My motivation sucks

[The Worst Witch]

Hi

My motivation for doing my college work sucks. I’m feeling really overwhelmed with it, I’m supposed to hand in 5 essays by the 24th January. I just can’t seem to get started, every time I think about them I get in a blind panic. Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
- Using an essay planner that is built in to our online submission system (didn’t work because tutors didn’t finish the teaching in time so I couldn’t use the planner)
- Talking to my tutor (was helpful to an extent, she said that I was doing well and to keep focused - she was a bit frustrated with me though because there are people on the course she effectively needs to tell what to write and give them ideas whereas I know what I’m doing, the problem is doing it)
- Going to the library to work (didn’t help because everybody is in the library this time of year and it was ridiculously noisy)

Anyone got any other ideas to help with motivation?

[nonperson]

Totally get where you're coming from with finding it difficult to be motivated...

Is there somewhere else you could go to study? Or a quiet place at home, where you literally turn off your phone, remove all distractions and just have all your books/info in front of you?

Personally I found it best to go to the library at college, but it stayed open quite late so I'd stay there until closing time which meant it was quiet. Is there a local library nearby that might be quieter? Or you could use headphones to block out the noise.

Also essay planning is really important and does help to break things down into manageable, stress-free chunks. Can you do that without the online system?

[one_step_closer]

Would it help to write a list that you can tick things off as they get done, so that you can see that you're making progress and have the physical/visual aspect of the ticking?

Short periods of work followed by a short break are the best way to work I think. Maybe half an hour to work and 15 minutes break. If you can get into the rhythm you might find it's easy to stick with. Longer breaks I think make it harder to get back into things.

Is there anything you could reward yourself with for what you manage to get done?

Going to a public library as NP suggested would be a good idea too if you have one locally. I think they are generally quieter than college libraries.

Good luck!

[The Worst Witch]

I submitted half of an essay yesterday that I needed to amend in order to pass. Got a few encouraging emails from my tutor but things are still hard. I did feel briefly proud of myself yesterday, so ticking things off would probably be really helpful.

I’m also trying to break down my tasks into manageable chunks. Shouted at/spoke to a couple of students for being noisy in the library.

All in all, things are progressing. Slowly.

[one_step_closer]

Keep going, slowly is better than not at all and hopefully you'll learn some things that are helpful for you and get into a routine that is easier for you to manage.