It is yet another evening where I lie on my bed, seeking entertainment. Or maybe distraction? I'm not sure anymore, as they've become one and the same to me at this point. I have a lot of assignments to do: the result of my carefree attitude to them. I keep putting stuff off as much as I can and just narrow my scope of planning, only making plans for the following day, not beyond that. I want to start doing it, but what often happens is that when I get around to it, I easily quit either out of boredom or being overwhelmed by the fact that I have a lot of things piled up.
I can work on things that are interesting to me. I can even work with repetitive tasks. But when it comes to studying something, in most cases only responsibility or impending deadlines can make me work. There is, however, an advantage to being busy: there's a nice feeling to it; you know that you're doing something important, or at least you know that when you're finished, you'll be able to truly enjoy your time off.
I've tried forcing myself, but it doesn't work in the long run. I've tried creating rules or my own deadlines within real deadlines, but I didn't take them at all seriously. Maybe I should try something else. Not that long ago, I was thinking of making the process of doing assignments less dull. I just couldn't figure out what exactly I should do or change to make it work. But an just idea came to my mind. What if I do my homework and comment on things in English along the way? I can also write some of that down, take notes and look up things that I don't know how to say in English (and all the rest that comes with it). This concept is interesting, because here I've combined work and hobbies, you/one could say. By the way, one of the things I was planning to post about but eventually didn't, was an interesting observation that I'd made while studying. Even though I go to a technical university, we still have English classes. They're not that advanced, but they are there. And what surprised me was that despite the exercises being aimed at intermediate-level students and not demanding, I found myself doing them in a creative way and learning a lot in the process. I can only imagine how helpful an exchange programme or some private school would be. Anyway, I think I should try this approach. I'm curious if you have any suggestions or thoughts to share.
The thing about motivation is that it's not a switch that you turn on and off; it's a spectrum that you travel along. When you're unmotivated and have no inertia to get going, you wish you could flip a switch and get going, but trying that is probably not the best way. The key is, you gotta start somewhere. Create a tiny amount of movement, follow it up with something a little bigger, and a little bigger after that.
As for languages boosting productivity, yes. If I find content in L1 less engaging, I try to simultaneously translate it in my head to L2. Now, that's engaging.