<p>I had all these plans for the summer and I thought about everything I was gonna do. Now I'm so unmotivated. I think about all the things I want to do but I have little to no motivation to do it. Can anyone offer some tips about how they keep motivated or esp. start?</p>
<p>-Write down “everything [you] were gonna do.” Studies show that this is actually really useful. I actually have a neon green post-it with a checklist of stuff I need to accomplish by the end of the summer. There are boxes next to each to check off once I’m done. Only one is completely done, and that’s “get a volunteer position.” I still have a long way to go.</p>
<p>-Make a daily plan. I don’t mean “9-10am: SAT prep” though, because I’ve found that it’s a bit difficult for me to follow through on that. I strive to get two/three sections of my algebra II self-study textbook in, take a few sections of a PSAT practice test (rising sophomore), do at least 5 questions from my summer reading packet, and leave some time to relax every single day. My summer technically began last Tuesday, because my school starts after Labor Day, and I let myself relax for two days, but then I got to work.</p>
<p>-Think about how happy you will be once this is all finally over. Think about how awesome you will feel once the hard work you can put in right now pays off in the future. Think about yourself right now. Imagine opening a large package from your dream school and going to that college/university. Just think about how great you will feel AFTER all this hard work. That’s what I do. I work hard because I want to make sure that by the end, I will be satisfied with the amount of work I’ve put in.</p>
<p>-Think about how awful you will feel if you DON’T put in the work you know is sufficient enough to get what you want. I believe that the worst feeling ever is regret. I don’t like thinking about what “I could’ve done” or “if I had done this…”</p>
<p>@sardon I’m a rising sophomore too! High five! And I always think about why I could have done. It’s probably bad for my motivation but that’s what I always do. I need to find a way to do it. Yours sounds pretty good, but I’d still like more input!</p>
<p>I see your point in thinking about what you could’ve done. I think that sometimes, going through that does help me learn a lesson. I usually realize that I need to put more effort in or something. For instance, this year I got a 74 on my Western Civ test, and I was so incredibly devastated. But I figured it was probably because I had crammed the night before, so for the next test I studied more in advance, and I ended up with a 96. In the long run though, I’d say regret is bad. I guess what I meant by that is that I don’t want to not get into my dream school and regret not working hard enough. I’d much rather give it my all right now and on so that even if I actually do end up not getting into my dream school, I won’t be as devastated as in the other situation.</p>
<p>Haha, and sorry, high five to you, too! :D</p>
<p>@Sardon, dang I never get devastated over a bad test grade hahaha. There’s no point in getting super depressed over a bad exam. It’s not your final grade lol.</p>
<p>I just say “wow I blew that,” realize what I did wrong *99% of the time is because I didn’t study," and do better next time.</p>
<p>I usually see the grade, get really upset at myself, but then realize that I can’t do anything to change it.</p>
<p>I usually get pretty depressed about grades, unless I BS’d most of it, and then I ask teachers for redos. Which they almost never do.</p>
<p>I look at the websites of my dream colleges and read through the State Dept. website. That usually works.
@Dan and @sardon: Another rising sophomore reporting in. Awesome.</p>
<p>@likesomejelly, first off, high five to another almost sophomore! Second, I love your name. Mine seems so plain now. 
and third, I do that a alot. Well more o the state stuff than the college websites because I’m still very undecided. :)</p>
<p>I make a plan. I’m a very organized and meticulous kind of person so I have a planner that I write EVERYTHING in. Something that helps me stay productive over the summer is that I create a schedule for myself, including driving time, meals, and breaks. I don’t follow the schedule to a perfect T but for the most part I stay productive. Also, keeping yourself busy with obligations helps too. I work, exercise, have soccer practice, volunteer, etc and most of those are on a daily/weekly basis.</p>
<p>BTW I’m a rising senior and seeing rising sophomores on here depresses me. I didn’t find out about this website until halfway through my junior year. I feel sorry for you kids.</p>
<p>Why does it depress you? Just wondering.</p>
<p>I depressed some wine once and got back grapes!</p>
<p>@Dan2014 Crazy overachieving CCers, I’m guessing?</p>
<p>@karaoke yeah that could be it. But they way I am, I’m considered very under achieving here.</p>
<p>@Dan: Aww, thanks! Yeah, a classmate of mine made up the phrase and it kind of stuck, so I used it as a username. But after a while I felt really self-concious since no one else here seems to have a silly username either…</p>
<p>@hearbr8cker124: I signed up as a freshman. You sad bro?</p>
<p>@HarryJones: LMAO</p>
<p>God yes Im sad. I mean I love this website and everything but don’t you guys think its way to early to start thinking about college and the SATs and all that? I don’t know, maybe it’s just where I’m from but you’re supposed to chill and enjoy your freshman and sophomore year before things get hard and you have to worry about the SATs and college aps… IDK, reading up on all this college stuff as a sophomore is kind of ridiculous. Do you not have anything better to do?</p>
<p>@Hearbr8cker124</p>
<p>It’s better to get it done early and out of the way.</p>
<p>simple. i love to learn new things :)</p>