Need help getting motivated

Okay so i started the IB in september. Im doing:
Mathematics HL
Physics HL
Chemistry HL
History SL
English SL
Spanish Ab Initio (SL)
plus all the core etc

Now i'm not a natural genius, i understand things quickly and i usually progress very quickly but i'm in no way a genius. The problem is, i dont make up for the fact i'm not a genius by doing loads of work. I got so used to doing no work during secondary school but getting away with it (A's and B's).

So far with my homeworks/ little class tests we've been doing my Physics grade is a 1/2. Now that is not an accurate grade because half of the homeworks i didnt complete or hand in so they are counted as 0. I'm getting in similar trouble with Maths and Chemistry.

In class i'm absolutely fine, i make notes and pay attention (although recently i have been staring at the clock waiting for class to finish) but as soon as i get home i lay down and watch a TV series i've watched 20 times before and am basically incapable of working from home. I always stay up with the intention of doing it (untill 2/3am) but end up not so i set my alarm for 6am or something to do it in the morning but the alarm goes and i just dont get up until its time to leave. So the time in school i actually am used to doing work in, i'm doing with no sleep, no breakfast and no homework which puts me at odds with my teachers.

I honestly believe i am capable of achieving a 40+ score but i am starting to panic as i realise the longer i dont get my act together, the harder it'll be to catch up and get the score i know im capable off.

Also i've logged absolutely no CAS so far. The 1/2 score i mentioned for physics isnt official in anyway but it is the main thing teachers base their predicted grades on which is the main thing universities base their decisions on.

I also intend to take the SATS this summer because i want to attend an American uni (i know how hard this is for an international but im willing to try anyway) so i need to start studying for that.

And please dont say "just do it" or something. Maybe you can but i dont have the willpower to break a 10 year routine of not doing ANY work.

Thank you so much in advance, i really need some help,
Cal x

Reply 1

GarnetStone

If you don't need the internet to do your work, don't go near a computer until it's done. Don't go near the TV when you get home unless all of your work is done. Find the quietest, most isolated place you can work (be it at home or a library), sit down with a pen and paper and do your work. In the end, you're the only one who has any control over it. You simply need to exercise a little control over yourself. I know it's difficult: I was in a similar situation (suddenly needing to do hours of work, having had little homework in previous years) last year. You need to take control of yourself, adapt to the new situation and change. Think of it as practice for university studies, where you'll have to do a lot of reading and a lot of writing.
It's not a question of motivation. It's a question of self-control.