WEBVTT - Get out of a slump

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about how to stay motivated when you

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<v Speaker 1>feel like you're in a slump. Motivations for any long

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<v Speaker 1>project can ebb and flow, especially in the middle. When

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<v Speaker 1>your initial enthusiasm wears off but the end is not

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<v Speaker 1>yet in sight, it can be tough to keep going.

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<v Speaker 1>I was reminded of this when I received a note

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<v Speaker 1>from a Before Breakfast listener who is currently earning her

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<v Speaker 1>bachelor's degree in accounting online. She's excited about the subject,

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<v Speaker 1>and she's proud of herself for making school fit into

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<v Speaker 1>her life, but she reported that she's running into motivation problems.

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<v Speaker 1>School work, she writes, seems to be an endless cycle.

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<v Speaker 1>While each new week covers a new topic, the formula

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<v Speaker 1>is the same, with the same sorts of quizzes and

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<v Speaker 1>discussion in a short project, with her work due at

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<v Speaker 1>midnight each Sunday. When I was in my first semester,

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<v Speaker 1>she says, I had heaps of motivation to be ahead

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<v Speaker 1>of schedule. Now I'm only in my second semester, but

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<v Speaker 1>sixteen weeks of the same formulaic assignment structure has kicked

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<v Speaker 1>my motivation in the stomach, she says. Instead of aiming

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<v Speaker 1>to be ahead of school work, I found myself procrastinating

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<v Speaker 1>into the last minute, dreading work and waiting until five

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<v Speaker 1>pm the night that work is due. This listener suspected

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<v Speaker 1>that her lack of motivation came from doing the same

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<v Speaker 1>thing over and over again each week, and she asked

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<v Speaker 1>if I had advice for dealing with her slump in

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<v Speaker 1>a healthy way. I do have some advice, and I

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<v Speaker 1>suspect other listeners will as well. My first question was

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<v Speaker 1>whether it was possible to take a short break. One

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<v Speaker 1>of the upsides of a traditional academic schedule is that

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<v Speaker 1>you'd get a break between semesters, either around the new

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<v Speaker 1>year or over the summer. This provides a break in

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<v Speaker 1>the routine, gives you the opportunity to do something different,

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<v Speaker 1>and by the time you return, you might starting to

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<v Speaker 1>miss school. Many online programs, on the other hand, offer

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<v Speaker 1>courses year round. They assume reasonably that the adults availing

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<v Speaker 1>themselves of these programs want to get through and get done.

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<v Speaker 1>But there's still something to be said for breaks. Our

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<v Speaker 1>listener might consider trying to pace herself a bit as

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<v Speaker 1>she goes through her bachelor's degree program. Second, when you're

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<v Speaker 1>deep in the weeds, it can be easy to lose

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<v Speaker 1>sight of your why. Our listener, no doubt, had a

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<v Speaker 1>very good reason for choosing accounting and choosing to get

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<v Speaker 1>a bachelor's degree. So what was that reason? She can

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<v Speaker 1>remind herself by getting together with friends in the accounting profession,

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<v Speaker 1>or going to an accounting conference, or reading some literature

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<v Speaker 1>related to the topic. She can visualize herself in a

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<v Speaker 1>few years in her new career and what this degree

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<v Speaker 1>is going to enable. As for the day to day

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<v Speaker 1>experience of doing her work, there are a few things

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<v Speaker 1>she can do. She mentioned procrastinating until five pm on

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<v Speaker 1>Sunday when the work was due at midnight, but she

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<v Speaker 1>didn't say that she was ever late with her assignments

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<v Speaker 1>or that she didn't get them done, So potentially seven

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<v Speaker 1>hours is in fact a workable amount of time. She

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<v Speaker 1>could simply accept that this is what she'd like to

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<v Speaker 1>do the work for the remainder of this term. It's

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<v Speaker 1>not an ideal solution, as she could get sick, or

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<v Speaker 1>have car trouble, or have her plumbing spring a leak

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<v Speaker 1>on Sunday night, and then she'd be behind the class,

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<v Speaker 1>but it is a solution. On the other hand, if

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<v Speaker 1>she's finding her procrastination stressful, then she can use some

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<v Speaker 1>of the strategies we talked about a few months ago

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<v Speaker 1>during our Procrastination Week. I recommend scheduling in short work

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<v Speaker 1>sessions most days and then rewarding herself profusely when she finished. So,

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<v Speaker 1>for instance, if she's currently allocating seven hours on Sunday,

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<v Speaker 1>she could do one hour on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday,

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<v Speaker 1>and then maybe two on Saturday to on Sunday or

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<v Speaker 1>four on Sunday. Either way, she could set a timer

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<v Speaker 1>and once she's done her with her hour, she can

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<v Speaker 1>do whatever she wants, watch TV, serve the web, call

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<v Speaker 1>a friend, cook something fabulous, go out for ice cream.

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<v Speaker 1>She also might want to consider when she's doing the work.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of people who are going back to school

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<v Speaker 1>assume that the best time for studying is in the

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<v Speaker 1>evening after work. But the problem is that we're tired.

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<v Speaker 1>Then you've already done so much it can be easy

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<v Speaker 1>to think, well maybe tomorrow. Most people have more discipline,

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<v Speaker 1>energy and focus in the morning, so maybe our listeners

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<v Speaker 1>should try getting up in the morning to work. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>studying from six thirty to seven thirty or eight am

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<v Speaker 1>three days a week would mean she's approaching her work

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<v Speaker 1>when mentally fresh, even if the work is repetitive. If

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<v Speaker 1>she's got a big cup of coffee and she's spending

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<v Speaker 1>one hour, not seven hours straight on her work, it

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<v Speaker 1>might feel more doable. Listeners, if you've ever found yourself

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<v Speaker 1>in a slump, what have you done to pull yourself out?

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<v Speaker 1>Please let me know your advice for our listener at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. M Hey everybody, I'd love

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<v Speaker 1>to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b the

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<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i

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<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio,

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