Motivation tips?

I am a second year university student studying law. Since Christmas I have had no enthusiasm to do my TMA’s (essays) and have one due next week…

Does anyone have any tricks that they use to help out with hard times?

4 Likes

I spent a lot of time wondering this throughout study and subsequent 6 years in an industry I had zero passion for. My conclusion in late 2017 was that I was only going to focus on doing things I love. If you don’t have motivation to do what you’re doing - maybe it’s not right?

I appreciate that this isn’t directly what you wanted to hear. Maybe it could be as simple as rekindling your passion for the subject.

4 Likes

For things I’m not keen on doing I opt for a reward system. So in exchange for 30 mins of [thing I hate doing, usually housework] I get a break and 30 mins of [thing I enjoy but rarely do, like playing on the PS4], or [£xx towards thing I want but do not need], courtesy of a monzo pot.

The real issue, I find, is just getting started, after that it’s not as much of a chore as you’re already doing it by then.

Best of British, Rachel.

1 Like

Just essays I struggle at mostly. Love law in general.

Using the Pomodoro technique works for me for those hard to do tasks…

4 Likes

Whenever I had to write reports at uni, I would generally put on some music (through earphones to avoid distractions from house mates), and then write a sentence related to the topic.

It didn’t particularly matter if the sentence was technically correct in its entirety (that sentence would usually end up getting removed anyway), just had to be related to the topic. I generally found at that point that I would just keep typing and before I knew it the report was done :smiley:

It can sometimes also help to have some snacks and drinks next to you before you start ao that you don’t have to move away from the work when you get peckish or thirsty :stuck_out_tongue:

5 Likes

You could try just bashing out a really shit version of the essay. I used to find that much easier and less intimidating than trying to do it properly.

Then once it’s done, it’s more straightforward to get your head around what needs to happen to make it not shit.

4 Likes

That’s a good idea. Taking all these into consideration!

Did you think about application managers for essay writing? For example, Evernote or Google Calendar are great services for education and work.

Don’t confuse motivation with discipline. Sometimes you just to sit yourself down and get on with it.

2 Likes

As a life coach, I find lack of motivation with anything stems from lack of enjoyment of something fulfilling. Of course eating the right food & getting enough sleep is a no brainer! First off, what made you take this course? Always look at things from a different perspective if you can, meaning setting smaller goals are easier than binge studying all day and night = burn out… msg me for some tips if you like. I work with a lot of people/clients with burn out or lack of “mojo” :thinking:

1 Like

Think small to encourage you to start.

EG. I’ll work for 30 minutes then I’ll reward myself with some TV. 30 minutes is no time what so ever and will be over before I know it.

I generally find that once I’ve started and I’m in that headspace I just continue for several hours because I lose track of time and dare I say it… start enjoying it :slight_smile: but you could stick to the original plan if you wanted because all those 30 minutes will add up :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Thanks everyone I submitted yesterday my essay but have another one due in two weeks so I’m back at it again.

3 Likes

Are you writing essays on your own? I think it takes too much time, isn’t it? When I was a student I write some amount essays by myself, another papers were written by services. I know that it’s some way of cheating, but you win time.

Do not do this. It is likely to end badly.

7 Likes

Did you have a bad practice?

No I have never used the service

Cheating is wrong. Don’t do it.

8 Likes

By messes you mean getting caught for cheating and thrown off your course and pretending you earned a qualification that in reality you have no right to?

5 Likes

Okay. Should me to explain how I was using it. I needed a big amount of sources for essays. I haven’t another choice. Also, I haven’t any time. It was the unreal challenge in my college. The main works were written by myself. But there were so many routine and useless for my specialization essay topics.