Sometimes everything just feels uphill. At that point it is tempting to start looking for short cuts. Maybe you start looking at the questions to the left in the picture below. At that moment all these questions might seem motivating, and it might seem like a great idea to skip some of these activities.

But, turning things around – if you imagine you are not a student, but sitting at work –
would it be reasonable to consider if you really need to do those things listed in the right hand column of the picture?

Skärmklipp2.PNG

Try to think of your studies as a fulltime job – because that is what they are.

Set Up Goals

One way of keeping your motivation alive is to set up goals. Think both in terms of long-term goals, which can be seen as a target image that you are striving towards, as well as in short-term goals, which you can check off along the way.

Long-Term Goals:

What kind of professional role are you moving towards?
What kind of knowledge do you want to gain from your education?
Visualise the target image, and keep it in store for rough times! Remember all those small steps you are taking towards your goal. Every lecture and every book chapter counts!

Short-Term Goals

What are my objectives for this semester?
For this course?
For this week?
For today?
For the next hour?

Make a conscious decision about your short-term objectives – that way you will know when you have achieved them. Reward yourself for goals you have reached. Have you gone through these modules by now? Then maybe there is a Netflix-marathon awaiting this coming weekend. Home examination delivered? Well, then maybe it is time to buy that concert ticket.

Being Your Own Boss

It is not an altogether easy thing to be one’s own boss. On trick is to create a context and get support from study mates, or friends and family, to stay on course. To let other people know what you are working with, what goals you have set up, and to check things off together, and ask for help if necessary. Such things may facilitate being a good “inner boss”.

Keep At It!

Setting up goals can be helpful, but things can still feel tough at times. Sometimes you just have to accept that you just can’t find that motivation at the moment, and do what you have to do, without spending too much energy on fretting about it. Quite often inspiration returns when you actually start working on your problem.

On the next page you will get concrete tips about things you can do get out of a rut.

MicrosoftTeams-image (1).png

App Tips

There are apps that can help you find your motivation. You will find them on the app page.

Goals and motivation-apps

Image: webcomicname.com(published with permission)