STAYING MOTIVATED TO THE END

Last week I focused on building and maintaining the structure that can see you through exam weeks, and touched briefly on staying the course.

For many students, that can be a major challenge. Even with all of the timetabling, scheduling, building in study time, building in rewards, sometimes, and I quote more than one student here, “It’s just so hard to stay motivated!” It can feel like the March winds have blown you over, and you just don’t feel like getting up and heading upwind again. Yes, you can always stay down.

Or quit. Or do the minimum. You are in the driver’s seat. You can see the finish line ahead. Do you ease off? Do you pedal to the metal? Do you flat-out risk your engine? Sometimes planning to finish in the money is better than planning to win the big trophy. In some races, you get paid just for finishing.

I’m guessing you want to finish the race, or you wouldn’t be reading this blog. So, do I have a recipe for pouring in the same motivation and enthusiasm you had at the beginning of the term?

Nope. If you find that elixir–great, bonus, and bottle it for everyone!

What I do have are some pointers that help you get done what you need to get done for acceptable results, results that bring you closer to your goal, despite not being super fired up with enthusiasm for academia right now.

Start by taking a break from perfectionism. Accept that you’re human. Target for a workmanlike, professional performance these next two weeks, not for the Nobel prize, the 110 percent average, the perfect paper.

For a workmanlike attitude, think of yourself on the job. You likely have days where you’d rather be somewhere else or doing something else. But you know how to carry on so that the customer doesn’t know that and your boss doesn’t know that. (Mind you, if this is your job all the time, that’s a whole different question. I’m just talking about the kind of days we all have now and then, even on jobs we really like.)

How do you do that? You don’t expect to have the best inner day but you plan to get done what really has to get done . . . and then you do it. You might not get employee of the month for customer kudos that day, but you don’t get many complaints and can handle the Karens more or less expeditiously.

It’s easier if you self-maintain–get enough sleep, look forward to a break outside in the sun, a small treat.

The same approach works for exam weeks. Assess what has to get done, not for perfection, but to do a creditable job on the exam. Then you make your list, chunking the days into part tasks, and you reward yourself for every step forward. With a Pomodoro timer, you can look forward to a small feeling of satisfaction each time it rings.

Like the barista, you can enjoy time outside in the fresh air during your breaks, a treat at the end of the day. You maintain reasonable sleep, exercise, and control over distractors.

Your self-script might sound like this:

I don’t feel like studying. I’m going to study anyway. I’m going to sit down and do the next item on my study list. Then I’ll stretch and say, “Good job, you!”

Then you do that thing. And you endorse yourself for functioning when you didn’t feel like it.

I’d like to say a special thank you to all of my students who have shared when their enthusiasm well was hitting bottom so that we could strategize for carrying through.

So good on you! And let me know what works for you, and how it turns out! [email protected] 

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS PLEASE DIAL 911.