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!
//
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
