Not technology related

gorebrush

Is anyone else having a hard time getting motivated?

I recently had some big things going on in my life which mean that I should have more time for certification, yet I find that for the past 3 weeks I've done almost nothing.

Someone, please, help me.

jryantech

Friday night...
Hot Bathtub with lots of bubbles...
Surrounded by beautiful smelling lit candles...
And your CCNP book...

If that won't motivate you, I don't know what will.

Plantwiz

Try scheduling yourself study time first-thing in the morning 0500 or 0530 for about 1 hour then get on with your day.

dynamik

Just take a break. I go at it pretty hard when I'm motivated, and every once in awhile, I just don't do anything for a week or two (though three+ is pushing it ).

Sooner or later, you'll probably get bored with whatever else you're doing to occupy your time, and then you can go back to the books.

gorebrush

What hasn't helped is the awful weather we've been having.

I spent most of last week at home. I need to get out and do something different, but it is awkward when you live in a town where there is very very little to do, and the roads are that bad - I'm afraid of destroying my car.

I've only had it 5 weeks.

dtlokee

Don't let it go too long, it becomes hard to get motivated again. I agree with Plantwiz, early in the day is a good time to set aside study time before you get involved in any of your daily tasks.

I find the winter is the best time for me to focus, I don't like studying in the summertime.

cisco_trooper

Sometimes you just need a break man. Maybe you just need a change of pace from what you're studying. If you get bogged down in studying something just because it once seemed like a great idea, but you just don't enjoy it anymore, you can find yourself in a situation that is counterproductive. You find yourself expending all this energy studying (or thinking about how you aren't studying) this subject, instead of spending that energy on something you WANT to study.

To overcome this I recommend setting long term and short term goals, and I also recommend re-evaluating those goals every 3 - 6 months to make sure you are still moving the direction you want to move. People change, life changes, circumstances change, and in these wicked times, the economy and world change right before our eyes.

It sounds like you have just gotten in a funk, I've been through about 3 "funks" in the last year or so. When I'm going, I'm really really going - it's intense and probably not very healthy. Funk usually is not too far behind. Find SOMETHING or SOME WAY to apply what you're learning and it will become a whole lot more interesting by default and has gotten me out of FUNK on more than one occasion.

Some good old endorphin producing exercise won't hurt either.

skrpune

I actually got shamed into getting my but into gear by this thread...seeing how others who had way more responsibilities to take care of were getting more studying done than I was pretty much kicked my arse. I got further in the week or so since that thread got started then I did in the preceding three weeks!! In general though, the only way for me to keep myself motivated is to set some solid goals for myself and give myself some sort of small rewards for reaching milestones.

Every now and again, you *do* need a break, so maybe you just need a little vacation before getting back into the game. Take this time to make some plans and review what your goals are & how you want to get there. And reviewing where you're at & where you want to go might get you back in gear and inspire you again.

UnixGuy

I think you know the solution yourself, you need to go out and have some nice time

msteinhilber

Take some calls on the helpdesk, that always works for me.

Our shop is so small that each of us shared the load and we handle all of the things that many IT departments have dedicated staff for as well as dealing with the helpdesk.

I'm not sure about you, but being stuck on the phone with a user whose about as steady with a mouse as Michael J. Fox as you try to get them to hover over the VNC or Dameware icon to get their IP address so you can take over is a great motivator for me to study so I can get some certs and couple them with my experience to get the heck out of there.

gorebrush

Well thanks for all the advice

I think the problem is that I need some time away from everything.

I recently split with my girlfriend and I think this may have been the cause for the lack of "go" in the brain dept.

Some away/break time I think is what I need.

I'll be back

bertieb

A break sounds like a good option, it's always good to recharge your batteries a little.

Whatever you do, don't go "Full Retard" mate!
(you just gotta love Tropic Thunder )

Megadeth4168

I know what you mean about getting motivated! I seem to always fizzle out during the winter... I passed my ICND1 back in October and only just started studying again on Friday... not even in full study mode, but I'm trying to get back into it.