I have pretty severe problems with motivation. When I'm in a class I don't enjoy, I do not feel like working at all. This reminds me of something an old biology teacher told me.
"As your teacher I feel obligated to mention you should be on task in all your classes. When I was a student in a course that I felt was not challenging me, I reminded myself that every person has a unique set of experiences. Even when the professors were lecturing about topics for which I was well versed I adopted the view that I will learn something from them because they have a different perspective and this person has knowledge that I would not acquire otherwise, therefore I engaged myself in the moment of learning. Adopting this attitude allowed me to relax and find something new to learn. I also perceive each of my students as unique and carrying knowledge that would allow me to better understand the world and the dynamic society we live in together."
I'm not saying my teachers don't have anything to teach me. I know they do. In fact, I enjoy learning in every single one of my classes. The problem is this: I become frustrated when I have to complete menial work on top of that knowledge. This work doesn't interest me. I could read Shakespeare and discuss the applications of recursive functions all day, but I could not care less about filling out worksheets displaying my knowledge of genetics.
I think part of my motivation stems from what I think will be applicable in my life. I have no plans for going into plant science, but I'll be able to read Shakespeare and program for the rest of my life. I don't see why it should matter whether or not I fill out a worksheet over things I already know. This humdrum work frustrates me to no end.
I need advice. How do I stay motivated enough to complete assignments for classes? What philosophies can you share? How do I make this work enjoyable?
When you find the answer to this question let me know. I have had the same issue my whole life. I don't know how old you are, so I'm sorry if guessing high school would be an underestimation. The reason I assumed that age range is because I had these exact problems with motivation for my whole high school career, but now I'm in college and they've almost entirely gone away (and were sent directly to other areas of my life, but that's a different story). I've found that college work is more meaningful - no "busy work", and for some classes no homework at all. Not only that but also once you are working towards a degree in something, you don't have to spend much time learning about things that don't interest you. I realize this isn't very helpful information for you now, regardless of whether you're in high school or college. But when I had classes I couldn't stand, I don't remember ever having a strategy for dealing with them. I hated every minute of it and was selectively lazy about the work, but in the end the grade was mine for the taking. If you know you're capable of doing it, you might as well just power on through. A good grade for its own sake can be pretty satisfying.
Completely dependent on the professor. I'd imagine most schools will have a LOT of classes to offer, mine does at least. So even though there are gen ed requirements that I have to take, it's easy to find classes I'll enjoy despite them having nothing to do with my major.
The curriculum for classes in college is a lot more liberal so it's the teacher's responsibility to make his/her class interesting. I'm studying music, but I took meteorology and that was really cool. My Israeli-Palestinian conflict class has been my favorite so far. But then I also took a public speaking class which made me feel like I was in high school again. Since I'm going to an art school, the standards for gen ed teachers are understandably lower, but on the whole I've been impressed.
Good luck with the remainder of your high school work! I'd say if you can figure out what you want to do now, you'll spend a lot less time doing "busy work" for the rest of your life. Although I'm only a couple years older than you, so someone with more experience might disagree with me about that.
I think it's important to consider the value of practice. Most people tend to think of "practice," especially daily practice, as something solely relegated to the world of Buddhists, people who meditate, and musicians. But in my opinion and as a former devoted musician, I have come to the opinion that daily practice is necessary in any area in which you'd like to excel. One thing that comes with daily practice is- well, what most people would consider the boring stuff, the technical exercises. Scales, then memorizing scales, then memorizing all the scales. And after you've memorized them still playing them every day; just upping the speed or introducing fancy technical ways to play scales. Some people are bound to find that boring. I never did, scales were my favorite. I tell you what I still dream about playing scales sometimes and I tell you what I could pick up a flute and play without hesitation probably 8 out of the 12 scales out there. The other 4 I might need a few starts on, depends on how much I was overthinking it.
Because that - that's the clue. That's the beauty of daily practice that seems mindless. You are ingraining information into your mind so that if/when you need it later you no longer have to think about it. Consider your multiplication tables. You know 12x12 off the top of your head and probably 3x13 and 7x8 and so on. You learned that through rote memorization and practice (although not daily practice). You probably didn't anticipate how useful this would be in later life. But it is, isn't it? Because at minimum - I don't know about you but I do know about me - it makes you feel smart. It provides you a baseline of knowledge that is so accessible to you that you don't need to think in order to have the right answer. You just have it, and you know that it's right. The menial work is there to cement what you are learning into your head. It is your practice. If you don't practice , you may temporarily learn these techniques and this information, but unfortunately it's going to be a lot harder to solidify. I used to go in math class, learn a concept, get it, walk out and forget it. I would forget what concepts I was supposed to apply on a test because, bam, right out of my head. I didn't care about my math homework. I rushed it whenever I could. I did it in homeroom or at lunch. I didn't review the chapter and didn't realize, "Hey, this is where I learn to apply all those things we talk about in class." Think about it that way. It's not menial work. It's technique. It's the basis, the foundation for knowledge so that one day you'll just know the answer to "Who was Gregor Mendel" or "What is DNA made of?" or "What does the DNA helicase do?" (Wanna hear a nerd joke? "Hey baby, I wanna be your DNA helicase, so I can get in your genes." Yup, that was my high school.) It's boring because it's not challenging in and of itself. But I guess it seems like your teachers want you to get from a point where you are aware of this knowledge, and where you don't have to think to access it. They are trying to put this into your muscle memory so to speak. That may not be too motivating...But I think considering it from that perspective is the most helpful thing to me.
This is what's happening with me right now. Last week I took a test and had no idea what to do, until I remembered a key step in a process that was needed to find solutions. I remembered this step with five minutes left. That was a bit more than frustrating. I want to care, but I simply don't. Thanks for sharing your perspective, I'll think on it today. Technique vs. work is something I hadn't considered.something solely relegated to the world of Buddhists, people who meditate, and musicians.
Funny you say that. I passively read Buddhist texts to get my dose of philosophy, and I'm a musician.I used to go in math class, learn a concept, get it, walk out and forget it. I would forget what concepts I was supposed to apply on a test because, bam, right out of my head. I didn't care about my math homework. I rushed it whenever I could. I did it in homeroom or at lunch.
I mean, the difference may not help you if you don't care about having that information available to you in the long run. However I'd posit that: 1) It's always nice to feel smart, and if you do it right you can remember these things for life 2) I'd rather know something than have to look it up online 3) Even if it's not directly related to what you want to do, doesn't mean the knowledge might be not come in handy one day. Oh, being a musician totally converted me to the idea that practice will get you nearly anywhere. It also makes me somewhat tyrannical about it, as in "You don't practice every day? Well what do you expect without work! Success?!?!" I've always been thankful for that though. It helped teach me self-discipline and see that hard work does reap rewards, and the way to do it is hard work, every day. Personally, I found it a lot more difficult to care in high school than in college - but in college I seesawed a bit and went the other way into "crazy grade-obsessed control freak," which ultimately didn't end prettily either. Don't go overboard. I think kb mentions that below. But you know. Caring is good. If creepy.
Because the other choice is to simply not do it. You're going to eventually be an adult where you are in charge of life. You have the ability to choose to not do things then just as you have the ability to choose to not do things now. The only difference will be that the severity of those consequences changes. Being able to focus and complete tasks at hand is a skill that you have to train. Get in the habit of thinking of it as working hard, instead of simply being smart. Work harder and smarter.
The way I see it, a lot of school is just what I would call en endurance test. When you finish certain "steps" in your education, you achieve a status. You're "signaling". You say to the world you've been patient enough to endure bullshit and power through work enough that you've managed to get a bachelor's degree. It means a lot when getting a job and even a bit with friends and family. Of course, hopefully you manage to find something that interests you because it's just easier that way. I'm just telling you my theory because even if I like what I study, i often second-doubt myself about the purpose of going to school when I would probably learn as much working. Telling myself it's all an endurance test helps.
In college, when I had menial tasks to do I would just do them stoned. Now I do them in front of the TV while drinking beers. This is really just a bad habit and not advice--I'm reading this thread to see if anyone has any better ideas I could use.
What's helped me the most is to be fresh. Get new supplies. Make yourself really physically comfortable. Practice writing so it doesn't be such a burden. My advice isn't much to offer, but it's basically my main ideal. It really helps me, and I hope it helps you.