9 Tips to Stay Motivated in College and University

University can be tough and no matter how long your program might be sometimes you find yourself losing focus and putting school work aside for your personal life. Grades begin to drop, and you realize you've lost motivation. To prevent this, here are some tips on making sure you stay motivated throughout College/University for anyone. 

Keep a Social Life

Making sure you are on top of your social life and seeing friends often may sound like a distraction from College/University, but this is far from the case. Keeping friends close by and seeing them helps you differ between a "school life," and a "social life," so that you don't constantly feel as if you are only ever working on schoolwork. Friends can also be your support system for when you are having a rough time and help you get out of your head. Lastly, friends can motivate you by a drive to work just as hard as they do, keeping everyone accountable for their studies. 

Eat Well and Enough

This is a big one. So many students use excuses such as "I don't have enough time to have lunch," or "I can't afford lunch." Students will skip breakfasts, have a small snack and call it enough, or just not eat at all. Eating directly impacts your ability to pay attention and keeps you motivated. Students who choose not to eat often get emotionally unstable (commonly known as "hangry"), tired, weak, and unmotivated to do work. Make sure you pack food before you leave the house, aim for snacks when you are busy, and full meals. Try to choose healthier options too, your brain and body will thank you and give you motivation in return. 

Take a Break, Go Outside 

Break time is crucial. Just like in a workplace, it is vital for people to be given a break. However, as a student it is your decision to decide when break time is, and you need to take that. A good idea is to schedule when and how long you plan to study, and than insert breaks in between that. Use these breaks to relax and get your mind off of studying, and don't be afraid to go outside and get fresh air. Fresh air will wake you up and get your body moving making you feel more energetic and motivated when you return to the books. 

Ask for Help

A lot of students tend to ignore asking for help out of embarrassment or lack of time. There are multiple resources such as your professor, study groups, friends, and online sources who can help you, and if one doesn't answer your question, don't be afraid to keep asking until you understand. Students who don't understand a question often get frustrated and begin to withdraw from it and "give up" through a poor guess or simply not answering the question at all, losing motivation to continue the assignment overall. 

Keep an Agenda

Not all students find keeping an agenda an effective method because they tend to forget to fill it in over time. However, using any form of keeping what needs to be done somewhere close by to remind you of your work is effective. Some students use sticky notes or note apps nearby, aslong as it has what needs to be done put somewhere. Keeping track of what you have to do and checking off whats been done allows you to see an end goal to the work, keeping you motivated to reach that goal. 

Reward Yourself

Just finished a large assignment? Midterm week coming to an end? Reward yourself! Even just general small tasks can be rewarded to keep up motivation. Simply saying "Once I finish this chapter, I can watch a video," or even larger accomplishments can be exciting to plan, for example, planning a spa day after exams can also be rewarding. All these rewards to yourself help to push you to get the tasks done and keep you working hard so you can enjoy future rewards. 

Finish Before the Deadline

This can be tricky, and often times students get stressed over finishing before the deadline, but finishing before the deadline can be very effective for students. Mainly, professors will assign something perhaps a few weeks in advance when you may not have many other assignments. If you finish the assignment early, if gives you time to work on other assignments that pile up by the time that assignments due date roles around, allowing you to keep onto of the workload and feel in control and motivated. 

Get Your Sleep

You need your sleep! Motivation and sleep have a very high correlation because your body doesn't want to focus on any school work when it is exhausted physically  and mentally. If you can't get the proper sleep you require in the evening, perhaps using your breaks to take a power nap is the right move for you. 

Grades do Not Define You

It can be a vicious cycle - you flunk an assignment/exam and it causes you to lose motivation to keep studying, resulting in even more failing grades. At least once while you study at school you will inevitably get a poor grade. Students need to understand that there is always ways to improve your marks and one bad grade is not the end. Turn the negative grade into a positive by seeing an opportunity to learn where you went wrong and how to succeed for next time. 

To conclude, school can be tough and you might feel like giving up sometimes. It is vital that you take care of yourself and use these tips to build up your motivation and happily graduate at the end of it all. 

Photo Sources: 

Finish Before Deadline: https://blog.trello.com/shorten-study-time-get-results-as-a-student

Keep an Agenda: https://redbooth.com/blog/effective-meetings-agendas?lang=22535

Eat Well and Enough: https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/healthy-eating-for-runners

Keep a Social Life: https://dribbble.com/shots/6718864-Group-Of-Students-Illustration

Get Your Sleep: https://www.change.org/p/plainfield-district-202-allow-longer-sleep-schedules-for-students?source_location=petitions_browse

Ask for Help: https://www.clipartlogo.com/istock/business-woman-feeling-confused-1534603.html

Take a Break, Go Outside: https://www.headspace.com/blog/2016/12/11/meditating-with-ptsd/

Grades do Not Define You: https://insights.dice.com/2019/06/03/burnout-now-official-medical-condition/

Reward Yourself: https://www.istockphoto.com/ca/illustrations/napping-on-couch?sort=best&mediatype=illustration&phrase=napping%20on%20couch