How Do You Stay Motivated in a Demanding Major?

[mathsciguy]

I actually came from another department in my college before doing physics and I know pretty well that physics requires more work than my previous major. Now, how does one keep himself motivated? Though, I can say that I'm pretty much motivated in doing science and mathematics but there would be days that I'd accomplish pretty much nothing. Whilst feeling really tired during week ends I'd end up sleeping too much or play video games (I actually used to be a 'gamer'). So yeah, it's all in the thread title, how do you guys manage to do your stuff with consistency?

 

[COSMOSGEEK]

Every time I want to be lazy, I Just think about Stephen Hawking. How does he work with his bad health condition? Comparing to him, we are very lucky. So I'll feel shame if I lose valuable time on games.

I think the best way to motivate youself is to get some friends who like the science as you. You can study together and compete each other. Of course, you can find some one from the internet. If you can't arrange well your time, perhaps just because you don't have enough pressure.

 

[jeebs]

What kept me going was knowing how much money my degree was costing (35000+ quid in all), so I decided I was going to get my money's worth. People think that because it's a student loan it's just like toy money, but if they had to earn it before they spent it on university I bet they would take things more seriously.

Also, at my moments of laziness, I would remind myself how hard I had grafted to get myself to that stage in my education, so there was no way I was going to let myself bugger it up now. It's important to take breaks from work though, or you just get burnt out (which is different from just being lazy). Also when faced with a choice between doing some work or procrastinating, I'd remind myself how empty the procrastination was, how once I was finished with whatever inane activity it was, I would have achieved nothing.

 

[Pengwuino]

If you plan on going to graduate school, remember that the better you do, the more money you can get to go to grad school! The scholarships you see as an undergrad are nothing compared to fellowships for graduate students (some are $30-$50k per year when you add up what a fellowship might pay for). Plus they typically include work at national labs which is great for your education and career.

 

[mathwonk]

listening to really good people speak on my subject is motivating to me, like the ones at the international mathematicians union meeting.

 

[mathsciguy]

If you plan on going to graduate school, remember that the better you do, the more money you can get to go to grad school! The scholarships you see as an undergrad are nothing compared to fellowships for graduate students (some are $30-$50k per year when you add up what a fellowship might pay for). Plus they typically include work at national labs which is great for your education and career.

Thanks for posting everyone it's all good and informational, this one though caught my attention. I'm attending a state university at the moment so my tuition's subsidized by the government; I'd like to think that I might be wasting the people's money by bumming out. I'm also planning to attend graduate school, and I have no idea as to how much it would cost me if I don't apply to scholarships, so yeah that might be another motivation for me to do good in my undergrad.

 

[Pengwuino]

Thanks for posting everyone it's all good and informational, this one though caught my attention. I'm attending a state university at the moment so my tuition's subsidized by the government; I'd like to think that I might be wasting the people's money by bumming out. I'm also planning to attend graduate school, and I have no idea as to how much it would cost me if I don't apply to scholarships, so yeah that might be another motivation for me to do good in my undergrad.

To be fair, with physics and a few other majors, your phd work is typically subsidized at the very least with a teaching assistant position that pays your tuition and gives you enough to survive on. Of course, fellowships have a lot more bonuses than just them paying your tuition and giving you a good deal of money beyond that.

 

[mathsciguy]

To be fair, with physics and a few other majors, your phd work is typically subsidized at the very least with a teaching assistant position that pays your tuition and gives you enough to survive on. Of course, fellowships have a lot more bonuses than just them paying your tuition and giving you a good deal of money beyond that.

I don't know if I can TA if I go with different major in grad school. While I'm seriously studying physics right now, I might go for another major in graduate school so I'm not sure how this might turn out.