You don't need a motivation to be productive

"I think the problem is my lack of motivation. That's why I'm so reluctant to study..." This might be something that comes to your mind when you wake up and don't feel like studying or doing whatever you need to do.

There are numerous articles and YouTube videos on how to be motivated all the time and that motivation is the key to your success. 

I used to feel the need to be motivated to be a productive person, too. I thought that my not being productive enough was due to my lack of motivation, even though I very much enjoyed what I studied and was enthusiastic about learning more.

Side note, if you really feel like your body is heavy and it seems impossible to wake up and go on with your daily life, I recommend you going to see your doctor and have a check-up. When I felt that way and I was sleeping way too long than I usually do, it turned out that I had a problem with my thyroid and my hormones were unusually high (surprise, surprise...). So keep that in mind.

Anyways, despite the common belief about being motivation and productivity, you actually don't need a motivation to become a productive person. 

The answer is simple. You just have to do it. 


Well, that's solves everything... It's easier to say than done, right? 
I know what you are thinking because I would be to if I read something like this. So, I'll share with you 3 steps that I personally do to get right into business. 

This is specific to the context of studying in general. If you are interested in how I bring myself to do chores or my work (which consists of working from home, have relatively free work hours, thus requires me to schedule my own time), please let me know! I would love to share the steps with you.


1. I start it by sitting at the desk and opening the files. 
No string attached, meaning, I tell myself that it's okay if I quit after 5 minutes and do something else. I begin with a mindset that I don't actually don't have to study. At this point, it's helpful to have physical files rather than digital ones because you won't get distracted. But if you are going paperless, you could just turn off the internet at this point and turn it on back later when you need it.

2.  I organize my files, I evaluate the situation.
Again, I don't constrain myself to study. If I abandon my study session here, I'll just end up with clean and organized folders. I consider it already a success. 
In this step, I organize everything in order, print out whatever needs be in the folder, number my readings, number pages of my notes, etc. At this point, I have a good overview of how much I have done and how much work I still have. 

3. Highlighting systematically
I highlight titles of the chapters and sections in my textbooks or in my class notes as well as key terms and definitions, systematically. I don't read them, I don't try to understand or memorize them, I just move my hands, no intervention of my brain what-so-ever.


By the end of these three steps, I'm more ready to go into the actual studying part of my study session. The key here is not to rely on your mind and brain in order to begin studying but to rely on your body for it. 

Basically, you trick your brain to think that the work that requires your brainpower has already started although, in reality, you have only been using your hand and posture and that the transition to reading, comprehending, memorizing, and thinking is just a small effortless step. You don't own your mind, your body does.


But what if I stop at Step 1 or Step 2 or Step 3? Then what do I do? 

When you stop at Step 1 or 2, the answer is simple. You start where you left off. You continue to do Step 2 or 3, respectively. 

Even if you have left off at Step 3, you always start by moving your hands. You copy by hand what you highlighted, without expecting yourself to memorize it. Then you'll automatically have an outline of your program or a definition sheet for your future revision.


What if you have a hard time reaching even Step 1?

What I do is to set an hourly alarm on my phone (my phone goes off every hour with "coo-coo" noise), and every time it goes off, I sit at my desk. Once again, I don't have to work at all at this point. All I have to do is sit at my desk when the alarm rings. But most of the time, I tend to open whatever I need to do at the moment.


Thanks always for reading. Tell me if it was helpful for you. Share how you "get to work" in the comment section below!