Staying Motivated! (Or at least trying)

    Being a college student can be exhausting and sometimes it feels like your professors forget that you have a life outside of school. As a person who works full time, tries to be as involved as I can in clubs and sports, and has a full course load, sometimes I get overwhelmed and lose motivation. There are some things that I like to do to keep me motivated by feeling refreshed. 

    One thing I do is allow myself one day where I’m allowed and able to sleep in guilt-free. Since most of my days during the week are booked 12 hour days, I make sure to leave one day free of any responsibilities. For me this day is Sunday. On Sundays I don’t tell myself that I will wake up at 8am and get my homework done, I say, I’m tired and my body deserves to rest, if I want to sleep until 2:00pm that’s perfectly fine. If I want to listen to podcasts and sit around, I can do that. It’s my downtime. It’s important to have time to refresh and not stress about class, work, or personal life, take time for yourself.

        I think that since the beginning of covid, even with in-person classes, everyone spends a lot more time in their rooms. More jobs are now online, club meetings are online, seeing certain people can only be done online and sometimes your space can just feel so old and boring. I get sick of my room quicker now that so much time is spent in it, but I’ve found that rearranging my furniture can make it feel like a new space. Something as simple as moving my bed from the wall to under my window makes the space feel different, something I’m not sick of. As result I feel refreshed, I feel happy to wake up in the new feeling space 

    Another thing that can be helpful is doing something every day that makes you feel confident and happy. That may be listening to a feel-good playlist every morning as you get ready, going for a walk, maybe reading a book. For me, it’s getting a lift in at the gym and listening to my favorite music. It can be hard to get myself in there sometimes, but I always feel energized after and I stand up a little straighter. The gym gives me confidence because I’m reminded of how amazing and strong my body is and I’m proud of myself for not neglecting her. 

    Lastly, organization makes everything less cluttered for me. I like to have my google calendar updated at all times and I also have my calendar send me my daily itinerary every morning so I get a quick outline of my day and never overbook myself or forget about important things. It also helps me not to stress too much about the days ahead. Instead, I try to just take things day by day. I also have a physical calendar printed out as well. I have one calendar that has everything I do and another that is just for homework. I include goals and motivational quotes or things my family or friends have said to me on my paper calendar as a reminder of why I work so hard and also to remember that I am qualified when imposter syndrome sets in. 

    I know everyone’s college experience is different, but I think we all get overwhelmed at times and some of these things are helpful to not lose sight of our goals and motivations.