Ways to stay motivated on dark days

No one particularly likes January/February and it can be hard to stay motivated especially when it is so dark outside so today I am sharing some top tips of ways to stay productive and motivated in this dark time of year.

• Make a to-do list

I am a big fan of to-do lists and I find they really help me to stay productive and motivated when I am working. They are a great way to visualise tasks and ticking them off is so satisfying and encourages you to keep working.

• Watch a study with me

This might sound odd but it can be really motivating to study with someone else to spur you on and when your flatmates aren’t around it can feel less lonely watching a YouTube video of someone studying to help encourage you with your work! This idea requires strength to not watch other videos but it can be really beneficial to have ‘someone else’ to work with in order to feel less lonely.

• Listen to classical music

If you like to listen to music while you study it can be counter-productive to listen to songs that you like as this can be an easy distraction! However piano/classical music can be really calming and motivating when you are studying and Spotify has loads of pre-made playlists to choose from that have really encouraged me in my studies before.

• Avoid your phone

Phones are one of the biggest distractions while studying so by moving it out of the way / leaving it in another room is really useful as you will not feel the need to pick it up and check it constantly as we often get in a cycle of doing.

• Get into a proper sleep schedule

I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to get into a sleep schedule as this can really help frame your day and maximise your use of time efficiently. By setting a time to sleep and wake up each day you can schedule your tasks to fit in the middle and make the most of the time you have to work.

So those are a few tips  of keeping motivated in this darker time of year! How else do you stay motivated? Let us know in the comments below.

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