How do you motivate yourself?

I lie to myself https://youtu.be/dbuuy0ijQ8o?t=11

On the other hand... music <3

I'm not really the one to give advice on this: I'd sunk into a depression episode and left a university two months before I was supposed to get my master's degree, then missed my opportunity to return (and I had 5 years for that). I mean, I've still got a bachelor's degree, but that's pathetic.

Maybe you are one of these guys who don't really need higher education, but you don't sound like one. If you drop now, there's a strong chance that you are going to regret this decision for years to come. Find resourses. If the situation is overwhelming to the extent that you're not sure that you can cope at all, maybe professional help could be useful.

Well, I know he's a controversial character, but Jordan Peterson tells people to accept that they are practically worthless just like everyone else and try to find a meaning in things from that point. Like when you start to practice a skill and you notice that you suck so bad that you want to quit. Guess what? Everyone who you look up to started like that, but they sucked it up for years and try to become better everyday, even if just a little tiny bit. After all, you add all those tiny bits and you can see how much you improved. He also talks about responsability and structure: he basically claims that without taking responsabilities of any sort, you can't find real meaning in the things you do, and that leads to depression and nihilistic thoughts.

So yeah, you already came this far down this road, why quit when you're that close from your original goal? Please don't let self loathing get in your way, or like everyone here's been telling you, you'll regret it sooner or later. I hope you can get the strength you need to take those final steps in your studies, Simona. Good luck! :)

Lately, I've started making lists. Then splitting all the items into smaller ones. Then going at it randomly, as long as I do anything. Learned that from GDC videos.

All I can say is, try to surround yourself with people who want you to graduate and be happy. I also suggest to avoid the people who un-motivate you or take away your self-confidence, since even after you graduate they likely will still never be satisfied with you. As long as you are satisfied with yourself, you can say adios to those people. Really, they are just projecting their own lack of satisfaction onto you, possibly only being happy when you are more miserable than they are. It takes a lot of work, however in the end you can find new friends / people who want you to succeed and be happy (right, fellow SG'ers? :), the unsatisfied people of your old life will finally feel some of that success vicariously through you and likely start treating you better.

This article and this video helped me understand my patterns. I'm the worst procrastinator ;_; esp if I don't have goals.

I find getting excited about something and clinging onto the positive of whatever it is I'm doing, while also looking at the progress is important. Instead of focusing on how much I hate exercising or writing essays etc. I'll watch people who are having fun/passionate about exercises or have made progress to what I want also, or see people doing my "dream job" and get motivated to put in the work also. It helps if you're heading towards something you want/enjoy and can keep checkin' in on yourself if you're still heading in the direction you'd like to be. The self-discipline slowly becomes worth it and routine, not so much a punishment/negative thing.

For me, I'm an obsessive completionist. If you're only a thesis and one test away...I mean, I'd be asking myself "do I really want to waste all of the time and hard work I've already invested in this?" That's always an easy question to ask myself to get me to push that much extra to cross the finish line (and that particular metaphor probably stems from also running track/cross country in high school...but it fits because that's how I dug down for that final push at the end of a race).

And like icaio said, music. I'm a music fiend. When I know that I need motivation, I choose music that fits the scenario and it always helps. I play it over and over in my head, even when I'm not actively listening to it. I also tend to write about my feelings, stress, etc. (journal/poetry/music/whatever helps at the moment). Just getting it out there and having a way to express it sort of helps me define it, put a border around it, and tackle it. You're not just feeling unmotivated randomly...there's a reason for it. So get really in touch with the source of the issue and deal with it...and motivation will come much more easily after that.

Whatever you do, don't leave university. That would be a mistake of epic proportions. Get your life sorted and then finish what you started.

I don't. I want to die.

I myself in a deep hole of procrastination right now, so I'll give you advice later..
...
It was a place for sentence starting "jokes aside, ...", but no, I don't have any useful advice for you, sorry :<
But I know that you CAN do it and you WILL do it. It's a finish line, you almost there!

ask your college if you can take a break - a few months off to clear the head

If it were easy, everyone else would be doing it.

You're you, not everyone else.

Peter Popoff - Motivational Speaker

Drown in sorrow and alcohol

Think of the task ahead. Think what you have to do, how long it'll take, how hard it'll be. Now think what you'd do otherwise? Would it be useful for you? Now think what would happen if you didn't do what you had to do. Is it worth it to suffer for that temporary pleasure you'd have otherwise? To feel guilt over your laziness and to suffer consequences over that failure?

Sometimes the procrastination just wins out and I don't even regret doing it because I could get away with it with no worry. But at other times, the work wins out. Usually it's good that it does as well because there have been many times where I've basically just made everything worse for myself by procrastinating.
Funny thing is that once you get into it, the work takes way less time than the procrastination would. You watch a single episode of a TV show you like and that's pretty much it. In that time you could do the task and have peace of mind for days.

Stare at the mirror and keep saying you can do it

but really just do it. motivation isn't always reliable. you think people are motivated to go to work? they aren't. they go to work because they have to. that's what discipline is.

Myself i set goals in life ,some are simple save money to buy that, others are complicated , then i think what i need to do to achieve them and work towards my goal.... in your situation if gratuating mean you could get a nice job and a good salary thats a nice goal alone

Have a rest for a day or two, go outside, challenge your body too, it feels refreshed to take a shower after a long day of tired body and mind ^^
Good job on your progress so far ^^

I've been there, struggle on undergraduate final project for two years (normally +-1 year), and it's hard, really really hard and tiring.
Thanks to that, whenever life gives you lemon 🍋, remember those days ^^

watching funny video, movies.)

Music,think about life thats great motivation how u could finish and how u want to finish..
Example some dream car dont have to be dream car some dream house dont have to be dream house it could be true all its up to you,just dont dream big :P hahah

the way you tell as your story, make me think about other people in a similar situation,
there is not even one book about how you live your life, every person is unique.
i dont have a personal goal, i just have "wonderings", i wonder if i can have this or that, i wonder if i can finish this o that,... much of things i didnt finished "when" i have to, Is besouse i just live my live with my problems and my posibilities, trying to do my best, and my best, sometimes Is other's "wrong", sometimes Is for other "slow", sometimes Is other's nothings, even when for me Is something,... thats my best, and i live with it.
i motivate my self, "thinking" : "traveling with out moving",.... that all that i have, and all i dont have Is "nothing", compared to others needs,. Is better for me be thanksfull for things i have, things i dont really need, and other "things" and come back to the basic., the family, the values, the feelings, etc. and forget about everything else.

obviously "sorry about my basic english, hope you understand"