The desire to stay in bed all day or scroll through your endless TikTok feed is more attractive than fulfilling responsibilities, especially considering the unfortunate circumstance of remaining online for the first month of our winter quarter. So, what exactly can we do to push ourselves to make the most out of our day despite all of the distractions around us? I have compiled a short guide on how to keep Bruins motivated through tips and tricks I have obtained from fellow Bruins and my personal experience.
The first and—in my opinion—most important step is to break down what your goals are. Goals are a way to keep yourself in check. It reminds you of why you are trying to get something done: the root or purpose that motivates you to succeed. However, they do not need to start off as complex goals like reading three books in a week (although I am exaggerating; if you do read three books a week, that is more than outstanding). Easing your way into accomplishing your goals ensures that you do not get discouraged if you do not meet them quickly. Writing or typing up a list is a good way to keep track of them. What’s more, asking a friend to remind you of your goals, like I have asked my fellow Bruins, aids in holding yourself accountable.
Secondly, implementing a reward-and-recognition system into your daily life provides an extra boost of motivation to continue achieving your goals. If your goal is to spend more time reviewing material for your classes, you can set an objective to study for an hour a day and reward yourself afterward by eating your favorite snack or taking extra time to relax before continuing your routine. This small incentive keeps individuals motivated because they form an association with completing a task and the positive feeling attained from reaping a reward. In addition, introducing a form of punishment could help you remain on track. If you skip your studies, you can set a “punishment” to double your study time for the following day. This could help to ensure that you do not continue to ignore or fall behind on your goals.
Lastly, do not be afraid of lazy or unmotivated days. Being productive and motivated 100 percent of the time is not plausible, and feeling unmotivated for a day or two is absolutely okay. It does not make you a less responsible person. Coming to terms with this will make you better adapted to stay motivated for most of the time as well as make you set aside necessary time for you to do nothing and simply relax. You can utilize this time to recover after especially difficult days or catch up on a show you have been meaning to watch.
These simple steps will ensure that you stay motivated and look after yourself so that you do not burn out. Every day, remind yourself of what you are attempting to accomplish, why you have set those goals for yourself, and that you are a Bruin. A Bruin does not face a task and give up when things get difficult. You can accomplish anything you set out to do as long as you believe you can do it.
