Student Blog: Motivation Gone Missing

Wait, where did all my snacks go, didn't I just open this bag? I thought to myself as I aimlessly reached down into an empty greased bag of Trader Joe's Veggie Straws with my free hand. I hadn't even bothered to look down to guide my hand. My eyes were far too invested in whatever TikTok I was scrolling past at the moment. After reaching around and feeling no snacks, I quickly snapped out of the TikTok trance I was in and back into reality. Yep, I had finished them and I did not in fact just open the bag, I had opened them somewhere around an hour ago.

Sitting perched on my kitchen counter with a bag of snacks, scrolling through TikTok at 8:36pm on a Wednesday night seems to lay out my priorities lately pretty clearly. All I have to say for myself is senior year spring quarter vibes. I am shoulder deep in senioritis and have absolutely no desire to watch any of my pre recorded lectures about how different faults are somehow related to plate tectonics. That being said I know we have all about had it with this school year and are ready for that zoom-free hot girl summer life. Here are some of my go to pro-tips to help pull you out of that mid-quarter funk I know we're all sitting in:

1. Cut your Zoom Time

2. Have a Schedule

3. Boost that Serotonin Baby

4. Positive Affirmations

Cut your Zoom Time

With online school our amount of screen time is beyond what is healthy. Try to space out your screen time and work in smaller 30min bursts. Also when you do take breaks spend that time away from your phone and screens. A pro-tip if you have pre recorded lectures is to adjust the speed to be twice as fast. You will cut your lecture time in half without sacrificing any information. Professors will typically speak slower when recording lessons, so you will still be able to understand and grasp the information when listening in double time or even 1.5 speed.

Have a Schedule

Holding yourself to some sort of schedule will keep you more on top of your work. It doesn't have to be a strict minute to minute to schedule, it can be very loose. For example maybe every morning you are going to get up and start your morning on a walk, do some journaling, or maybe just by making your bed and eating breakfast. Having something solid to start your morning with will help set you up for a productive day. I like to have a loose outline. I have activities that are done when I get up, after class, and in the evening and they serve as benchmarks throughout the day. It's not a strict schedule but a guideline that keeps me ontrack.

Boost that Serotonin Baby

It's important to include things that make us smile in our week. When everyday feels the same we can fall into a routine of forgetting to do things that make us happy. The small laughs and smiles make the day to day more enjoyable and we are less likely to be anxious for the days to pass faster. Exercising is a great way to move and grove the stress away as well as being outside. Turning up the jams and dancing in my room always gets my serotonin flowin'. I also know some of us haven't left our rooms in a hot week and our bodies are craving sunshine and vitamin D. I love to ride my bike or go on a walk after dinner to soak up the golden hour.

Positive Affirmations

If there is anything that is going to get us through the last weeks of school until summer, it's going to be those self pep talks. No one can make you do anything better than you. Whether you physically look in the mirror and tell yourself that you got this or you write yourself a note and leave it somewhere you will see it, positive words make all the difference. We are manifesting and speaking it into existence. Say it with me now I will finish the school year strong because I am a strong and smart student who has it all together (say it even if it's not true yet!). The more we hear these words the more likely we are to believe then and live them.

I know this time in the year is tough, summer is so close we can practically taste it and the finish line is in sight. Life will get better and this too shall pass. The best thing I can tell you is to hang on and buckle up on this wild ride because we've almost made it through, so don't quit now. I know we can do it!