Motivating yourself to do well in college can be hard. Some people are just naturally good at going to classes, studying for 5 hours a day, and getting all of their work done on time. Some, on the other hand, have trouble motivating themselves to do all of their work. If you are someone who has trouble motivating yourself to study, do homework, or to even go to class, then you need to find ways to motivate yourself.

The big question is: “do you really want to let yourself down?” Think about all of the hard work you put into school in the past to get to where you are now. If you’re halfway through a semester, then why stop? Keep pushing yourself and understand that it will pay off in the future. That’s where the saying “hard work pays off” comes from. You have to work hard in order to get anywhere in the future. It’s college, you have to work hard to get what you want. No one hands anything to you. It would be too easy that way.

A key way to staying motivated is to surround yourself with other motivated students. Find friends who are also academically motivated and doing well. This way you won’t find yourself tempted to go out at night instead of studying. If you have a friend or two that like to go out on week days, you have to be able to turn them down and study or get your homework done instead. Also, develop a list of tasks to be completed. There is no better feeling than being able to check off a completed task. Seeing a task not completed should motivate you to get that goal accomplished.

Being motivated at the beginning of the semester is not the difficult part. However sustaining your motivation in the middle of the semester can be difficult for many students. To maintain motivation it is important to grasp that college is an important cornerstone in one’s life. The best tip for staying motivated is getting a good night’s sleep, and taking time to have fun. Low energy will kill one’s performance and academic success so aim for good grades and get as much rest as you can at the appropriate times. Use fun time as a way to recharge your motivation.

Don’t let failure discourage your motivation. Dwell on your successes and not on your failures. No one is perfect in life and everyone has struggled. Don’t get down on yourself. Use your mistakes and failures to learn. Staying positive is the only way to keep yourself motivated. Just don’t let yourself get down about school and do everything that will keep you motivated to staying successful. Often a mentor can help you. You just need someone to talk to renew your perspective.

Sometimes to keep yourself motivated, you need to set out time to do things not related to school. Take the weekends off and go to the college recreation center/gym, hang out with friends, or even go out. The key is being responsible about it. Realize that taking this break is not just to have a good time, but to clear your mind. That way, when you do return to your studies, you’ll have less trouble staying motivated knowing that your “break” is coming every weekend.

A great motivator is to think of college as the future for the rest of your life, however good or bad you do in college is most likely how you’re going to do in real life. What you put in is what you get out and if you work hard all through college you will be very successful in the real world.

Tips on staying motivated:

1. Look at the future – You don’t want to look back and regret things you could’ve done differently.
2. Don’t disappoint your parents – Although doing well should be for you, you don’t want to disappoint the people who are supporting you through college.
3. Make yourself proud – Nothing feels better than accomplishing that 10 page essay you worked countless hours on.
4. Work hard – The harder you work now the more you will benefit from it and it will pay off in the long run.
5. Look up motivational videos – When I really was having a hard time being motivated I just went on the internet and looked up some motivational videos. It really helped to get me motivated.
6. Seek out someone to talk to – Often an experienced professor, resident leader, counselor or advisor can help you keep the challenges in perspective.

.