Being motivated to do tasks can be a challenge, especially if you have a lot to balance in your life. As a college student, there is so much to worry about for the future. Just thinking about it can be overwhelming. If you feel burnt out from your studies, here are several tips to help guide you and find ways to stay motivated as a college student.

Tips on Staying Motivated

1. Setting Your Goals

Staying focused can be a difficult task when you do not have any clear goals set. By setting attainable goals, you can have an idea of how far you want to reach. This prevents you from getting lost with no objectives to meet. By reaching one of the goals you set, you may feel a sense of accomplishment once you achieve that goal. 

Try to start small like breaking up a project into different sections. For example, you have a huge project on writing and filming a video. To break down the project parts, you would start with planning out what the main topic is and continue from there. Once you get a general idea of your topic, you start writing, then you can start filming after that. By breaking up the project into smaller pieces, you don’t feel as overwhelmed with so much to work on.

2. Staying Organized

Organization can be applied to many factors in your life. Whether it is within your studies or cleaning your room, this can help reduce stress. Another step could be to organize your things so you feel a sense of control and have a clear mind. A way to organize your goals and tasks would be to use a calendar or planner notebook to keep track of what you need to do. By marking off each task, it can help give a clear idea of what you need to work on next. There are plenty of online calendar websites and apps to use as well, if you prefer digital planning. 

Tweek Calendar is a free minimal weekly planner that you can use to make notes of your tasks. 

Room organization can also help with decluttering your mind as well. If you develop a routine of cleaning every week or more, you may feel fresh and have more room to think.

3. Obtain Help and Reassurance

If you ever feel overwhelmed or overly stressed about college and life, it is okay to reach out for help and reassurance. It is crucial to have a strong support system and people to lean on when you get burnt out from college. You are not alone in your journey because there will be those who want to support you. With all the built-up stress, reassurance can be beneficial to remind you that it is okay to fail. It is okay to fall back a few steps. The important matter is that you try your best and continue forward. By reassuring yourself, you can be motivated to prevent burnout.

Our school provides resources and people who can give a helping hand to those who need it:

https://www.gulfcoast.edu/campus-life/student-support-services/counseling-center/resources.html

4. Accountability and Discipline

It is okay to feel burnt out and unmotivated to try, but a key factor to taking a step forward is self-discipline and accountability for yourself. By having self-control, you can keep yourself in check to ensure you reach your goals. Some ways to help you with discipline include:

  • Building good habits
  • Keeping up with consistency
  • Committing to your goals

To discipline yourself, build good habits by being productive even if it is for a small amount of time. Take the time each day to work on an assignment or even something like having a cleaning routine. As you build these habits, continue to be consistent with your tasks. With the help of consistency and good habits, you can stay motivated in college.

5. Resting and Taking Breaks

Another tip for preventing burnout and improving motivation would be to take breaks in between. Long study sessions can be draining, especially if you sit and work on the same assignments for hours. It is important to take a break between these study sessions. Give yourself 30 minutes to an hour of a break. You can time yourself on your break if you are afraid of losing track of time as well.

By taking these breaks, you give your mind a moment to grasp the knowledge you just learned. 

6. Recognize Achievements

Whether big or small, you should always recognize the goals you have achieved. Accomplishing the goals you have set feels rewarding and leads to a positive effect on your mind. After you finish an assignment, you can reward yourself for finishing a task. It is similar to giving yourself a break. You can build a positive mindset and it will allow you to continue to tackle any new challenges that come your way.

By utilizing these different tips and guidelines on motivating yourself, you can improve your mindset and give yourself a break. As a college student, you juggle different tasks and have so many different milestones to reach. It can be daunting at times, but that is why you hold yourself accountable and make sure you keep yourself on track.

Acknowledge your hard work and realize that it is okay to be burnt out and lose motivation. What matters is that you change yourself for the journey to improve.

Resources & Cited Information

Vanessa Le

Vanessa Le

Student Author

My name is Vanessa Le and I am a first generation Vietnamese-American. I am a digital media major at Gulf Coast State College, planning to enter the illustrations and design field.