Alex's Blog

Have you ever felt unmotivated, uninspired or perhaps apathetic? But you knew that you had to finish the assignment or work. I know I have at times… And many other people do too as well. Well this article is named “8 great ways to motivate yourself when you just don’t feel like it”; it offers 8 great tips to keeping yourself motivated until the very end or just motivating yourself to start the work. It not only deals with school assignments, but it can also work with anything. For example things like exercising plans, taking up new hobbies, reports, and stuff like that. I especially like this quote from the article “You’re not always going to feel like doing something. You have to lead your emotions, not let your emotions lead you.” (Barr, 2009.) It is a great quote because if you just procrastinate, you will never get things done. And that leads to rushing whatever it is that you’re doing.

Which relates to the first tip, that is to “Let Fear Take Hold,” it explains that fear is one of the best motivators to get you to finish your work. It certainly is true from my experience. But I think it is not always the best tip because when you are rushing to get something done under fear, you will most likely forget some details or do it wrong entirely. The next tip is to “Keep the Finish Line in Sight.” It is basically about looking at the whole thing and reading everything over before doing everything step by step without looking for what’s at the end. It also reminds you to remember the accomplishment of completing the work. After that is the third tip which is to “Make It a Game.” This tip explains that you should make it fun and not dreadful. The example that it gave is a good one. I think that this is the best tip out of the entire article. Because it not only motivates yourself but it will also motivate others who are doing the same thing. And the fourth tip of this article is to “Remove All Other Options.” What I think the tip means is that you should get rid all of the distractions around you. For instance things like turning off the television, cell phones, and other electronic devices. Of course it would be hard if you’re doing work on your computer for a research report while using the internet but the solution to that could be adding a block on websites that you visit to procrastinate on. So therefore you would have to pay attention and not get sidetracked from your work.

The fifth tip of this article is to “Tell Someone Else.” It basically explains letting everyone (not literally) but at least a few people know of what you’re doing. This is a really great tip because once you tell someone that you’re going to be doing something, you’ll eventually have to follow through with it and not back out. Another reason it is a great tip is because if you do back out, it means that you don’t follow through with what you say, and people will never take what you say seriously. (I’m not saying it will be like this, but it might…) Plus if you do finish it, then they’ll most likely be proud of you for finishing it. It might not matter to most people, but it will to those who care about you. The sixth tip of this article is to “Tell Yourself Daily.” In other words, it means constantly reminding yourself to do your work and not procrastinate. And you will not be able to forget about it until you finish it. It is the second best tip in my opinion because this tip will make you focused on the work or assignment.

The second to last tip is to “Recruit a Group.” This is also a really good tip because if you get sidetracked, the people that are working with you will make you focus. Another reason is because people in study groups tend to work and do well together. And the final tip of this article is to “Break it Up.” When people receive a lot of work, they will usually get much more than they can handle. And the work will overwhelm the person which then causes them to procrastinate upon getting the work finished. A great example is junior year, that year is the most important throughout high school because every college that you apply to; will be looking at that year the most. I remember when my brother (who is a senior in college now) told me that junior year was the hardest. So far, I think what he said is becoming true. Anyways back to the point, this tip explains that you should break down big assignments into smaller parts. This way, you won’t feel overwhelmed and you won’t feel like not doing it at all.

This article is an article that should never be forgotten. It has certainly helped me in writing this and getting through with other work earlier. Everyone in my opinion should read this article, because it really is a good and helpful article. Some tips that I would add to the article is to “Make ‘Dares’ With Yourself.” I would add that because I think it would motivate people to finish their work faster. Another reason I would add it is because if the person made a ‘dare’ with themselves, that they would work on their work for 30 minutes and then maybe take a 10 minute break, they would do that and then most likely continue working because they would want to keep the momentum going. This tip would also relate to the third tip of “Making It a Game.” Another tip I would add is to “find things that would make you concentrate yet still motivating yourself”. That would be a tip that I would add because if the person could find a thing to help themselves concentrate and not procrastinate, then it would help them to get their work done faster. In example, listening to music (if it helps them) or anything that’s help them concentrate. Overall this article is a really good article.

So if you want, read the article and tell me your thoughts about it, like how can I improve my weekly reader, and add some tips of your own if you want.

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2009/08/8-great-ways-to-motivate-yourself-when.html

Works Cited
Barr, J. (2009, August 10). dumblittleman. Retrieved September 28, 2009, from http://www.dumblittleman.com: http://www.dumblittleman.com/2009/08/8-great-ways-to-motivate-yourself-when.html