how to maintain motivation during the school year

As a senior in High School, I undestand how challenging staying motivated throughout the school year can be.

With a little less than 4 months left before I graduate, it’s been so difficult to complete my assignments and study for all the tests, quizzes or exams I have.

This being said, I’ve always been the type of person that NEEDS to “over-study” topics in order to achieve good grades, which has forced me develop great study habits.

The fact of the matter is that you aren’t always going to be motivated, and that’s okay. But I remind myself that there is a big difference between motivation and discipline, and although I don’t always WANT to complete assignemnts, I NEED to.

Having the discipline to do something you really don’t want to is good for you, because it hold yourself accountable and builds trust within yourself. If you promise yourself something, it’s always good to follow through on your promise, just like you would with a friend or family member. When you’re scrolling through TikTok, have the discipline to put your phone down and take out your laptop instead.

There are things I personally do to help me with this, and be as successful as possible in the academic aspects of my life.

First, I like to get out of my room or house. I’ll go to local coffee shops or cafes, and do school work there. Not only does this allow me to romanticize school work, but I notice I’m a lot more productive without the distractions of the various things I can do at home.

I created a “focus” on my iphone that completely silences all texts and calls from anyone except my family, with motivational wallpapers I saved on Pinterest, which helps a lot. Then, I tell myself that I’m not allowed to use my phone, which I’m normally not tempted to do if I’m not getting notifications.

I’ll reward myself too, by telling myself that if I complete a certain amount of assignments or study for a period of time, I’ll buy myself a drink or get a treat.

Making to-do lists helps so much also, since everything you need to do is layed out visually in a way that’s easy to mark-off.

I think the best thing you can do for yourself, though, is just romanticizing it in whatever way you can. Put on a cute outfit and do your hair, then go to a downtown coffee shop to study math. If it’s warmer where you live, you can even go somewhere outside to read your text books.

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself though, and understand that it’s completely fine to have days where you don’t complete as much school work as you’d hoped.