You might remember I wrote a diary entry style feature regarding how students have been lacking motivation and drive whilst completing their studies virtually.
I mentioned how I was feeling the effects of not getting up and heading out every morning in a bid to achieve something, well it turns out I am not alone.
In a bid to find people who were sharing the same lack of motivation and ‘umph’ as myself, I asked a few of my friends to kindly shed some light on how they have become accustomed to the new ‘normal’, and if they jump aboard my sinking boat…
Here’s what I found out:
“I feel like its unmotivated it me because the lectures just feel like a waste of time because they are not actually getting to the point and helping us individually with work, they just doing stuff to fill the hours because they feel they have too.
“Also, the fact that you don’t have to wake up and go somewhere, the fact that I can get up undo my laptop and I’m in the lecture, it’s hard to actually get in the uni mode. It’s also so easy to zone out and do other things when you’re at home.” – Jamie-Paige Tucker
“In terms of motivation at university, its on the floor. I would possible attribute this to the fact that there is no ‘hustle bustle’ these days, I no longer get the bus, I get up, and I roll to my desk.
I don’t feel I get a break from my room, specially being in halls, I think my brain, more than anything is finding it difficult to differentiate between my environment.
We have to just get on with it. It’s just a shame that we are in such a crucial year that we don’t have this period for adapting, as a second year would or perhaps a first year who know no different.” – Rachael Bickers
“When you’re at uni you have people working around you so you have more motivation to actually work because all your friends are working. You just haven’t got that want to get up and go to your lecture you just roll out of bed.”
Because the lectures are such a waste of time, you end a two-hour lecture thinking what the f**k was the point of that?” – Ruth Harris
I know what you’re thinking: students are just lazy anyway, all they do is lay in bed and eat pasta every day. Well, according to a study conducted by Texthelp and ImpactEd, only 34% of UK pupils felt motivated to learn remotely throughout lockdown. So, it’s not just me.
Almost everybody affected by the pandemic has struggled with coming to terms with the ‘new normal’ whether it’s social distancing, queueing outside Tesco’s, wearing a face mask or even the toilet roll shortage, none of us have it all figured out yet. With that being said, it doesn’t look like we are seeing the back of any of these new ‘normals’.
The issue is, we are only a third of the way through the academic year. How are we going to get through the rest of it? We cannot simply pluck motivation out of thin air, especially in the colder months.
If you are a student reading this, don’t panic – I have done the hard work for us and found some handy tips to make the best out of, quite frankly, a dire situation:
1. Remind yourself why you are here: why are you at university? Obviously, you are looking to land that dream job, go on holiday every year and live in your dream home, right? Don’t lose sight of that, keep going!
2. Set small and achievable goals every day. This doesn’t even have to be related to university, why not strive to get dressed? Even eat a piece of fruit? The sky is the limit, right?
3. Breathe – yes, take a second to breathe and calm yourself down. It is so easy to let your head run at 100mph when you’re feeling the pressures of deadlines, exams and future employment (trust me, I know), so just take a moment to calm your thoughts and return with a clearer mind.
4. Get rid of temptations. Get up and out of your bed to avoid all temptation to nap all day. When you finally decide to crack on with that coursework that’s been looming over you for the whole term, leave your phone in another room to avoid aimless scrolling on Instagram.
5. Separate your environments if you can. Rather than working from your bed, make the effort to get up and motivated by having an organised space ready for you to be as productive as possible. This might also help with distractions.
So, with Christmas literally around the corner, take a well-deserved break and approach the new year with a calmer, more open mind and you never know, you could even find yourself enjoying this virtual learning lark…stranger things have happened.