Motivation

[Aimee Alvarado 3J]

How did you all stay motivated this quarter and what did you do to keep it up? I feel like this quarter just zapped my energy and motivation slowly as the quarter went on, and I want to be prepared for the next quarter.

[Kainalu Puu-Robinson]

I felt the same as you, and having it online made it feel so much less like a real class and more like a Khan Academy course. I think being in the GroupMe and knowing other people were experiencing the same things as me kept me motivated.

[LaurenChoi_1J]

I know it was really hard for everyone to stay motivated this quarter! Relax during winter break and come back with a fresh mindset for winter quarter! Remember to always do your best but not to stress yourself too much over it! I find that giving yourself breaks when you feel like your engine is running out is the best way to revive your energy and motivation!

[Fernanda Olvera 3D]

I agree it was hard for me to stay motivated as well, the one thing that would help was my planner, the due dates motivated me.

[Margaret Wang 2D]

I feel you! I think what motivated me to keep up with online stuff is I use Google Calendar and I write down every lecture, meeting, assignment, etc. I keep the calendar tab open and I never close it, so I'm constantly reminded to check for due dates.

[Adrienne Yuh 2B]

Same with Margaret, I think having Google Calendar is really helpful in keeping a schedule! Make sure not to be too hard on yourself and definitely give yourself breaks.

[Melody Wu 2L]

Since last quarter was the first quarter of college, I found that I had a lot more energy and was much more readily involved in things. This quarter is a little tougher for motivation. The main thing for me was learning to prioritize--going to less UA sessions in order to finish other more time sensitive work, etc. Practicing discipline is difficult, but I found that if you overcome that initial "ugh I don't wanna do this" feeling enough times and force yourself to just do it early, eventually it just becomes second nature to not wait to the last minute.

Most importantly, SLEEP EARLY! Drink water, exercise. Take care of your body first, and everything else will be much easier. It also helps to find a hobby/skill to work at a little bit everyday, even if it's just 10 minutes. It is a nice break from school and working on a project tends to make me feel much more energized + excited about life.

[Nandhini Ekambaram 1L]

I also made a schedule for this quarter. It has helped me keep track of all the zoom meetings and links since it can be overwhelming at times.

[Sami Siddiqui 1J]

I think the most important thing you must do to keep your motivation is, as cliched as it sounds, to save time for yourself. I understand that it may be difficult for you to do so because it seems like everyone's always doing something productive, even in the later hours of the night. Regardless, I find it important that we save time to recharge and come with an extra level of focus with your tasks at hand. Also, I usually look towards the next day instead of the quarter as a whole; I find that the workload becomes a lot more digestible this way.

[Gina Spagarino 3G]

Writing when to do everything in my planner has helped me actually do assignments closer to when I planned to, rather than putting it all of until right before it is due. For me personally, I am more productive when I make sure I do one activity (surf, walk, run, yoga) per day because it serves the dual purpose of making me feel better in general, and making it so that I have less time to procrastinate, so that I have to actually do work in the time I allotted for it.

[George Hernandez 3I]

Always have something to look forward to. Encourage yourself to complete your work in pursuit of a reward afterwards (i.e. getting to watch a movie, play videogames, go out with friends, etc.)

[Lizbeth Garcia 1F]

I feel like having a schedule to stick to really kept me motivated. Even when I just wanted to laze around, an alarm would blare that would get me to work.

[Ethan Laureano 3H]

I feel like you should find spaces where you can have fun. Once you do that, you can apply this mentality: "Work hard, play hard". I find myself grinding the week and then looking forward to zoom calls with friends or game nights. This way, I feel like I have earned it.

[Samantha Low 3D]

I think giving myself breaks and having something to look forward to helps me stay motivated! I try to work hard during the weekdays/during the day so I can make time for other important things in my life on the weekends and afternoons+nights. Working at my job also oddly helps me stay motivated and forces me to stick to my schedule.

[Alisa Nagashima 1B]

I sometimes find the "Pomodoro technique" effective when I'm feeling unmotivated to do work. Essentially, you just study in 25 min intervals with 5 min breaks in between. It doesn't seem like much, but it really helps you to just get started because that's often the most difficult part anyway.

[Jonathan Malau 1F]

Spending time with my family and calling up my friends has made me more motivated. In terms of day-to-day strategy, scheduling out the day before has helped make me stay accountable.

[Sachi Sengupta 2C]

This is probably an unhealthy way of coping but I find staying extremely busy with classes, clubs, and work is overwhelming but keeps my motivation consistent

[Violet Kwan 3H]

Sometimes when I feel unmotivated, I call my friends or classmates to study. Since we are all working hard, study calls help to motivate me and enjoy doing the work as we struggle or encourage each other. Also, I make a to-do list every day so I can keep track of everything I need to do, and it is satisfying to cross off the assignments that I finish!

[Kat Stahl 2K]

I've just been focusing on taking things one week at a time. As long as I am on top of my school stuff it isn't too stressful. Going to UA sessions specifically for this class honestly helped my motivation because once I started understanding things better conceptually I wanted to learn more. Hope you are feeling motivated!

[Shivani Kapur 2J]

Keeping a planner and reminding myself that I do not always need to be doing something for school helped me become more motivated and use the time that I do dedicate towards school be more efficient.

[Anna Martin 2l]

I think that it's all about prioritization and what you keep in your life most important. Obviously, there needs to be a balance but it's also really difficult to find and maintain that balance! Usually, if I am having trouble focusing on school, I try to space out time in my week that I devote solely to schoolwork as well as free time. Also, especially for this course, I try to prioritize office hours and workshops because those can be the most helpful!

[AlyssaMaynard1C]

I felt the same as you, and having it online made it feel so much less like a real class and more like a Khan Academy course. I think being in the GroupMe and knowing other people were experiencing the same things as me kept me motivated.

Can you post the GroupMe link on here or is there already a post for that on Chem Community? I'm also feeling drained and still recovering from 14A, but I find making block schedules to manage time and dedicate chemistry hours is helpful to work around the blockage.

[Vivian Chang 3L]

I would say try to focus at one task at a time and not be too harsh on yourself! Distance learning can be really hard for a lot of us, so we're already doing great just by keeping up with it. What I like to do is keep a calendar where I write down all my assignment due dates and test dates so I can plan ahead. I also have an agenda where I write down what assignments I want to finish before the end of the day. To stay motivated, I try to set realistic goals, such as finishing 3-4 assignments per day instead of trying to finish 5-6, which would lead to me burning out eventually if I did that everyday. Study buddies are also a great source of motivation because you know that you have someone you can depend on :)

[Jason_Glass_2L]

I felt the same as you, and having it online made it feel so much less like a real class and more like a Khan Academy course. I think being in the GroupMe and knowing other people were experiencing the same things as me kept me motivated.

Can you post the GroupMe link on here or is there already a post for that on Chem Community? I'm also feeling drained and still recovering from 14A, but I find making block schedules to manage time and dedicate chemistry hours is helpful to work around the blockage.

If you still have not found the groupme link, here it is https://groupme.com/join_group/62288203/dSSkobMS. Pertaining to the original question, to stay motivated I've been making sure I don't skip out on lectures, because once I miss one I end up not watching any of them.

[Siwa Hwang 3G]

play hard and study hard; give it all you got whether you are sitting infant of ur desk studying or going out enjoying your day.

[Sam_Marasigan_3D]

I space out my studying throughout the week. This method often leaves me feeling less stressed and motivates me to keep going :)

[Vanessa Perez]

I have also been having trouble staying motivated. But I do think what has helped me is I stop studying at a certain time and having a restful sleep. I look forward to this everyday so that is my motivation. I think what can help is rewarding yourself so that you have something to look forward to everyday.

[Jaclyn Dang 3B]

Im taking 20 units this quarter and I have found it super useful to take breaks between recorded lectures and assignments. For example, I will do 50 mins of work and then 10 mins of free time. After 4 hours, I get 30 mins -1hr of free time

[AlyssaMaynard1C]

I felt the same as you, and having it online made it feel so much less like a real class and more like a Khan Academy course. I think being in the GroupMe and knowing other people were experiencing the same things as me kept me motivated.

Can you post the GroupMe link on here or is there already a post for that on Chem Community? I'm also feeling drained and still recovering from 14A, but I find making block schedules to manage time and dedicate chemistry hours is helpful to work around the blockage.

If you still have not found the groupme link, here it is https://groupme.com/join_group/62288203/dSSkobMS. Pertaining to the original question, to stay motivated I've been making sure I don't skip out on lectures, because once I miss one I end up not watching any of them.

Thank you so much! I feel like staying up on the GroupMe is also incredibly helpful to not miss out on anything that could help you!

[Nicolette Simoni 3L]

Though not many are in my situation, I feel having a roommate (whos taking the same classes as I am) helps me stay motivated because we hold each other accountable and usually do all the studying and homework around the same time. Getting out of the house where I felt the most relaxed made it so I wasn't comfortable enough to become sluggish and be less motivated to do work!

[Yu Jin Kwon 3L]

I definitely agree with the comments here!! I feel the most motivated in this class because I have a friend in this class who keeps me accountable, and we even call each other for at least 2 hours to review concepts twice before a midterm or a final! It truly makes me feel like I always have someone by my side and it feels awesome when we both do well because we motivated each other! So I really recommend finding a friend who will keep you accountable and also even ask questions and talk about various chemistry topics in a fun way!! I hope this helps, and also please know that you're not alone!!

[Sheryl Ocampo 1D]

I'm honestly in the same boat as you. I find it comforting knowing others are in the same position though

[Justin Lin 1B]

I think making a planner is helpful and can keep you motivated. It helps keep me on track by seeing what I just need to finish for that day. I know once I'm done with that day, I'll have some time to relax and take a break from work.

[FrancescaHawkins2H]

I definitely struggled to stay motivated last quarter, and as a result, I fell behind and ended up struggling quite a bit, especially in Chem 14A. This quarter I am determined to stay on top of things for Chem 14B, and have been watching lecture videos during the scheduled lecture times, rather than putting them off. Additionally, I have been studying and doing practice problems consistently throughout the quarter so far, rather than waiting until right before an exam. These two things, as well as keeping an organized checklist/to-do list, have helped to keep me on track even when I'm not feeling super motivated.

[Alison Perkins 2B]

I fill in every single assignment and test on the syllabus in a planner at the start of the quarter so that my schedule is already written out for me when each week begins. Having a schedule and mapping everything out definitely helped.