Abigail asked Issabelle Perry:

Home-schooler to home-schooler, how do you deal with self-motivation and getting stuff done? I really struggle with getting stuff done on time (or just doing it the night before it's due) because my parents trust me to get it done and I'm not surrounded by other high-schoolers to hold me accountable. Any advice? - Galatians 6:18 - Thanks!

Issabelle Perry Hi, Abigail! This is a great question! Self-motivation and holding myself accountable are two things I still struggle with even after graduating from my homeschool high school (that's fun to say 😂) because my college classes are online and I still find myself waiting until the last minute on assignments. Being homeschool (and even taking online classes) often means you can set your own schedule, so I try to take advantage of that. I figure out everything that needs to get done and when and how long each assignment will take. Then I create a to-do list of what needs to be done each day of the week (while giving myself Sundays off because it is important to take time to rest, recuperate, and do things you enjoy doing). To-do lists help me a lot because there's something so satisfying about checking off a project. I find that having a schedule helps me to be accountable because it specifically creates time for what I need to do.

Second, I try to focus on the little steps rather than the big ones. If I think that I have to write a 3,000 word paper by Friday, it becomes daunting and I end up putting it off because I don't want to do it. So instead I think, 'I'm going to write the introduction today or a paragraph today.' Instead of looking at the entire paper, I look only at what I have to accomplish TODAY because that's what matters, and it makes the task more manageable. Because I have a competitive spirit, I also like to challenge myself to see how much I can do in a certain amount of time. If I have to read a long chapter in a school textbook, I will sometimes do a "reading sprint." I might say I'll read for an hour, see how much I do, and then get a snack or something afterwards. My competitive nature pushes me to try to accomplish a lot in that hour just to see if I can.

Finally, I also like to reward myself. This helps a lot with self-motivation for me. For instance, I may decide if I write half of that paper today, then I can get some chocolate, watch an episode of a series I'm binging, take a walk, or read a chapter in a book. Because this is something I want, it helps me to get through something I don't want to do to reach the end goal. I hope this helps you, Abigail! Thank you for the question!!!

flag