By Rafael Robledo

As three weeks have already come and gone and our schedules are full of homework and assignments, it may be difficult to stay motivated. I want to share some of the things that I have done this semester to keep on the grind. I’ve also added a playlist at the bottom on this blog post with the theme of motivation, so have a listen! Each Misc. Monday post will contain a music playlist that relates to the day’s topic or theme. Get excited!

This semester, something that I have started to stay motivated is waking up at five in the morning and so far I have enjoyed it. I make sure that I get at least 8-9 hours of sleep every night and thus far I have felt pretty good compared to last semester where I slept about 5-7 hours during the weekdays. I also read that getting a good night’s rest is key to staying motivated and thus far I feel like it’s true! Sure my method is waking up early but yours could be sleeping more and waking up later.

I recently watched the TED Talk “The Psychology of Self-Motivation”. Scott Geller, Director of the Center for Applied Behavior Systems in the Department of Psychology, said that to be self motivated you need to perceive competence, know the consequences, have a choice and lastly it’s all about community. What he meant on perceiving competence is that you need to realize if the task is doable and if you can manage it. The next thing are the consequences which just means the outcome of completing the task and what happens if you don’t. Now choice, is the perspective that you take on the choices that you have. Community signifies that everyone needs each other and that we are all in this together. 

Let’s take what I am currently doing to stay motivated as an example. Is this doable? I would say yes. What are the consequences? I get to wake up early, get assignments done early and don’t have to worry about them for the rest of the day. I also don’t get to school sleepy and tired since I have classes until 10 am. How do you perceive this?  I am able to get things done and start early and I have less stress throughout the day and it’s something that I chose to do. How does this help others? I get up early so after I’m done with whatever I had pending, I get to help clean or organize around the house. Lastly I feel great afterwards since I have accomplished a lot in the morning!

I would like to finish off with today’s quote by Dwayne The Rock Johnson “We are all a project.” Just remember that we are all striving to improve and move on forward. May you be motivated all week!

Click on the following week to listen to this week’s playlist. Enjoy!