Do you struggle to get motivated to do your homework? You are not alone! I’ve had lots of videos on motivation in the past, but this one is different.

As you may know, I like to collect data from all my clients in a process I call the Habits Graph. One client, in particular, wanted to track how many times she works out each week. When we first put this on the graph, we had no idea how useful it would be!

We also tracked how motivated she feels each week to do her homework. This past week, when we filled out the Habits Graph together, we noticed some interesting trends. You might be able to guess what they are! Watch the video to see if you’re right.

Hey there, don’t have time for the full video? No worries, here’s a short summary:

So as I was working out today I was thinking about a conversation a client and I had about the link between working out and her level of motivation to do her homework. For the last three weeks we’ve been collecting data, and as any of you who have worked with me before know, I love to collect data with students to help them understand their habits better. So over the last three weeks, we’ve tracked how many times she’s gone to the gym each week and how motivated she’s felt to follow through on her homework.

Why Working Out Helps You Be a Better Student, Motivation, Physical Activity, Workouts, Gretchen Wegner, Anti-Boring Approach to Powerful STudying,

As you can see there is definitely a pattern here. In the first week, she went to the gym 4 times and felt a 7 out of 10 in motivation.  In the second, she went 0 times and had only a 2 motivation. And in the third week, she went to the gym 3 weeks and felt a 5 in motivation. And while the pattern is pretty noticeable, it really shows when you see it on a graph.

Habit Graph, Physical Activity and Motivation, Working out and Motivation, Body and mind,

Isn’t it fascinating how almost perfectly the shapes match-up? For this student, and for most students in general, being physically active greatly helps with motivation. Our bodies and brains are inexorably linked, so if you aren’t being physically active in a way you enjoy then your probably hurting your ability to do your school work and your motivation.

And if you’d like to learn more about the Habits Graph, or feel you could use some help getting your homework done each week, please consider checking out my course, The Anti-Boring Approach to Powerful Studying.