Motivation Tips!

Why not? Do you really like what you're learning? Are you doing it to please someone else? If this is taking you in a direction you don't want to go, why would you want to do it? To whom are you lying? Sorry if I come on as strong, but many of us made mistakes of doing what others wanted. Many of us had "sunken costs" and kept going on only to realise that it anyways didn't amount to much.

Your procrastination and resistance is telling you that this is not what you truly want to do. You can force yourself to do it, but is it really worth it?

 

I'm quite confused.

Yes, you chose to study it, it seemed probably to give you interesting prospects for the future otherwise you wouldn't have chose it. And yet, now you are afraid that it will keep you in a cubicle? What are the other things in life that you want to go after?

To me it seems rather clear that you are not into the subject right now, whatever the subject is, because you regret already that you'll not be able to do other things, you already "know" that is not going to be what you hoped for at the beginning.

Are you sure this is not the sunken cost fallacy? I quit my first university after 3 years and then started a new one, simply because I realised, one year before graduation, that I hated the subject I was studying.

 

Perhaps smaller, easy to manage goals would be a good approach.

Exam periods used to come with a serious pack of existential questions for me ; eventually I quit, since I already had something else that keeps me going -sorta- career-wise. Even so, I encounter lack of motivation more often than I'd like to admit. Mini-goals meet the least amount of resistance, which can help, no matter the mood (now the will, that's a different story).

The trick is to somehow start building momentum, imho.

Remember that exam periods typically come with more stress than usual; sometimes we hesitate to study "properly" (i.e. we procrastinate), other times we start ruminating a lot (same effect). Ofc, none of this really helps.

Keep your studies in perspective, with relation to where you want to go.

Since your exams are soon to come as you say, focus on the material, so that you gain more confidence in handling it. (Perfectionism is counterproductive, I think- go after the main points and build on them, or go any way that's smooth for you and makes you feel better and more secure).

Again, remember that how you live your life and how you allocate your time and presence to experiences of all kinds is up to you.
Honesty is crucial in this regard for all of us, imo, even if it may seem to slow us down.
Good luck!

 

When I need motivation, I use the panic button. It's very helpful in crisis times. I encourage you to use it when in need. There's a designated section for when you relapsed.