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There was this one time some time last semester, when my friends called me from their house while I was studying on campus right after we had written a midterm.
"How do you stay motivated?"
It was kind of hard to answer this because I didn't really see myself as being motivated. I was kind of a robot at that point during the exam period where all I knew was study study study Write exam! study study study Write another exam!. Of course, there were times when the human side of me returned and that's when the moments of doubt and meltdowns or times of procrastination occurred. But I think in general, there are three things that help me truck on through tasks or tough times.
1. Remember who you're doing this for. Whether you're doing it for your grandma, your boss, or yourself, keep in mind that they're counting on you. This might add some pressure on you, but don't let yourself crumble!... Which is admittedly easier said than done - believe me, I've had moments. But, what I've told myself to do is to turn whatever pressure I felt into a driving force for productivity.
2. Remember why you're doing this. But make sure it's for the right reasons for you. Make sure whatever you're doing, it'll be worth all the time, effort, blood and sweat in the end.
3. Make a plan, and believe in it. Map your way to your end goal, however it needs to be mapped. When I studied for exams, I listed all the lectures that I needed to get through for each course, and scheduled a number a lectures to be done each day until the day of the exam when hopefully everything has been studied at least once (nothing special; I'm sure everyone else does this, too). But for me, it was helpful to see what progress was being made, and that it was possible for me to do something that at times seemed impossible.
Okay, so the real reason for why I'm writing about motivation...
I had lost all motivation for this blog. And the biggest roadblock had to do with number 2 on my list. I got caught up in other people's blogs and trying to figure out why they were so successful and wondering what content I needed to add to attract people to read it and then I started comparing myself to others and doubting myself and -
I forgot that I used to blog just for the heck of it.
I used to write about my day at school or whatever current obsession I had; and I didn't write for other people to read, per se. I wrote mainly for me because I liked spilling my thoughts out.
So there. I had been blogging - or, trying to run a blog - for all the wrong reasons. I mean, sure, it would be great if this could become something more, but for now, I just have to remember that the number one reason I'm doing this is because for self-expression.
This blog isn't a business (yet).
It's my public private journal.
// so yeah, stay tuned for more regular blogging about life shenanigans which hopefully won't be too boring.
