WEBVTT - Second Cup: Get out of a slump

0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:09.680
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:14.920
<v Speaker 1>This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:18.480
<v Speaker 1>tip is about how to stay motivated when you feel

0:00:18.520 --> 0:00:22.919
<v Speaker 1>like you're in a slump. Motivations for any long project

0:00:23.079 --> 0:00:26.600
<v Speaker 1>can ebb and flow, especially in the middle. When your

0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:29.920
<v Speaker 1>initial enthusiasm wears off but the end is not yet

0:00:29.920 --> 0:00:34.239
<v Speaker 1>in sight, it can be tough to keep going. I

0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:36.440
<v Speaker 1>was reminded of this when I received a note from

0:00:36.440 --> 0:00:39.680
<v Speaker 1>a Before Breakfast listener who is currently earning her bachelor's

0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:44.199
<v Speaker 1>degree in accounting online. She's excited about the subject, and

0:00:44.240 --> 0:00:46.960
<v Speaker 1>she's proud of herself for making school fit into her life,

0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:51.760
<v Speaker 1>but she reported that she's running into motivation problems. Schoolwork,

0:00:51.880 --> 0:00:54.920
<v Speaker 1>she writes, seems to be an endless cycle. While each

0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:57.560
<v Speaker 1>new week covers a new topic, the formula is the same,

0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:00.280
<v Speaker 1>with the same sorts of quizzes and discussions in a

0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:03.400
<v Speaker 1>short project, with her work due at midnight each Sunday.

0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:06.120
<v Speaker 1>When I was in my first semester, she says, I

0:01:06.120 --> 0:01:09.080
<v Speaker 1>had heaps of motivation to be ahead of schedule. Now

0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:11.600
<v Speaker 1>I'm only in my second semester, but sixteen weeks of

0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:15.000
<v Speaker 1>the same formulaic assignment structure has kicked my motivation in

0:01:15.040 --> 0:01:17.840
<v Speaker 1>the stomach, she says. Instead of aiming to be a

0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:21.120
<v Speaker 1>head of school work, I found myself procrastinating into the

0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:24.880
<v Speaker 1>last minute, dreading work, and waiting until five pm the

0:01:24.959 --> 0:01:28.440
<v Speaker 1>night that work is due. This listener suspected that her

0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:31.480
<v Speaker 1>lack of motivation came from doing the same thing over

0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:33.840
<v Speaker 1>and over again each week, and she asked if I

0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:36.399
<v Speaker 1>had advice for dealing with her slump in a healthy way.

0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:39.960
<v Speaker 1>I do have some advice, and I suspect other listeners

0:01:40.000 --> 0:01:42.800
<v Speaker 1>will as well. My first question was whether it was

0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:46.400
<v Speaker 1>possible to take a short break. One of the upsides

0:01:46.400 --> 0:01:48.840
<v Speaker 1>of a traditional academic schedule is that you'd get a

0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:51.960
<v Speaker 1>break between semesters, either around the new year or over

0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:55.640
<v Speaker 1>the summer. This provides a break in the routine, gives

0:01:55.640 --> 0:01:58.440
<v Speaker 1>you the opportunity to do something different, and by the

0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:01.200
<v Speaker 1>time you return, you might be starting to miss school.

0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:05.160
<v Speaker 1>Many online programs, on the other hand, offer courses year round.

0:02:05.800 --> 0:02:09.240
<v Speaker 1>They assume reasonably that the adults availing themselves of these

0:02:09.240 --> 0:02:12.880
<v Speaker 1>programs want to get through and get done. But there's

0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:15.960
<v Speaker 1>still something to be said for breaks. Our listener might

0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:18.600
<v Speaker 1>consider trying to pace herself a bit as she goes

0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:23.000
<v Speaker 1>through her bachelor's degree program. Second, when you're deep in

0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:25.680
<v Speaker 1>the weeds, it can be easy to lose sight of

0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:29.079
<v Speaker 1>your why. Our listener, no doubt, had a very good

0:02:29.160 --> 0:02:32.800
<v Speaker 1>reason for choosing accounting and choosing to get a bachelor's degree.

0:02:33.200 --> 0:02:36.400
<v Speaker 1>So what was that reason? She can remind herself by

0:02:36.440 --> 0:02:39.079
<v Speaker 1>getting together with friends in the accounting profession, or going

0:02:39.080 --> 0:02:42.120
<v Speaker 1>to an accounting conference, or reading some literature related to

0:02:42.160 --> 0:02:45.200
<v Speaker 1>the topic. She can visualize herself in a few years

0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:47.519
<v Speaker 1>in her new career and what this degree is going

0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:50.520
<v Speaker 1>to enable. As for the day to day experience of

0:02:50.560 --> 0:02:52.720
<v Speaker 1>doing her work, there are a few things she can do.

0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:56.640
<v Speaker 1>She mentioned procrastinating until five pm on Sunday when the

0:02:56.680 --> 0:02:59.080
<v Speaker 1>work was due at midnight, but she didn't say that

0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:01.240
<v Speaker 1>she was ever late with her assignments or that she

0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:04.840
<v Speaker 1>didn't get them done, So potentially seven hours is in

0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:08.400
<v Speaker 1>fact a workable amount of time. She could simply accept

0:03:08.400 --> 0:03:10.320
<v Speaker 1>that this is what she'd like to do the work

0:03:10.360 --> 0:03:13.400
<v Speaker 1>for the remainder of this term. It's not an ideal solution,

0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:15.880
<v Speaker 1>as she could get sick, or have car trouble, or

0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:18.160
<v Speaker 1>have her plumbing spring a leek on Sunday night, and

0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:21.560
<v Speaker 1>then she'd be behind the class, but it is a solution.

0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:25.840
<v Speaker 1>On the other hand, if she's finding her procrastination stressful,

0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:28.000
<v Speaker 1>then she can use some of the strategies we talked

0:03:28.000 --> 0:03:31.680
<v Speaker 1>about a few months ago during our Procrastination Week. I

0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:35.440
<v Speaker 1>recommend scheduling in short work sessions most days and then

0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:39.880
<v Speaker 1>rewarding herself profusely when she finished. So, for instance, if

0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:43.160
<v Speaker 1>she's currently allocating seven hours on Sunday, she could do

0:03:43.240 --> 0:03:46.600
<v Speaker 1>one hour on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and then maybe

0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:49.000
<v Speaker 1>two on Saturday, two on Sunday, or four on Sunday.

0:03:49.160 --> 0:03:51.880
<v Speaker 1>Either way, she could set a timer and once she's

0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:54.400
<v Speaker 1>done with her hour, she can do whatever she wants,

0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:58.280
<v Speaker 1>watch TV, surf the web, call a friend, cook something fabulous,

0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:00.920
<v Speaker 1>go out for ice cream. She also might want to

0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:03.760
<v Speaker 1>consider when she's doing the work. A lot of people

0:04:03.760 --> 0:04:05.880
<v Speaker 1>who are going back to school assume that the best

0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:09.000
<v Speaker 1>time for studying is in the evening after work. But

0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:12.680
<v Speaker 1>the problem is that we're tired. Then you've already done

0:04:12.720 --> 0:04:16.080
<v Speaker 1>so much it can be easy to think, well maybe tomorrow.

0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:21.480
<v Speaker 1>Most people have more discipline, energy and focus in the morning,

0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:24.120
<v Speaker 1>so maybe our listeners should try getting up in the

0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:27.560
<v Speaker 1>morning to work. Instead, studying from six thirty to seven

0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:30.160
<v Speaker 1>thirty or eight am three days a week would mean

0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:34.039
<v Speaker 1>she's approaching her work when mentally fresh, even if the

0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:36.640
<v Speaker 1>work is repetitive. If she's got a big cup of

0:04:36.680 --> 0:04:40.120
<v Speaker 1>coffee and she's spending one hour, not seven hours straight

0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:43.960
<v Speaker 1>on her work, it might feel more doable. Listeners, if

0:04:44.000 --> 0:04:46.520
<v Speaker 1>you've ever found yourself in a slump, what have you

0:04:46.560 --> 0:04:49.240
<v Speaker 1>done to pull yourself out? Please let me know your

0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:53.320
<v Speaker 1>advice for our listener at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia

0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:57.880
<v Speaker 1>dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,

0:04:58.240 --> 0:05:07.280
<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:09.600
<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:13.280
<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:17.719
<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod

0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:23.640
<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four then Breakfast pod. You

0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:27.120
<v Speaker 1>can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast

0:05:27.200 --> 0:05:30.560
<v Speaker 1>at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out

0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:33.040
<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look

0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:41.360
<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

0:05:41.440 --> 0:05:46.839
<v Speaker 1>of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio, app,

0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:54.279
<v Speaker 1>Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.