When we were kids, most of us usually had the idea that college is the coolest place to be, because the Hollywood movies taught us so. Making new friends, hanging out in the cafeteria, attending college fests, and gathering more knowledge on the favorite subject area – practically, there are plenty of reasons to cherish the life in college.

However, if your perception about college is completely based on the movies you have seen, then you are not aware of the other side of the college life, which is not exactly as fun and happening for the students. A college student usually needs to complete all his homework, weekly assignments and the coursework for the semester, which certainly put a lot of pressure on them. Besides, there are several tests to take care of as well. In such a challenging situation, staying motivated can be a bit harder than you assume.

If you are already pursuing a college degree or are about to get into a college, you may need more than those Hollywood flicks to stay motivated throughout your college life. Interestingly, there are several effective ways to tackle the academic pressure and keep yourself motivated amidst all the challenges. Here is what you should be doing to have a fulfilling college life.

You may not get to hear this a lot, but a good company of friends can be a great reason to stay motivated in college. Friends not only make your college life more exciting, but they can also support you through your thick and thin. Be it a financial crisis or a heartbreak, friends can be the remedy for lots of issues you face in college and afterwards. And since they are in the same class, you can also ask them for assignment help whenever you struggle to solve a paper on your own.

I have seen a lot of people who claim of having a fulfilling college life, just because they found a great bunch of people there. You can also spend a stress-free life in college if you surround yourself with good and supportive people. In school, you may have noticed that the classroom seems a bit dull when your friends do not show up. Well, it’s the same in college. Meeting your friends can be a great motivation to attend college. However, that should not be your only motivation for attending college.

  • Set small goals for yourself:

While joining a course in college, you should have a goal in your mind. Well, if you don’t, it is important to find that now. Simultaneously, you should also set a few small attainable goals for yourself that will allow you to get closer to the primary goal. Ideally, your primary goal should be to improve your knowledge and skill set which will enable you to land the desired job in the professional field. To attain that goal, you can set small goals like – learn a new thing every day, submit the assignments on time, and finish a particular chapter in the textbook by the weekend.

You can set your unique goals as you deem necessary for your career. However, you should pick the goals that are attainable for you. Setting impractical goals will not only lead to disappointment and also make you doubt your abilities, which is not good for your self-confidence. So, evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and set the goals accordingly so that you can fulfill them and get closer to your primary objective. When you see yourself completing those goals one-by-one, it will not only boost your confidence, but also motivate you to perform better.

  • Make a to-do list:

As mentioned previously, you will be burdened with a massive number of tasks on every semester. And when you think you can handle them all, some other engagements like a social gathering or a friendly football match may ruin all your hope of finishing the tasks on time. To battle the time crunch, you may avail online assignment help from experts. But if you need a solution for the long run, you should prioritize all the high-impact tasks by making a to-do list.

To-do lists are a great way to manage your work and other engagements in an organized manner. If you haven’t used to-do lists till date, then you need to know how it can put your college life on track. Firstly, you should enlist all the pending tasks and engagements and upcoming events that need your attention.

You may need to evaluate their significance and prioritize the ones that require your immediate attention. Having a visual reminder of all the pending tasks will not only compel you to put the necessary efforts but will also allow you to keep track of your progress.

  • Take a break to rejuvenate:

It is a misconception that taking a break can disrupt your studies. On the contrary, a break helps you to rejuvenate, allowing you to improve your concentration and performance in college. Dealing with numerous academic tasks throughout the semester can not only suck the fun out of your life, but also make you hate college. So, you need to break the monotony every now and then to nourish your soul with some fun and excitement.

You can get on a road trip with friends on the weekends, plan a vacation during the semester break, or do both. There are lots of things you can do, depending on the span of your break. If you love to travel, this is the best way to keep you motivated during college days. You can plan your vacations for several months or make a sudden plan with friends and go with it. Whatever you choose to do during those breaks can have a massive impact on your performance in college.

  • Push your limits:

If you want to pursue a successful college life, you may need to change your approach towards the way you deal with everything. If you get too comfortable at doing what you do, you may start to lose interest in those things. To keep things interesting for yourself, you should learn to challenge yourself and push your limits. If you are assigned to a task you have done before, try to find a new way to solve it. Unless there’s just one way to solve the given task, you can always find it enlightening as well as motivating while exploring the new methods.

When you challenge yourself, you not only push your limits but also create opportunities to learn/acquire new skills in the process. The idea is to make your college life more interesting while helping you improve your skill set. If you are interested in learning new things, you should find this trick to be motivating. Even if you are not too experimental with your approach, you can still try this and impress your professor with some unique piece of work.

  • Develop the habit of writing a journal:

You don’t always have to be a great writer to write a journal. Since it is the description of your personal experiences, you can write it as it pleases you. It can be a great way to improve your writing skills which is essential in the academics. Besides, writing down your everyday experiences can help you analyze your day and identify the elements that motivate you to become a better student (or a performer).

Whether you are writing about your friends, family, your dream job or even things you learn each day, having a written record of these things can help you keep your mind on the right track. Whenever you feel a little demotivated, you can go through the pages where you have written about a great day at college or some memorable experience that motivates you every time you read it. So, writing a journal can serve multiple purposes if you know how to utilize it.

  • Learn the art of mindfulness:

Mindfulness is a state of being aware of the present moment, while acknowledging your feelings, thoughts and other bodily sensations. It is a psychological process that allows you to bring your attention to experience what is happening at the present moment. It not only allows you to reduce stress, anxiety and depression, but also allows you to boost your confidence and feel more motivated than ever.

This is one of the effective ways to battle your mental problems which is quite common among the college students. You can attain mindfulness through meditation and practice. Even if you are not experiencing any kind of mental discomfort, you can still practice mindfulness meditation to strengthen your mind, be more assertive and be more confident about your work. If you cannot do that, you can simply spare half an hour from your schedule to exercise for a while. It will not only keep you physically fit, but also allows you to improve your mental fitness.

  • Acknowledge your accomplishments:

Accomplishments are great motivators, especially if you are not among the most favourite students of the professor. However, it may not make any difference in your college life, if you never fully acknowledge them. Start acknowledging all the achievements you receive, even if it is a small one. Give yourself a quick reward when you finish a crucial task like a tedious coursework paper.

When you treat yourself for the accomplishment, you feel valued, which will motivate you to put more efforts on your work from the next time onwards. Perhaps ordering a nice dinner from a nearby restaurant or watching a movie on a laptop is not considered a great reward, but appreciating your own efforts do have an impact on your psychology that improves your performance. An appreciation from an unexpected source like your professor or a classmate who has never talked to you can offer a bigger boost to your confidence.

  • Learn to improvise in challenging situations:

Life often puts you in unexpected situations that you are not prepared for. It is easy to panic and surrender to those challenging situations. But more often than not, such events take a toll on your self-confidence. Instead of giving up, try to improvise. A lot of problems can be tackled if only you know how to improvise. Having mindfulness can help you clear your mind and think of the most convenient way of handling the situation.

If you are asked to solve a math problem that you have no clue about, that too within a limited time, you may feel like giving up. But if you know a person who can solve such problems, you can just simply get in touch with the person and receive the necessary help you need. There are a lot of websites where you can chat with tutors who offer an instant solution to your problem. However, if you are given a significant amount of time, you can learn the trick yourself and solve it within the next day in front of the class.

  • Don’t let failures demotivate you:

Failures are part of a journey, and in college life, you may also encounter a few of your own. No matter how embarrassing the failure is, don’t let it put you down. Every person has a story that involves embarrassing failures. Instead of doubting your abilities and skills, try to learn a thing or two from your failures. You must have heard the phrase, “Failure is the pillar of success”. Well, even if it sounds impractical to you now, someday when you will look back, and you will cherish the lessons that each of your failures has taught you.

If you have failed to achieve something, you can take time and analyze what went wrong. This may offer you some valuable insight that can enable you to successfully accomplish the objective. Failing in front your classmates may hurt your reputation, but if you cannot rise above that, it may take your academic career further down. There are a number of ways to cope with failure. Meditation is one of the most effective ones that you can try.

As you must have realized by now, the life of a college student is not as easy as it may look in the films and TV shows. While there are a number of challenges to tackle, staying motivated through the journey is the key to successful college life. And now that you are aware of 10 most effective ways to stay motivated in college, you may just be able to maintain a balance between the Hollywood version of college life and the actual college life that unfolds when you step into a college.

Author bio: Suhana Williams is a counseling psychologist who specializes in teenage psychological issues. She is also associated with Assignmenthelp.us as an expert in psychology and offers online assignment help on request.

 

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