How do you stay motivated?

Dell Conagher

Dell Conagher

The engineer is engihere
I've got a lot of projects I'd like to work on, but I always hit a point where I'll lose my motivation.

How do you guys stay motivated? Can be about school, jobs, personal projects, etc.
 
play video games
 
Well, for school, if I work on one subject too long, I need a break. I play piano or switch to another subject.

As far as projects go, I actually bounce between a number of them. YouTube videos? I have about five I'm working on off and on. When I feel interested in one I do it. But writing? I, uh... may or may not have over fifteen different projects I bounce between.

Sometimes you just have to force it. Like, say, cramming in two weeks worth of science into about 4 hours from 8PM to 12AM. (This happened to me last night. Would not recommend.)

But the motivation actually just comes and goes for me. (Which would explain my +12 writing projects) However, I'm learning that when I have the inspiration or motivation to work on something, do it. Get it done ASAP. As a writer, I try to wake up 30 minutes before I normally would and set that time aside to write, because I know that if I don't get the project done quickly, I'll loose motivation on it and it'll go unfinished for a while, if not forever.

Hope this helps! (I also really hope I didn't misinterpret the question, lol.)
 
I want to be financially independent more than anything lmao

Xananab said:
I've got a lot of projects I'd like to work on, but I always hit a point where I'll lose my motivation.

How do you guys stay motivated? Can be about school, jobs, personal projects, etc.
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It's hard and it can be overwhelming if you want to do a lot of stuff. I suggest:
- write all your project ideas down (notebook, google doc, notes app, whatever)
- order them in importance
- focus on the top one

Progress on anything is progress.

If you can break your ideas down into smaller tasks, then it's easier for planning. As you finish the smaller tasks, you can tick them off. Which can feel rewarding.

Also remember to take time for yourself to have fun. You're not a factory. Your self worth doesn't come from how good your grades are or the work you produce.
 
By being interested in what you're doing. find reasons for why if you feel unsure about it.

Otherwise find reasons outside your own interest that may motivate you to do something (such as being responsible, being disciplined, maybe what you're doing is one of the bad parts of the process of a bigger/broader interest, maybe what you're doing is really important for someone else?, maybe there'll be a great reward once you finish, etc).

If it is your own lazyness/procrastination what's disrupting your motivation, combat that instead. Many videos exist for that (Thomas Frank is an awesome channel specifically for that in particular). If it's just the fact that what you're doing is difficult, you just have to accept not everything is easy and keep going.

Did this help?
 
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actually, what I said about wanting to do it for someone else? forget that. Follow your own interests/dreams/whatever and not someone else's (unless it's something that involves saving their lives or something very important like that). You have to do what makes you happy and live your own life. Anyway that's it.
 
The light at the end of the tunnel keeps me going for most things in life, where I have to put up with doing something I hate for some time but if I can keep at it for long enough then I will eventually reach the light
 
A good way to stay motivated is to look up art and videos about what you are working on, it can spark ideas and help you connect more with what you need to be motivated about.
 
I allow myself to be demotivated quite frequently (read: I'm not hard on myself when I'm lazy).

Over time I discovered that the best medicine for lapses of motivation and inspiration is to just start doing the thing you need to do and see where you go with it, which can be quite difficult to do unless you have strong willpower. The environment also helps if a task of large scale is in the mix; with school projects, I happen to be more productive at the academy, preferably with team mates around, than at home. I started despising COVID lockdowns over time for this exact reason. However, many people saw them as a saving grace, so keep in mind that this is more of a personal take on things that others might not operate upon.
 
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