Happy Tuesday!

Today marks the 10th week of my semester in India. I have four more weeks of classes and six more weeks to the end of the semester.

To be honest, I’m very done with academics. It’s not necessarily out of dislike or hate—I’m just caught in a hamster wheel of assignments, pre-class preparation, and recovering from my migraine attack two weeks ago.

I’m really looking forward to my break next week (which starts this Friday!), but I still have two more assignments to submit before then. Here’s how I’m finding the motivation to work:

1. Making work fun
2. Building off other people’s energy
3. Reminding myself that this, too, shall pass

🎲 Make work fun

In November 2022, I attempted NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and had the chance to attend in-person writing sprints with other participants in Taipei.

Someone brought their entire dice collection and distributed pyramid dice to everyone present:

After everyone had rolled their die, we totaled the die results and set that as the amount of time we would write for.

For example, if there were four people and we all rolled a 4, we would sprint for 16 minutes with two rules:

• Focus. No switching to other tabs or checking social media.
• Sprint. No editing or self-doubt—type your words as fast as possible in the time given.

It was fun and effective. I usually squeeze 300 words out of every sprint—three times more than when I write alone or have a normal Pomodoro session.

So, before coming to India, I got my own 20-sided die from Etsy. To complete my assignments this week, I’m rolling it to set the amount of time I would work for.

You don’t have to use a die. Use your own definition of fun! Any reward system that motivates you to start on a task will suffice.

Once you start working, you’ll usually gather enough momentum and motivation to continue working.

👯‍♀️ Build off other people’s energy

Sprinting with other writers was fun. The typing noises rarely stopped until the timer was up, so I also felt compelled to continue typing.

However, you don’t always have to work with people you know. In fact, if your friends don’t have enough discipline to focus when it’s time to work, you might also get distracted.

If I can’t find people to study with, I personally prefer going to a library for the “disciplined and focused” study vibes. A cafe also works if I want to work for a long time and need to eat along the way.

😌 This, too, shall pass.

Things in life are impermanent.

Bad times don’t last, so look forward to the end of it.

Good times will pass too, so cherish them while they last.

This assignment grind will pass in a few days, so I’ll look forward to it. And when my break comes, I’ll cherish the time I have by properly resting, confirming my summer plans, and preparing myself for the final assignment grind.