We have all been there. You stare at your planner, or calendar, or are simply thinking about your massive to-do list and feeling overwhelmed. Then you react in the way any proper person would, you procrastinate as the deadline approaches. You complain about how you have no motivation to do your work. You are so tired of all the exams and papers and having to do laundry. These feelings are completely valid. You are allowed to feel tired. However, thinking you need to be motivated to get work done is not the best way to be the most efficient with your time.

Knowing you have to do the reading and take the notes before a certain time gets work done. Knowing that Friday is laundry day gets it done. Discipline forces you to rely on habit rather than motivation which is not always there for you. Motivation is the flaky friend. It is great to have them around, but they often disappear when you need them most. Discipline is your mom who keeps asking you to do the dishes until you comply. Which person gets you to do what you need to do?

Discipline takes time to cultivate and there a few ways to help it grow. I find that establishing a few constants allows me to fall into a flow of doing work without thinking about it. This is especially helpful when I feel like I don't know where to begin with all my work. I have a set playlist that I know is always successful into pumping me up and focusing me enough to hit the books or block out the rest of the world. I recommend making the playlist beforehand when you are not swamped with pressing deadlines.

Another important constant is a comfortable location to work. When you know the spots around campus or in your house that you always get work done in, once you are in that zone, you are accustomed to working in that location. Conditioning yourself makes beginning your work second nature and before you know it, you will be halfway through writing out your outline or solving practice problems.

I also find having my favorite snack available keeps me focused on my task. My mind stops wandering to thoughts about what I want to eat later. I allot a specific amount of time to work and then when I am done, or reach the end of the time for the task, I can take a quick break with my favorite snack. The delayed gratification along with seeing the progress made so far is encouraging. It could possibly ignite the motivation you are missing, but you don't need to have the motivation to continue working.

There is always going to be something that must be completed that you hate to do. It could be tedious, or boring, or you feel like it is a complete waste of time. With discipline, these tiring "must be completed" items can be finished without waiting for a moment of enlightenment.