At the beginning of the school year, it can feel extra challenging to get motivated. You’ve likely spent weeks relaxing and thinking about anything other than school! Transitioning back into the mindset of full days at school can be overwhelming. In this blog post we’ll go through our top 3 tips for getting motivated again!
Tip 1: Focus on your ‘reasons why’
This can seem a bit cheesy but keeping your bigger goals in sight can help you get motivated again! Focusing on your reasons why doing the IB will get you to where you want to go will give you a reason to get the work done.
Whether your goal is getting into your top choice university or starting your dream career, doing your best in the IB will help you along the way. It’s easy to forget about these goals when you’re bogged down in work! Try writing them out on a post it note and putting it somewhere you’ll see it everyday.
If you are a visual person, give making a vision board a go. The process of making one can really help you figure out what your ‘reasons why’ are. Think about what you want your life to look like after IB. Do you want to study at university? Add some photos of the campus of your top choice. Where do you want to live? Look for photos of famous landmarks to add. Check out examples of a vision board here.
Tip 2: Set up a dedicated study space
Having one designated ‘work’ space in your room or house helps create a separation between school and home. It’s easy to lose motivation when you feel like work is taking over everything!
Making your study space as nice to be in as possible will also help. It’s difficult to be motivated to spend time somewhere that you don’t like! Focus on creating lots of light. If you can put your desk in front of a window that would be ideal. If not, add a bright desk lamp (or two!).
As annoying as this may be to hear, having a clear and tidy desk will also help. If things are too cluttered it gets hard to find what you’re looking for. It also makes the space you have to work smaller. Removing barriers to starting work is essential to getting motivated so having a clean desk is key! Check out more tips on creating a study space here.
Tip 3: Set small goals
When your to-do list is full of big ticket tasks like “write extended essay”, it can be overwhelming. You might feel like there’s no point in starting because you’re never going to get it done. This is absolutely not the case!
Breaking down tasks into smaller goals can make them feel more manageable. This will help you get started! Once you’re ticking things off of your list you’ll start building momentum and motivation.
Check out this post for our top tips on writing up IAs if you’re struggling with getting through bigger projects!
