{"id":319693,"date":"2021-03-30T17:08:31","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T21:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/help-staying-motivated\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T06:29:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T06:29:10","slug":"help-staying-motivated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/help-staying-motivated\/","title":{"rendered":"Need Help Staying Motivated? 1 Ridiculously Simple Tip"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oh, the dream day. You wake up after a full eight hours of sleep. You enjoy coffee and breakfast in peace and greet your students, who are smiling and ready. No one needs help staying motivated here!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You layout the day\u2019s schoolwork and remind everyone \u201cOnly four more weeks till Summer Break!\u201d The kids happily get right down to business, their love of learning and hunger for knowledge evident as they work without complaint toward new concepts and skills.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are you laughing? Because I am. Let&#8217;s face it, we ALL struggle with the chasm between our vision and our reality. And the wider it gets, the harder it can be to maintain our desire to carry on. We ALL need help staying motivated, plain and simple. So, here it is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Vision vs. The Reality<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">My &#8220;Help Staying Motivated&#8221; Advice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Implement It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;The Vision vs. The Reality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I mean, does what I described ever actually happen? Only in movies and in the sweet dreams of mom- or teacher- sleep, I\u2019d wager.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And yet, the work must be done. Even when the kids don\u2019t want to. Even when the teacher doesn\u2019t really want to!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-319695\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/040821-Stay-Motivated.jpg\" alt=\"help staying motivated\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/040821-Stay-Motivated.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/040821-Stay-Motivated-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/040821-Stay-Motivated-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/040821-Stay-Motivated-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/040821-Stay-Motivated-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;My &#8220;Help Staying Motivated&#8221; Advice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So can we finish out the year when we\u2019ve lost the desire to keep going and just want to quit? Isn\u2019t it okay to start to gear down? We can make up for it in the fall, right? At times like this, what we really need is just a little help staying motivated!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>My advice: Commit.<\/strong> Or, rather, re-commit. Re-commit to seeing the year out strong. The last lessons of the year are just as important as the first ones.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Implement It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are a few ideas on how to re-commit and make the final push toward a strong finish.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>1. Write it down.<\/strong> Think back and try to remember your goals from the beginning of the school year.&nbsp; Why are you doing what you\u2019re doing? Think back, remember, and write it down where you can see it from time to time. The reminder of the end goal can help you muscle through.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>2. Communicate your commitment.<\/strong> First, to your spouse or your BFF or someone who wants to see you succeed. Accountability is an amazing way to make sure you follow through. Then, tell your students, at a calm time, that you are resolved to see the year out strong and you expect them to follow suit.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>3. Fake it till you make it.<\/strong> Yes, that\u2019s right. The intrinsic love of learning or excelling is a very noble goal&#8211;and I think it&#8217;s achievable. But the simple truth is: we don\u2019t all feel it all the time. So if you need external rewards for yourself or for your students to make it happen right now, use them!&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just remember, <strong>the best reasons to reward students are for hard work, effort, and signs of growing character<\/strong>. That approach will help them develop an intrinsic love of learning, over simply plying them with treats that they\u2019ll come to expect at the end of every lesson.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look, you chose this path for a reason&#8211;maybe several good reasons! And taking on the role of teacher is so important and good! But as the leader in the classroom, you set the tone. I know how hard it is to stay focused on school when the birds are chirping and the sunshine is calling. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That&#8217;s why I am here to remind you what needs to happen when you find you need help staying motivated! <strong>Our kids need us to set the example of what it looks like to keep working when we want to do anything except work.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So take heart. Summer really is closing in on us, and the end is in sight. <strong>You can <a href=\"https:\/\/nicolethemathlady.com\/announcements\/seven-ideas-for-end-of-year-celebrations\/?v=1d20b5ff1ee9\">finish strong and send your kids into their break<\/a> with a head full of knowledge and a heart that\u2019s ready to relish the break.<\/strong> Recommit now and before you know it, you\u2019ll be putting a bow on a solid school year.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talk to you soon,&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nicole the Math Lady<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oh, the dream day. You wake up after a full eight hours of sleep. 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