Getting Motivated

powerfool

I am getting ready to start class again in my masters' program and there definitely is an inertia to studies that I always overcome. As I know that many folks get in a rut that is hard to break, I thought I would share some of my tips and then perhaps others could add to it.

1) Exercise: I have been bad about regularly exercising since I broke my wrist a couple of years ago. However, exercise is good for the brain, mind, and body. Pickup some exercise routine going into a period of new activity, be it school, work, or other taxing period in life. If you already exercise, change it up. Perhaps find a nice weekend activity that is exercise that is very different than what you are used to doing. For instance, this past weekend, I volunteered to do a river cleanup via canoe... I got some good exercise rowing and also got to see an area that I haven't seen before while cleaning things up.

2) Find some new music: Music stimulates both hemispheres of your brain and new music will have a greater impact. Of all radio listeners, classical music listeners have the greatest IQ. However, you don't have to pick up classical... I like jazz too, but I primarily listen to hybrid music. The more complex, the better...

3) Change your daily commute: By changing your route, your brain makes more neural connections and exercises it. Get off of the highway an exit early and take a different path.

4) Help someone else with studies: It doesn't matter if it is similar material to what you will be studying or not... get your brain in the routine of working. Whether it is helping a colleague in material for which you are an SME or helping your children with language or math, it will get the blood flowing.

5) Diet: Everyone could stand to improve or change their diet, even if it is just temporarily. Getting too used to any diet can leave you deficient in a variety of nutrients. You don't have to change your diet to lose weight... just to add variety, even if it is just temporary. STARVING YOURSELF IS BAD FOR YOUR BRAIN AND YOUR HEART, so don't do that. Add some new foods... stimulate your taste buds and add some different nutrients.

Any sort of change that you cause in your life can help with other changes.... none of these things need to become habitual (although it can certainly be good for some of them to be so)... simply changing things up temporarily can assist.

What sort of things have you done in the past?

I have added some new supplements and started exercising again. Also, I have started getting back into spicier goods... Last week, I said "hello" to the Ghost Pepper, and I have some more to add to my weekend omelettes. Plus, I have some different non-technical training that I have attended for work. And, the kids have started school and my oldest daughter has picked up the alto saxophone for jazz band in addition to her standard french horn... as I did similar I helped her overcome the differences in moving from a brass to a woodwind instrument.

veritas_libertas

Good thread! I'm trying to get done with the last class of my WGU semester. It's taking extra motivation to finish up. I have several things that help motivate me:

1) Make a list of what you need to accomplish for this week, and for the semester as a whole.

2) Make a list of what you want to accomplish for the year, and what you want to accomplish in the next five years.

JDMurray

I discovered the MOG online music service a few months ago, and for $5/mo it's a nice study companion.

Having study partners working on the same class or cert is always an excellent motivator. Set up regular study groups (in-person, Skype, etc.) and study goals.

+1 on diets screwing up your metabolism. It's good to cut out bad stuff from your diet (e.g., processed meats and foods, wheat flour, artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, most fast food) and add more good stuff (e.g., fruit, fresh vegetables, fresh meat), but don't look at it as denying yourself to loose weight. Better to decrease the bad foods and increase your exercise output.

Have multiple projects to work on. If your brain just isn't clicking on one project, switch to another that you can be productive working on. Your goal is to always be productive doing something. But don't try to work on multiple projects simultaneously unless they have overlapping subject matter. Think "multitasking" and not "multiprocessing."

Everyone

JDMurray wrote: »

I discovered the MOG online music service a few months ago, and for $5/mo it's a nice study companion.

I might have to try that one out when my Pandora One subscription ends. I've been very happy with it so far. I use it most from my PC while I'm working. It looks like MOG is $10/month to be able to do that.