After a few weeks in school, many students tend to lose motivation to do homework and get good grades. Many try to do well, but the temptation to hang out with friends, play video games, or other distractions often takes over.

But how can we fix this?

MTSS/RTI coordinator Mr. David Hain, who focuses on enriched studies and executive functioning at our school, talks about two parts of our brains: the executive portion, which is the one that can plan and think about the future, and the lizard portion, which seeks immediate gratification.

Hain says in order to address this lack of motivation, we use evolutionary neurobiology, or the study of the evolution of the brain. 

“We try to establish which impulses are executive impulses, and which are lizard impulses,” Hain said. “What the executive brain does is it gives the lizard what it needs to be satisfied while also giving itself what it needs to be successful.”

“It’s easy to list out what you need to do organizationally. Doing it is really the tricky business,” he said. However, while it may be easy to figure out what a student must do organizationally, it doesn’t make it any less important, according to Hain. 

Hain says that what works for person A will not necessarily work for person B. Each individual has their own organizational plan that works for them. 

Junior Sage Sherman says she doesn’t do any homework in her bedroom or on the couch because she knows that’s where she’ll be most distracted. She also adds that making check lists of all the assignments she needs to complete helps her stay organized.

“These lists totally help me feel organized, and I feel motivated when I get to cross items off,” Sherman said.

However, like Hain said, what works for one person might not work for another. But then again, making all these organizational techniques can go so far. At the end of the day, one must actually do the work and keep up with their schedule.

School counselor Mr. Daniel Panfil says that one of the most important factors for keeping your motivation up is making sure you aren’t overwhelmed.

“Keeping a balanced schedule allows for time with friends and family, as well as extracurricular activities, which is crucial to maintaining that motivation – because without incorporating fun into your life, you simply won’t have that motivation,” Panfil said.

One of the best ways to do that is to have a challenging – but manageable – schedule in all your classes, Panfil believes. 

Another important factor for keeping up with school and your classes is getting a good night’s sleep. 

“If you don’t get the right amount of sleep every night, the studies out there clearly show what that does to you, not just in your ability to think properly, but also long-term negative effects in your brain,” AP history teacher Mr. Thomas Gigiano said.

Not getting enough sleep can impact your mental wellbeing, according to Gigiano. Students must wake up early in the morning, get to school, sit in classrooms for seven hours, and many even play sports or do some form of extracurricular activities after school, leading to many students being sleep deprived.

“I feel most days when I get home from school or whatever I’m doing, I feel very drained, both mentally and emotionally, and it affects my ability to stay focused and work on the things I need to do,” junior Maya Taha said.

Furthermore, the workload can sometimes be too much for students to manage. Biology teacher Mr. Kurt Schuessler says that it’s important you utilize class time and study hall periods to get stuff done so you don’t end up with too many things to do when you get home.

Finally, a big motivator for several students is to bring their GPA up. The better a GPA, the greater your chances are of getting into the college you wish to attend, says junior Alexander Wan. 

“Although it’s difficult to use potential success several years into the future as a motivator to do well on a test or assignment, the delayed gratification ends up amounting to a lot when it’s all said and done,” Wan said, agreeing with Hain’s ideas on the executive and lizard parts of the brain.

So, many key factors go into maintaining the motivation to do well in school. It’s necessary to come up with an organizational system that works for you to make it easier to stay on top of assignments. It’s also crucial to make sure that you keep a balance between studying and fun because if either side has too much of your focus, it’ll be hard to maintain a social life as well as sustain strong grades.