The ability to stay motivated is essential for virtual school (and all) students to be successful. Motivation is not something that you are born with. It is not something that you simply have or lack. Believe it or not, you CAN control your own motivation! Here are some tips to help you stay motivated for the rest of the semester.
- SET GOALS: Sit down and write out your goal(s). Don’t stop there though. List the reasons that accomplishing these goals are important. Why are you attending Achieve Virtual? Why is your high school diploma important to you? What are you wanting to do after graduation? Refer back to this list whenever you need some extra motivation.
Image from: https://flic.kr/p/8AnFC7
- VISUALIZE: Not only set goals for yourself, but picture yourself achieving them. Do any of you create vision boards? Picturing your goals and even making those goals visible to you each day can be helpful in keeping you motivated. Visualizing your success and keeping these visualizations in a physical place where you see them often is helpful in keeping you motivated.
- CREATE A TIMELINE: Maybe you have a long-term goal that will take a long time to achieve. For instance, high school freshman may have the long-term goal of attending college. When your goals are far away, it is easy to lose motivation. Create smaller goals leading up to that long-term goal. Write them out and reward yourself when you meet these benchmarks. Reward yourself even if these are small daily goals. A quick walk or snack is the perfect reward for finishing that tough assignment!
- FOCUS ON THE TOUGH STUFF: This may be the hardest to do. When we can get the hard content out of the way first, it is easier to stay motivated to finish the more “fun” stuff or easier tasks. Avoid the temptation to do simple assignments first. If we work in such a way that the tasks get harder as the day goes on, we are less likely to get the “hard stuff” done. Set a goal to work in an area that is tougher for you first. If the work gets easier throughout the day, you are much more likely to get everything you need to do done.
- ASK FOR HELP: Every staff member at Achieve Virtual wants to help you. That’s right… Not only are we willing, but we want nothing more than to see you be successful. Are you struggling to keep up? Finding it hard to stay motivated? Contact us (your teachers, your counselor, etc.). We can work with you to create a plan for success! In addition to the staff at Achieve Virtual, make connections with students in your own class. Under the Members tab of your group, you can find other students who may be able to study with you or provide just the motivation you need.
What tips do you have for staying motivated? Share in the comments and/or on Twitter with the hashtag #AchieveVirtual!
