, I usually tell my friends about: things like “I want to travel to Europe this summer,” or “I’m applying for an internship.” This motivates me when I have anxiety about buying a plane ticket or updating my resume.
Related – My Goals & Reflections Page
//I Keep My Dorm Room Clean
My bedroom at home is another story. That’s probably why I don’t get as much done there, but one of the reasons I’m able to get more work done at school is that I keep my dorm room clean. Taking five minutes to make the bed and organize my desk help me get into the mindset of studying. There’s nothing more distracting to me than messy piles of clothes on the floor in my room.
Related – How To Keep Your Dorm Room Ridiculously Clean (My Cleaning Routine)
//I Get Enough Sleep Every Night
I prioritize sleep over everything else. I cannot function properly without getting at least 7 hours of sleep. In the choice between finishing a paper and going to sleep on time, I’d choose the latter. The reality is that I’m more alert when I get enough sleep, so I’m better off waking up early and finishing assignments in the morning than staying up all night doing a half-assed job.
This isn’t necessarily a motivation tip, but the reason I have enough energy to get things done is that I get enough sleep every night.
Related – How To Prevent College Burnout | Motivation, Productivity, Self-Care, Etc
//I (Try To) Work At My Desk
Emphasis on try to. I never do work on my bed when I’m at the dorm, but I almost always do it on my bed when I’m at home. The reality is that when I’m in my bed, I want to do relaxing things like watch Netflix and read blog posts. I certainly do those things more often when I start schoolwork on my bed. When I work at my desk, I’m in the mindset that it’s “work time,” so I end up starting my work faster rather than procrastinating.
Related – 5 Tactics I Use To Avoid Procrastination In College
//I Make To-Do Lists Every Day
There is nothing that brings me more satisfaction than crossing something off my to-do list. I haven’t been using a planner for over a year now. I just use a notebook and write down a weekly to-do list, and it has made a huge difference in my productivity level.
//I Don’t Do Everything
The reality is that I don’t need to read all the articles assigned to me or all the chapters in the textbooks. When we’re discussing a topic in my psych seminar class and we have five articles to read that week, I just read three of them when I’m having a busy week. I’m still able to contribute to the discussion and get all the participation points, while still saving an hour of my time.
When I don’t have the motivation to do things once in a while like work out, I don’t. The reality is that we don’t have the motivation to do everything all the time, which is why I prioritize the things I am most motivated to do (which are usually things I enjoy doing or have a due date for). You are allowed to skip one or two things once in a while.
//I’m Flexible With My Editorial Calendar
I do have a tentative editorial calendar in place for this blog, but I only follow it half the time. Depending on my mood and schedule, I’ll switch things around in order to write about things I feel like writing about. I write posts faster when I want to write them and since this is a hobby blog, I don’t have a lot of external factors influencing my editorial calendar. Because I only write blog posts I’m in the mood to write, I have enough motivation to post at least once a week, even when I have a full schedule.
Related – My 9 Step Blogging Process
Well, that’s it for now. This month has been crazy hectic, but I’ve managed to post a blog post every Tuesday (I may as well have posted them on Wednesday since some of them were posted at night, but this is still a win for me.). Hopefully, once my mom comes back, I’ll be able to post twice a week in September. Until next time!
Related – 10 Ways I Refocus Myself During The Day
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What do you do to keep yourself motivated as a college student?