<p>For me, I cannot. I always start off strong but my work ethic gradually declines as the quarter passes. I know how to study and how to get A's but I just cannot commit myself. I always get mad at myself at the end of the quarter, and tell myself to change, but I cannot.</p>
<p>How do you maintain your work level? How are you able to give 100% devotion to your courses over 10 weeks? I have no idea how to. It is a tragic flaw of me.</p>
<p>I just think about wanting that shining sparkly 4.0 GPA for the semester, and bringing my overall GPA high up as possible. </p>
<p>But then again, my motivation is because I want to transfer to a better school that has an average transfer GPA of 3.7. </p>
<p>I also really love to be kept busy. Too much free gives me a reason to procrastinate which basically lowers my overall work ethic. By committing to a strict schedule, I have to push myself to work because wasting time = less sleep = tired next day = not enough energy to do anything. Idk, I just really like being busy so I asked for more hours at work and do more EC’s, try to aim for that sparkling golden A.</p>
<p>I have the same problem, I feel like I have too much free time and yet I choose to procrastinate and do other things, rather than study. It’s weird, I’m a huge sports fan, if I devoted as much time as I do to sports, to school, then I would have a 4.0 overall EASY.</p>
<p>I think like lullabies said, a strict schedule is what we need, maybe something to hold us accountable for that schedule. I’m not sure what it could be but I seem to do my best work when I’m pressed on time, because I have to, when I have a ton of time to do something, I feel like I can always do it later.</p>
<p>It really didn’t used to matter to me, but I’ve gotten a little obsessed with my grades. It actually upset me when I got a 90% on a paper because it’s not a high enough A. </p>
<p>Get obsessed and the grades follow. It helps considerably when you cut out distractions too.</p>
<p>I just sit down and do it. My goal in school is to learn all that I can, and the grades tend to follow.</p>
<p>I procrastinate no matter what happens lol. It all depends on you. It depends on how much free time you have, how focused you are, how easily distracted you get, etc. For me, I’m trying to make up for high school. I work online and in an office and I study at the same time. If I didn’t study, I would work. Work keeps me busy. If I didn’t work, I would sleep lol. I also listen to music and watch movies to keep me sane 
How do I maintain it? I have no idea…I do as much work as I can until someone notices that I’m starting to fall apart or I feel as though I’m sleeping more than I am working and then I start to work less. It just depends on you. Analyze yourself and take action 
Make good plans for yourself.</p>
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<p>That’s a great view of the process.</p>
<p>It really just comes down to what you want in the end. My goal is to graduate with a 3.7+ and that alone is my motivation to work hard. I’m on the semester system, so that’s six extra weeks which can totally suck if the class isn’t great, but it’s also a great way to boost your grades up. My motivation usually drops in the middle of the semester, typically after the first exam, so It’s not surprising my grades drop a little, but it always picks up for finals. The only reason why I get exhausted is if I dedicated my time to my classes 24/7. I always find time in the day to workout or hang out with friends. I sometimes go to parties when I’m super stressed so I wont burn myself out. It’s just all about balancing your social life and schoolwork so you wont ever feel like your working too hard or too little.</p>
<p>If I really don’t want to work, I go to Panera, get a yummy pastry and some coffee, and hunker down.</p>
<p>Put your work priorities first, before social priorities. Finish the bigger projects first to get it out of the way, and then you will have a levity of mind!</p>
<p>I usually study a lot at the beginning of the semester and keep that pace for the 15 weeks that I spend at my school. This semester for me ends in three weeks, and I haven’t felt burnt out thus far.</p>
<p>I just don’t beat myself up about it. I mean, it’s good to have ways to prevent grade decline, but obsessing over a GPA is unhealthy. If you see yourself starting to slide in terms of work ethic, just make plans to fix it and learn from your individual mistakes. There’s no set of blanket rules that can help everyone be a consistent worker. Over time you’ll learn the things that work best for you. Consistently getting mad at yourself over past mistakes only makes things worse, so just realize what you could have done better and move on.</p>
<p>Also, I second the comment about coffee and pastries. If I find that it’s hard for me to get any book work or papers done, I always go to the campus coffee shop, get a cup of something delicious, and do the work there with some non-vocal electronic music in my headphones. It’s just enough of a balance between calm and an active bustle, and it’s not as aggravatingly quiet and awkward as a study room.</p>