Strategies to increase your motivation

Set personal and meaningful goals [4]

• Use short-term goals to work towards long-term goals [5][8]
• Set learning goals instead of performance goals [8][15]
• Track your progress and create accountability for yourself [13]
  • The WOOP (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan) framework is a handy tool! Instead of just imagining success,
    anticipate and plan for possible obstacles! [3]

Use resources and support [13]

• Build belonging, create a network, share purpose [10]
• Increase accountability [13]
• Improve your ability and skill to increase your confidence [4]
  • Consider your many options: office hours, P2L, MCLC, Writing Center, advising, College Life Skills Coach,
    CAPS, SDAC, the Career Center, Wahoo Well, and more!

Focus on approach motives [2][12]

• Consider the reasons to do the task (value) and why you might succeed (expectancy) [11]
• Make the process more enjoyable somehow. [11] For example: listen to music, call a friend, light a candle, study with a friend, study in a pleasant or novel spot, have a favorite snack while you work, etc…

Change your identity 

• Stop thinking of yourself as someone who is unmotivated.
• Adopt a new identity, such as “I am someone who is motivated!” and then act like it [11]

Make your environment work for you [10]

• “…why rely on willpower when you can just change your situation?” [7] For example, use a website blocker, leave your bedroom, remove the temptations, etc.…

Use a timer

• This can help “prove to yourself that it isn’t as bad as you think” [11]
• Try the Pomodoro technique: set a timer for a short amount of time (ex. 20 minutes) to focus on a task, then take a short break. Repeat!

Make your to-do list realistic and more manageable [11]

• Prioritize, cut, or reschedule unessential tasks [11]
• Practice self-compassion! [1][9][11]
• Speak kindly to yourself, even when you fail
• Consider how you might speak to a friend to cheer them on and call them to more [11]

Take care of yourself! [11]

• Prioritize sleep, exercise, nutrition, and hydration [6]
• Practice stress management techniques [14]
   

Works Cited

1. Breines, J, & Chen, S. (2012). Self-Compassion Increases Self-Improvement Motivation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167212445599

2. Chen, D. (2019, August 5). Need to stop procrastinating? Try this. TED Ed. https://blog.ed.ted.com/2019/08/05/need-to-stop-procrastinating-try-this/ 

3. Cherry, K. (2021, July 15). 5 Surprising Ways to Get Motivated. Verywellmind.
https://www.verywellmind.com/surprising-ways-to-get-motivated-2795388 

4. Cherry, K. (2023, May 3). Motivation: The Driving Force Behind Our Actions. Verywellmind.
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-motivation-2795378 

5. Daniel Willingham. (2023, October 12). Motivation gets you to work… but work also motivates you [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Fi28MXpV1Ws?si=ABNaxhh3jAMvnZhK 

6. Doyle, T. & Zakrajsek, T. (2013). The New Science of Learning: How Brain Research is Revolutionizing the Way We Learn. Stylus Publishing, LLC.

7. Duckworth, A.L., Milkman, K.L., & Laibson, D. (2018). Beyond Willpower: Strategies for Reducing Failures of Self-Control. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19(3), 102-109. https://doi.org/10.1177/152910061882189

8. Graham, S., Lepper, M.R., Henderlong, J., & Pintrich, P.R. (2002). Motivation. In J.W. Guthrie (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Education, 5, 1690-1701. Gale. htps://link-gale-
com.libcat.landmark.edu:8443/apps/doc/CX3403200422/GVRL?u=vol_p98l&sid=bookmark-
GVRL&xid=773366ccm 

9. Lieberman, C. (2019, March 25). Why You Procrastinate (It Has Nothing to Do with Self-Control). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/smarter-living/why-you-procrastinate-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-self-control.html 

10. Mccrea, P. (2020). Motivated Teaching: Harnessing the science of motivation to boost attention and effort in the classroom. Peps Mccrea.

11. Morin, A. (2023, December 5). What to Do When You Have No Motivation. Verywellmind.
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-to-do-when-you-have-no-motivation-4796954 

12. National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2018). Understanding Motivation: Building the Brain Architecture That Supports Learning, Health and Community Participation: Working Paper 14. Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu

13. Osterholt, D., & Dennis, S. (2014). Assessing and Addressing Student Barriers: Implications for Today's College Classroom. About Campus, 18(6), 18-24. https://doi.org/10.1002/abc.21140  

14. Park, J., Chung, S., An, H., Park, S., Lee, C., Kim, S. Y., Lee, J. D., & Kim, K. S. (2012). A structural model of stress, motivation, and academic performance in medical students. Psychiatry Investigation, 9(2), 143-149. https://doi.org/10.4306/pi.2012.9.2.143 

15. Simon-Dack, S., Dennis Rodriguez, P., & Marcum, G. (2016). Study Habits, Motives and Strategies of College Students with Symptoms of ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 20(9), 775-781. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054714543369