Uni motivation

[soberpanda]

Anyone else at uni right now struggling with motivation?
I'm doing my masters and fortunately I only have my dissertation left. I have my proposal due next week which I was already given a two week extension for. I find i sit down in front of my laptop at about 2pm after sleeping in until noon and literally getting nothing done. Today I didn't even OPEN my document until about 7pm. I usually end up writing about a paragraph at 11pm.

Then repeat again the next day. Im literally spending every day in front of my laptop getting f**k all done. It's SO frustrating as when I do try working I am really struggling with the actual work so it's not just that I am not trying.

Any tips? Or just anyone in the same or similar situation!! Please reassure me I'm not alone lol

 

[bry800]

Not at uni but struggle with work motivation sometimes. Do you have a list of tasks you need to do? If it’s a bigger task, break it down into manageable pieces. Tick things off as you go. It sounds silly but it makes you feel good to know you’ve accomplished a task and motivate you to move on to the next. Sometimes I achieve a lot more if I have less time to do it. So instead of thinking “I have the whole day to do this”, give yourself a set amount of hours to get X amount done. You could always break those hours down too so it’s manageable - I.e two hours of hard work, then lunch for one hour, then back to it for two hours. Good luck!

 

[FlipFlop0706]

God yes! I’m doing my masters and quite frankly I’m just burnt out of my subject now. Couldn’t give a damn anymore! I just need to submit my dissertation in August but I either don’t do any work or do work and then think it’s a load of rubbish!

As for tips-

Read other people’s dissertations! See their structure etc and it helps on the motivation front knowing that people have finished and eventually that person will be YOU!

Create a space where it’s clear of mess and you can’t procrastinate! It puts you in study mode.

Try do a little bit everyday as it is is better than nothing at all. Then reward yourself after with something. I’m slowly getting it together by doing this.

Cite this for me is a bloody lifesaver for collating references

Researchgate is a great source for references if your library uni is rubbish!

You’re nearly at the end now- you can do this and think of the freedom when you hand it in!

 

[lipsticktaser]

When I was going my dissertation it was a slog. I used to set work time round the school run and I loved the pomadoro app. I think knowing I was working for 20 mins then a break made me work more efficiently.

I think it's important if you're sitting there doing nothing, put it away. Go for a walk, have a cup of tea, a bath, a shower, anything. Just completely disengage from the proposal blinkers. Then try again when the fog has lifted. I used to go to the park and try write.

And most importantly be kind to yourself. It's a really tricky time and it's really hard being stuck in all day and trying to be productive.

 

[Apple In My Pie]

I haven’t done a dissertation because it terrified me but I struggled my way through revision every year at uni! Things that helped were:

- writing at a desk in silence or with classical music playing. Desk clear, phone off, tv off - router off if possible. Basically as many distractions removed as possible!
- staying away from my bedroom or the living room. You subconsciously associate those areas with relaxing and it makes your mind wander.
- chunking tasks and giving myself a reward at the end ‘if I do this task I can go and get some popcorn’ etc. Smaller tasks felt like a smaller mental load
- if I ever got fed up of staring at the laptop trying to conjure up an essay I’d condense my points into post it notes and then pin them up on the wall. Maybe it’s less effective for a diss but you could write down points/references, pin them up, then when you have a few, look them over, rearrange them, try to give a presentation (to yourself) on them. It sounds mad and like it’s more work but I found sitting there ‘creating’ and then moving around to pin everything up helped me work faster, see where I could improve, what points I could link to what references, and I also memorised it better. And it feels nicer than... typing... all... daaaayyy... Of course you then do have to write it up into the document! (my bedroom used to be COVERED wall to wall every exam season )

ALSO remember the end goal! All this hard work will pay off!!! You’re doing great!!! Yeah!

 

[Blackbird]

I'm studying part-time at the moment and the content is so incredibly hard. It's so darned hard that I manage to fit in and tackle all these other jobs I've put off (such as cleaning the oven) just to not do it.

But, when I am in the right frame of mind, I find it helpful to:

• Tell myself that a due-by date is a couple of days earlier than it really is. That seems to motivate me a bit better.
• Stick to a regular schedule - in my case, it's evenings and weekends; 7-10pm on weeknights with Fridays off, then 1-6pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
• Like Apple, sit in a dedicated space where I won't get distracted.
• Shut down email on my PC, and leave my phone in another room, so I can focus.