What is burnout and how can I identify when I’m experiencing it? How can I deal with a lack of motivation? How can I push myself to do the work I need done? How do I prevent myself from slowing down and falling behind? What are the best ways to stay motivated? How can I keep myself accountable, and make sure I’m doing my work?
Such phenomenal questions, especially as we are passing midterms and heading toward the end of the semester. Right now is the best time to make sure you are handling your workload as efficiently as possible. That being said, I cannot stress it enough that you need to make sure you are taking care of yourself.
Education may be a priority in college life, but the top priority has to be your mental and physical health. You cannot learn if you are not healthy enough to learn. A lack of motivation may stem from poor sleep, poor nutrition, high stress levels, unrealistic goals and so many more factors.
Before even talking about managing low motivation, we should talk about ways to prevent losing motivation. Simple ways of keeping your motivation up are through proper nutrition and good amounts of sleep. You should also save time for something you enjoy. Too much work can result in higher levels of stress, amplifying the possibility of burning out.
Burnout is a state of extreme physical, emotional or mental exhaustion; it can be more than just one form of exhaustion. Some common signs consist of withdrawal from social life, higher than average procrastination, constant fatigue and a weaker immune system. These are not the only signs, but they are the most common ones.
When it comes to handling your loss of motivation, there are a variety of ways to handle it. I personally recommend taking a break. When you have a lot on your plate and you just keep falling behind, carve out time to relax and take care of yourself. Saying you do not have time for something is just an excuse because when you truly care about something, you make time for it, so make time for yourself. Come back to your work once you are rested and look at the assignment with new eyes.
Another way to motivate is through rewards and consequences; this has been used on most people since the age of development. Starting with consequences — when you start to see yourself falling behind in work, take away some of the things that distract you from achieving your task. Next are rewards — when you are able to get something done that you have been putting off, you can reward yourself by doing something that you enjoy. You can also give yourself something that you were keeping from yourself to get the work done.
There is no way to keep yourself accountable if you are not fully committed, I personally have started my own method that has worked so far. I have my roommate make sure I get my work done while I make sure she does her own work. That being said, it is not someone else’s responsibility to make sure you get your work done. My roommate and I want the best for each other, so we want to make sure the other succeeds in life.
Do you need some advice? Are people in your life too indecisive? Do you need a new point of view?Just email me at [email protected].
