At this point in the semester, people usually either become really productive because they have slacked the first half of the semester, or people become tired because they worked really hard for the first half and are ready to be done. For me, I feel neither of these. I’m not being productive, nor would I describe myself as burnout. I am completely unmotivated.
As a junior in college, this point in the semester is very busy with a very heavy workload. I realize this, and I know I need to be looking for internships, taking care of my responsibilities in clubs, and many other tedious aspects of being a junior in college that I should be focusing on, but I cannot find the motivation to do any of it. I am being lazy with my homework, assignments, emails I should be sending, my faith, and my own health. I’m sure people can relate when I say I’m too busy to work out right now. That’s a lie, though, because I am so unmotivated with every part of my day, I am not sacrificing gym time to accomplish something beneficial. I literally want to do nothing.
This is usually the point in the semester when we need to refocus, set goals, and prioritize so that we can be motivated to finish the semester strong. I realize that when goals are met, motivation comes with accomplishments, leading us to want to accomplish more. My problem is I am so overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done by the end of the semester, I have lost all motivation to try to do it now. I have been too focused on the big goal without realizing that I have to set small goals to accomplish along to way to keep me motivated. I make daily to-do lists, but I never finish them. I feel so unfocused and distant from the matters at hand, but I think if I start setting daily, accomplishable goals, I will feel more productive and focused, therefore more motivated.
I think everyone gets stuck in a slump every once in a while where the end is in sight, but it seems so far away it is hard to even try to work toward. We feel there is no progress so there is no motivation to keep growing and working toward a goal each day to better ourselves. Aside from school work, I am still unmotivated. I know I need to stop. Take a break from everything to refocus and reestablish what I am trying to accomplish, prioritize, and move forward. The worst thing I could do in this situation is to continue to pile things onto my schedule, which is exactly what I have been doing. It is time to take a step into the details and tackle one thing at a time.
Right now, I encourage you to write out short-term goals that are achievable to make you feel accomplished each day. Take your eyes off the overwhelmingly big goal for a second, and refocus your motivation. I will do the same. Any progress will fuel the desire to move forward to accomplish the goals that seem out of reach to us right now, causing us to be unmotivated. Let’s refocus. Let’s get positive. Let’s get through this together.
