Staying Motivated as a Student
Being a student is very daunting and challenging, but now with Covid-19 it has become harder than ever to stay motivated. Motivation doesn’t always come from buying new stationery, it can come from going on walks to have a little peace of mind or by staying connected to other students who are going through the same issues as you are - and helping one another. Here are some ideas to help you stay motivated during Covid-19.
Create a weekly planner
Creating a weekly planner is such a small action, but comes with huge benefits! Having a planner creates a rhythm and a routine, which can give students peace of mind. It lets you distribute your time effectively and sufficiently by knowing when your work is due, to what days suit you best to get work finished. Everyone likes the feeling of satisfaction when a project is finally submitted and planners are a great way to achieve this feeling, by ticking off everything you have done. In turn, it makes you feel more motivated to do work. It lets you to create a balance between work and social life, that allows more time to focus on things you love doing rather than stressing about all of the work yet to be submitted. Having a weekly planner means that everything you need to do for that week is at your fingertips.
Going to your local café
Although it seems cliché to go to a café to finally submit work, it really is an effective form of motivation! After two national lockdowns, nobody wants to stay in their house, especially not to be stuck staring at your bedroom walls for hours, trying to complete assessments - that would be hard for anyone to stay motivated. Instead, go to your local cafe either alone or with fellow students, as getting work done in noisy places such as cafes can increase concentration, productivity and motivation. Going with other students is a great opportunity to help and motivate you, and to also see that you are not alone. Urban West, in the West End of Glasgow, is a very endearing spot to do work. You can choose to work both inside and outside of the café. It is surrounded by trees and has a very calming atmosphere to it, this alone should be enough to motivate and relax anyone.
Create distinctive goals and rewards
Goals are very important when trying to stay motivated! Goals can range from anything, as they are personal to the individual. For example, your goal could be to complete all of your outstanding work within three hours, or it could be to get into university, which is more of an overall goal. Setting a goal before doing any piece of work or starting any project can make yourself strive and stay motivated to achieve your end goal. It is important that once you have reached a goal, you must reward yourself for all of the hard work you put in to achieve it and to also give yourself recognition. Rewards can be going out with friends or watching a movie, but having a goal and reward before any project you start makes yourself feel very motivated because you know that after all of your hard work, you have achieved something.