How To Stay Motivated After Graduation

So, the last few months of university left. I know how that feels. One word, anxiety. You just wish you were done with everything, that you started earlier, that you did not go out last Friday and ended up doing nothing on Saturday even though you promised yourself you were going to be proactive and less hungover. You can’t wait till the day you hand in your last assignment or take that final exam and be free. Maybe you have been killing it and managed to save some money whilst working part-time and you are planning to go traveling (If you have, I have just one question; How did you do it?!)

For many students, including me, that really wasn’t the case. I barely managed to survive those three years on the student loan and the part-time retail salary and would have been thrilled if I succeeded to have £50 left in the end of the month. If this rings a bell, then I can imagine you may think of graduation as a cocktail of mixed feelings.

Of course, graduation is awesome. You don’t have to study any more, you don’t have to spend endless hours in the library eating junk food just to stay awake or trying to get five people’s schedules together to write a group report. The amount of excitement those ideas bring forward. But then reality dawns on you, you are entering an unknown world. Suddenly, you realise you won’t be able to hide behind the shield of being a student anymore and that it’s time to get out of your comfort zone and step your game up! You need to get a real, grown up job and start making life changing decisions. Omg, the pressure. Where to even begin?! I haven’t even made it out of university yet, can I please chill for a while?

What do you want to do in your life? That could be a tough one to knuckle down, especially when you are just about to graduate. But it’s a good place to start, narrow it down and set up short-term goals and try to be as specific about it as you can. The clearer you are about what you want – the easier it’s will be to get there.

One book that helped me when I felt lost and my confidence was slumped was ‘You are a badass: How to stop doubting your greatness and start living an awesome life’ by Jen Sincero. Seriously, read it! It truly helped me stay motivated, positive and believe in myself, which is really the most important recipe to nail an interview.

Another thing that helped me when struggling in the looking-for-job-jungle, was The-one-task-at-a-time-approach. Sometimes your to-do list can be too much to handle. Then prioritising is key. Sit down, write a list of everything you need to achieve and within a timeframe, then prioritise. Tick one task of the list and reward yourself once you accomplished it. Then, all of a sudden, the long list doesn’t seem as infinite anymore and you probably end up doing your tasks way better and with more enthusiasm!

When you are looking for jobs you might get turned down over and over, which can easily affect your mood negatively. However, you just got to keep your head up high and ask yourself, what can I learn from this? Turn it into something positive and use the wisdom for your next interview. I know it’s a cliché, but I cannot stress enough how important positive thinking is. The law of attraction never fails. What you ask for is essentially what you get.

Even if you are confused and feeling down, try to picture where you want to go and believe that you are there already. Feel the joy and excitement of already having that Digital Marketing job at your dream company. Even if you will not get it straight away, be grateful for the journey you are on towards receiving it. Believe in yourself, stay positive and be grateful for the not yet seen and you will find yourself on the highroad to success!