March madness! 3 Tips to Cultivate MOtivation

Written By Annie Belott, M.Ed
 
 

March = Motivation! Endless amounts of it, right!?

Well, maybe for some! But if you are feeling a bit of the March Meh’s instead, you aren’t alone. 

March is a month for bidding goodbye to winter, the beginning of spring, NCAA brackets, the planning of spring break trips; maybe sprinkled with burnout, energy lows and feeling stuck. The tips listed below are going to help us spring back into action this month to get our motivation, just like our spring flowers, nurtured and thriving.

Be S.M.A.R.T

    • Start with one goal you want to be motivated to complete

    • Use the S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound) goal setting method to define your goal clearly and avoid uncertainty in what you are trying to achieve!

    • Regularly review the progress with your established goal. Consider:

      • Did I set a realistic timeframe for my goal?

      • Do I need to break down my goal further into more specific, achievable steps?

Cultivate a supportive environment around you

    • Share your goal with your friends, family members and colleagues to encourage and support your progress

    • Pinpoint an accountability partner who shares a similar goal in order to keep each other pushing forward

    • Find a mentor or a support group for inspiration to keep you motivated

Remember your why!

    • Keep the purpose and value of the task/activity at the forefront of your mind during times of low motivation

    • Visualize yourself succeeding with your goal and the feeling you will obtain with your accomplishment!

    • Find ways to make the work fun, rewarding and positive. Positivity = Positive actions.


It’s important to note that motivation is not a fixed trait. Our levels of motivation will certainly ebb and flow through the days and weeks. Once we know the reason we are lacking motivation on a task or an activity, we can then adjust our approach to gain back momentum to push ourselves to the finish line.

Encourage yourself to focus on the elements of the task/activity that you find enjoyable.

Keep calm and spring on!

Annie Belott, M.Ed

With over nine years of experience working in academia, including university settings, Annie has worked with various student populations including individuals with disabilities, first-generation students, and student-athletes. She focuses on strategies to improve upon time management, procrastination, test anxiety, self-testing, learning styles, etc.

From 2016 to 2020, Annie worked as a Learning Skills Specialist at Georgetown University. Here she oversaw the implementation of academic support services to all students on campus, specifically individual consultations with students seeking assistance with their study habits, tutoring for foreign languages, and study skills workshops/webinars.

Annie has worked for Life Solved since the Fall of 2017 and recently transitioned to a full-time position with the company. She continues to work with students from middle school through the collegiate level to improve upon their organizational systems, test-taking and self-testing strategies, and help students create effective study schedules to make workloads manageable.

Annie has a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Salisbury University and a Master’s degree in Multicultural Special Education from the University of Texas at Austin.

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