10 Tips On How To Self Motivate And Stop Being Lazy

Getting back into the swing of university life after a break or half-term can be hard, but finding the motivation can be even harder. If you are someone who struggles to self-motivate without the help of lecturers telling you what to do, or being accompanied by friends or fellow students, here are 10 tips on how to self motivate yourself and stop being lazy for once and for all!

Find your zen place.

Each person has their unique way to find motivation, but if you are someone who is yet to know what or even where that is, it is all about trying and testing different things. For some people they prefer to work at home in a quiet place with no distractions, in a place they are comfortable. For others, it may be in a coffee shop or at their university library with their friends. Others prefer working alone. Try out different places and find what you find works best for you. If you are working from the comfort of your home, ensure you are not tempted to lay on your bed, or having a ‘little break’ and playing your Xbox games (A high temptation, I know!). Try working at a desk that is your ‘at-home-office’ and give yourself a lunch break and snack break as if you was in your lecture.

Make yourself a schedule.

One of the best ways to find motivation as a tired and drained student (yes we can all relate), is to make yourself a schedule. This can be a day, week or even month schedule – whatever works best for you! Making sure you have a plan set ahead will encourage you to stick to your tasks and give you an incentive as to what time to start and complete your work. Go out and buy yourself a calendar or notebook and write in at certain times when and what it is you will be doing for that day. Creating your own schedule means you can fit it around your lectures, personal-time and all the other conventional student-living ways! You could even set alarms on your phone to remind you when to start working… give it a go, trust me!

Finding your drive.

‘Why I am doing this’, ‘Why did I want to be a student’, ‘How am I going to survive uni life’ are all thoughts I’m sure every student has once had. Of course, finding your drive to complete tasks is very hard as a party-going, society-socialist and unmotivated uni student, but you have to find what makes you want to do something. Find your drive. Ask yourself, why am I doing this? What is my outcome? What are the pros and cons? Having an incentive to do something will help you more than can imagine. Whatever your drive is; if it’s to get a first at uni, or make your parents proud, or to get that dream job you’ve always wanted, keep that thought at the forefront of your mind, and it will push you through!

Treat yourself.

I bet this one caught your eye! Treating yourself is a great way to motivate yourself into doing something. Again, giving yourself an incentive will push you to work harder and to get things done. It could be grabbing yourself a piece of cake, or going out for drinks with friends, or buying that handbag you’ve been lusting over for a very long time (we need our student loan asap!). Like training a puppy to sit, or working that little extra hard at work to get that bonus, we are always giving and receiving incentives to work that little bit harder. Giving yourself an incentive is no different, and you can pick and choose what treat you can receive once you’ve done your tasks at hand.

Be kind to yourself.

Stressing yourself about the stress you have will only stress you out more. And that is something we do not need. Stress. Working ourselves up about things that we need to do is unhealthy, and will only A. Put us in a bad mood, B. Create stress and C. Make us not want to do something. And where are the results then? Be kind to yourself, and don’t put to much pressure or stress onto yourself. Don’t give yourself a hard time over something… it will all work out in the end!

Listen to music or a podcast.

If you prefer working in complete silence this one isn’t for you. Sometimes working in complete silence can give you little motivation, and kind of kill your mood. A great way for motivation is to listen to an inspiring podcast – maybe on something related to your work. Or download a playlist of inspiring songs you love. Maybe even try listening to something you wouldn’t usually listen to. According to the BBC  listening to classical music can boost the power of our brain and even become more intelligent! COMMENCE MOZART!

Exercise.

If you are someone who already has a great exercise routine, we applaud you! If you are someone who dislikes the gym or even working out, you won’t believe the impact it will have on not only your bod… but your mind! Research has found that exercising can help produce more hormones enhancing brain cell growth. Exercise surprisingly also gives you energy. Of course, your body may be a little tired but your brain will be wide-awake!

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Getting more sleep!

For any student you may know how hard this one is. Trying to juggle a social life, uni work, part-time jobs and societies is difficult, so finding time to actually get a good night sleep can be a little hard. Try have earlier nights and earlier mornings. Give yourself a curfew and stick to it -it might sound lame yes, but it will benefit you, honestly!

Drink plenty of water.

Finding motivation is hard. Finding motivation can sometimes be even harder. Drinking water boosts your energy and helps your brain work even better! According to the NHS we should be consuming 1.2 litres of water a day, but only 60% of the population reach this amount. Keep a large glass of water by your side while working to keep your brain hydrated.

Fresh air.

This is a great tip for finding motivation! Being a student it can sometimes be hard to see any daylight at all… stuck in your room like a hermit, blinds closed not knowing what time of day it is is something I am sure we can all relate with, (especially exam season!). If you are swamped with uni work with zero motivation, pop your shoes on, grab your earphones and go for a walk. Fresh air awakens our minds and gives us energy. You will find motivation in so many things in the outdoors you wouldn’t even realise!