hello, lovelies! I’ve had the weirdest start to the year, it feels like life is happening to me and I’m just some spectator sitting back and watching it happen. After like two months of this, I have realised that I need to sort my shit out. I’m hoping, as always, that those of you who feel the same will find this useful! so here’s a step by step to staying on track when life feels like it’s getting ahead of you.
STEP ONE // accepting the problem
so your concentration has been slipping lately. you haven’t been getting much sleep trying to stay on top of your work, and you still feel like you could be putting in more effort. you find yourself procrastinating more often than not. if you feel like this is you, worry not, friend. this kind of slump is more common than you think! usually, you can get out of it in a couple of weeks, but if it’s persisting for longer, I think it’s important to accept that there is a problem and start doing something about it.
STEP TWO // identifying your problem areas
maybe you can’t concentrate because you haven’t been regular with your medication. maybe you’ve had a fight with your friends or your significant other. maybe people at school or college are horrible (I know that feeling). put whatever you’re doing down and remember this: you are a human being.
it is totally normal and completely okay to face non-academic distractions, and I firmly believe that until you’ve resolved whatever is causing an emotional low for you, any effort you put in will be half-assed and essentially useless. so go out and work through your emotional stress! of course, there are some problems that aren’t easily worked through, but what I’m trying to tell you is get the help you need. you deserve it and more. sometimes it’s just as easy as talking to someone (and I’m always here to listen, if you need me).
STEP THREE // motivation!!!!!!!!
now you’ve worked through some issues that could be causing your emotional low, let’s look at something that’s hard to put a pin in: motivation. sometimes it’s as easy as scrolling through the studyblr tag or looking at inspirational quotes, and sometimes it feels like finding motivation is harder than climbing a mountain. believe me, I get you. the first thing i do when I hit this point is look at this infographic. it’s incredible how it puts things in perspective.
the next thing you need to realise is that the only motivation that is legitimate is self-motivation. I’m as much of a believer in Elle Woods or Hermione Granger inspo as anyone else, but at the end of the day, what really wakes me up is my personal drive to be financially independent and make my parents proud. eventually, it all boils down to you and what you want from your life. not everyone wants to go to harvard or make six figures a year, and that is more than okay (you do you).
STEP FOUR // discipline
so now you have motivation. awesome. problem is, motivation is temporary. it’s great to be motivated, but what really matters is discipline. motivation, no matter how self-driven, can fizzle out anytime. in times like those, discipline is what beats procrastination and keeps you going through distractions! everybody achieves discipline in different ways, but I find holding yourself responsible and accountable for your own actions can go a long way. This is where keeping a journal, a planner or to-do lists can be helpful! I’m not going to tell you how to organise yourself here, but I find that when you write down what you have to do, you’re holding yourself accountable to complete it.
discipline isn’t going to happen immediately,so do it in bits and pieces. you could start by tracking how much time you spend on productivity vs. procrastination in a day, or fix a schedule for yourself with rigid timings for different activities. experiment, and find out what works for you in the long term!
STEP FIVE // track your progress
by now, I’m sure you’ve worked out of your slump, and I hope it feels like you’re taking control of your life. now comes the relatively hard part: tracking your progress so it’s not as easy to fall back in a slump. make a note every day of how much work you’re getting done and the mistakes you make, and you’ll be surprised at how quickly and easily your work improves as you fall into a routine!
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so this was my five-step progress plan to stay on track! of course, I’m still working on it. I’m a novice at balancing my life, too (we’re aaallll in this togetherrrr~). I hope you find this post helpful, and consider checking out:
that’s all for now, but please feel free to ask me anything about this post, or anything else!
-sanjana xx