When You Just Don’t Wanna Do The Work

I am having a week, it’s been a few weeks really, of not wanting to do “the work.” I can be excited about the concepts I’m working on and believe they are worthwhile ideas to pursue — but still drag my feet to get started on them. This is frustrating because I want to see more progress in my skills but am having a very difficult time motivating myself to get anything done. I don’t know if I am just burnt out or just need to get. it. together.

As I have a few weeks left before the end of my first semester, I am on a MISSION to solve this productivity issue. Here are a few tactics I am planning to try in the next two weeks to get on track and finish my semester strong:

• Reset my diet/tastebuds by going on a plant-based, nutrient-dense meal delivery system for about a week. I think cutting out a lot of the ingredients I have sensitivities/reactions to (but that I LOVE because they’re comfort foods) can have a positive impact on my energy levels. Plus, not having to cook any meals for 5 days is going to save me time
• Practice the Pomodoro Method to block out distractions and work for solid chunks of time
• Write out a daily schedule of tasks and hold myself accountable for achieving them. I can be someone who prefers to do something only when I feel like it and not when I need to. This is going to take a lot of willpower!
• Make my next steps clear to myself so I don’t have the excuse, “but I don’t know what to do!” For example, I am coding my portfolio website and sometimes let myself procrastinate because I don’t fully understand the templating language yet. Instead of further delaying the work, I will have links to tutorials and the Twig knowledgebase ready for when I feel demotivated
• And finally, I plan to track myself more. Having metrics to track how much time I spend on my phone, how many steps I’m taking per day, and how many hours I am sleeping will provide clear information to me on what I’m doing. It’s my hope that this will encourage me to make faster pivots to optimize my health and brain power based on real data during this compressed time of work

My whole life feels like one big experiment these days but I am honestly enjoying the ride. Here’s to a productive, healthy, and vibrant last few weeks of school. It’s going to be awesome.