Wednesday 1 October 2014

Staying Motivated

Recently, I've been feeling really uninspired and not at all motivated to get through the mountain of work I have to do. I'm applying for University really soon and even though I'm super excited, writing my personal statement has really been getting me down because it means I have so much more to do on top of my usual college work. Obviously then I have non-college related stuff to do and it has reached a point where there is so much to do, I have no motivation to even start. Normally, I'm very hard working and dedicated to everything I do because I'm normally really passionate about the work I'm doing but lately, it's all just gotten a bit much...
Therefore, I've been trying out a few little things to try and keep my mind focused on everything I have to do and I'd like to share them with you in case you're going through a similar situation.

1. Keep Organised- It may seem super obvious but staying organised makes tasks so much easier! Sometimes just keeping the area around you, in my case my desk, clean and tidy helps me to concentrate more because I'm not being constantly distracted by little notes or spending half my time feeling frustrated about the fact my books aren't stacked perfectly parallel to one another (yep, I am that person)

2. a) SNACKS- I love food and food helps me to concentrate. I get tired really quickly when doing something repetitive so having small snacks next to me whilst I work, although not great for my waistline, aids my concentration enormously. At the moment I really love little pieces of strawberry/blackcurrant coated in yogurt which, considering I'm not at all a fruit person, really surprised me. Sometimes it's also quite handy to reward yourself with food- a little like a dog- and when you finish a task you've needed to finish for weeks, treat yourself with a biscuit- works for me...
2. b) Caffeine- OMG I drink SO much tea it's ridiculous! People don't even ask if I want a brew anymore, they just assume the answer is yes (and they're always right!) Having a cup of tea though (or coffee, if you're one of them) just makes me feel really comforted and warm so spending hours working doesn't seem as bad.

3. Music- I always have the radio on- literally always. However, when I'm working, I have to lower it down to almost silent because I get so distracted, not by the music, but the presenters in between the songs- c'mon, who doesn't stop what they're doing to listen to innuendo bingo?! Lately, I've tried swapping the radio for just music instead because weirdly, music doesn't distract me in the slightest. An album I've found really useful for motivation is 'The NIXTAPE' which is loads of songs chosen by Nick Grimshaw off've Radio 1 (big quiff, northern accent) He has a feature on his show on Friday morning which is an hour of just great music and this is kind of the best of those songs. It's honestly really great to have on in the background to ease the pain of personal statement writing. (I've also heard having movie soundtracks on the background helps to not distract you because they're purposely made to not distract you from what's happening on screen- if you try it, do let me know! I can't say I've given that a go yet)

4. Be comfortable- It sounds so simple but being comfortable will make those hours of revision so much more bearable. Personally, I like to put my pillows from my bed on my desk chair but I understand that's really weird.. Just make sure you're warm, wear comfy clothes and, if you're going to be there a while, make sure you sit in a nice position that won't hurt your back after 10 minutes (does that make me sound like an old woman?)

5. Have breaks- I'm so bad at this which I think is why I get so stressed, but if you know you've been working hard for a long length of time, allow yourself to have a break. About 5 minutes, 15 at most- otherwise that's just lazy- but regular breaks will allow your brain to have a short rest and when you return, it'll be easier to work harder. I've heard so many people say that they have too much to get done to have rests (I've said it myself so many times) but in those 5 minutes, with a lack of motivation, you'd have hardly gotten anything done anyway


I hope some of these have helped a little? I don't know if they're really obvious but they've really helped me a lot! Anyway, it was nice to do a less serious post this week after last weeks rant. I hope you're all well! Next week I want to write about the GBBO final so look forward to that..
I love you all, hope you have a lovely day
Cheerio! Xxx

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