Staying motivated

This past week has been a super crazy one, BUT after work tonight, I'm officially on fall break! :) Which means it's time to party:

And by "party" I mean curl up in bed with hot chocolate and watch Gilmore Girls ;)

With a bunch of free time coming up, it's easy for me to go into total veg mode, but I really need to take advantage of it. Janae over at HRG wrote a great post on how to stay motivated, and it's 100% spot on. 

However, in addition to keeping up with my workouts, it's about time to start studying for finals, so I've been working on a couple of ways to stay motivated myself :)

1. Make a to-do list

It's a bit messy, but it does the trick ;) I always try to keep my to-do list simple, because otherwise it can get overwhelming to see how much I have to do. I also like writing my workouts in the corner to keep myself on track :) (I was apparently really excited about my rest day Friday)

2. Block out study time

Time management isn't always my forte, so choosing certain days to work on certain subjects really helps. Like, I have tomorrow off from work, so I'll try to review all of my anthropology notes that day, and I have some extra time Wednesday that can be devoted to reviewing math :)

3. Plan fun breaks

When studying, my energy levels drain when I'm stuck inside the house all day. To change it up, I'll plan breaks to go out to get coffee, go to the store, or go running with a friend. 

4. Don't think about it

This might sound like a weird one, but I find that I'm most productive when I don't think about it, I just do it. Just like it's easy to talk myself out of a workout, it's easy to just push studying aside and do other things instead. In both situations, I try to just get up and tackle it anyway, even if I'm not feeling it. The feeling of accomplishment is always worth it, and it saves a lot of time I'd otherwise spend procrastinating ;)

What are your best tips to stay motivated?

When does fall break begin for you (for US readers)?