Keeping up with college is difficult. It is a very demanding phase in your path towards a better career. This ride is a long and rough one that will make you exhausted and stressed at some point. If you do not want to hit your lowest and stay motivated then keep on reading!
Tips on How to Stay Motivated In College
Accept That You Are Human:
Surviving in college means that you will encounter many ups and downs in your academic life. Before labeling yourself as a bad student for losing motivation to study, you need to understand that you are not a machine and you have human emotions. All your peers are going through this and believe it or not even the best ones need the motivation to work.
Once you accept the fact that it is normal to feel demotivated when it comes to walking on the rocky path of academic life. The next step is to identify what aspect of your academic life do you need to stay motivated in and what is the cause of the demotivation that you are experiencing.
Mostly the answer is your self-limiting beliefs regarding what you are able of doing and how much you can achieve in your academic life. Such beliefs cause you to self-sabotage, as you bring negativity in yourself and those around you. A solution to this is to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.
For Instance:
Instead of thinking:
“I cannot complete this assignment in the next two hours”
Try replacing it with:
“I will try my best to complete this assignment in the next two hours”
Set Realistic Goals:
As a normal human being, you may make the mistake of underestimating and overestimating yourself. While negativity is damaging to you so is an overly positive attitude. Expecting yourself to do more than what you are capable of often prompts you to set bigger goals. While it may appear that you are being productive, failing to attempt the entire assignment as expected will demotivate you. This is the result when you bite than you can chew.
What you should do is set realistic goals. It will release you from the stress that comes with setting bigger goals that are tough to achieve. Start by taking small steps only, plan out your assignments, and practice proper time management without overestimating yourself.
Spend Time With Ambitious People:
What kind of students do you spend your time with during and after your classes? Are they passionate about their studies and careers?
Staying in the company of people who are ambitious regarding their studies and careers keeps you more motivated than hanging around those students who attend college for fun’s sake. The people who can only have fun, are chatting instead of listening to the lectures will become a great distraction to you. You should spend time in the company of those students who are good at balancing studies and fun.
If you are friends with students who not only help you study but keep you inspired to study as well the this will help you in your path towards staying motivated. These people are committed to their careers and know what they want and you will learn from them. This concept is also known as social learning in the world of psychology is very effective. So surround yourself with friends who know when to study, when to have fun, and are a continuous cause of inspiration.
Get Academic Help:
Something that students often do not recognize or are too egotistic to accept is that they need help with their assignments. College is hectic, you have to attempt tons of assignments and assignments like writing a dissertation which makes up the majority of your grade. Being able to manage them all is a tough job.
Some students are smart enough to take help from dissertation proofreading services to read through their dissertation. Free from the task of proofreading, they have more time available to focus on the writing and researching process, and time is easily managed.
On the other hand, there are students two fear asking their peers for academic help or looking up “Can I take the help of someone to write my dissertation for me?” because of the belief that they will be looked down on. In reality, Taking academic help secures your career, it is meant to undermine you but rather become a solution to your problems. Knowing that seeking help whenever they need it relieves you from work stress. You will start looking towards getting new assignments.
Reward Yourself:
Another way to stay motivated in college is to give yourself small rewards. Also known as positive reinforcement – a type of operational conditioning. The idea is to reward your desirable behavior i.e. proofreading your assignment and thus, the frequency of this behavior increases. The reward can come in form of watching a funny clip or having your favorite drink.
Every time you accomplish a study goal, reward yourself. It keeps you motivated because of anticipating the reward and you will end up investing more effort in your assignment than before.
Get Rid Of Distractions:
Nowadays there are so many things that are competing for your attention so learn to discipline your mind in focusing on one thing at a time. Minimize your distractions by staying away from social media and everything else that can serve as a distraction to you during lectures and self-study.
Keep in mind that even a plain wall in front of you can be distracting. This is because at times the distraction is within yourself and not the external factors. To remove distractions from your internal self-start meditating.
Think of the Big Picture:
Why did you want to study in college? Do you want a better life for yourself and your family? Do you want to learn more? Do you want to get a degree for a better career?
Keep your goals and aspirations in mind when things get tough. You might not always feel like writing a paper or completing a literature assignment but when you think of the purpose of studying in the first place it revives the lost motivation and passion for studying.
Follow A Healthy Routine:
The work stress that you will experience in college is inevitable, to complete their assignments and what not students neglect their physical health. However, looking after your physical health is important for better mental health, it will boost your motivation as well. To form a healthy routine you should incorporate these practices:
A Healthy Diet:
Consume the right amount of carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, etc. also eat them in appropriate portions
Exercise:
Select exercise that fits your body type and starts doing it. Exercising is known to enhance mental health in the youth so make it a regular practice.
Spend time with yourself:
Give yourself some time so you can refresh yourself, have your favorite drink, clear your head by looking at the scenery, etc.
Conclusion:
Now that you know how to stay motivated throughout college, try your best to implement them.