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Thejode asked in HealthMental Health · 9 years ago

I have no motivation at all?

Alright, so this has been going on for 3-4 years now.

I'm in 8th grade, male, and I have a really hard time focusing. Everyone at school calls me the master slacker. I either procrastinate until the bell before something is due, or I'm so lazy I get nothing done.

I hate it. I don't think it's something that runs in our family. My younger sister passes all classes with straight A's despite being in double accelerated math, my dad has a Phd in engineering. My parents think I'm just lazy, but I have yet to convince them it's really hard for me to actually concentrate on ****.

I don't think it's the computer. If I have to do an assignment on it, I'll screw around, just reading random ****. If I'm in my room studying or working on Homework, I'll just stare off into space, thinking about things.

I've tried caffeine pills, but those usually just make me either jittery or hyperfocused on something 100% irrelevant to the task at hand.

I get at least an hour of excersize a day, usually jogging 10 or so miles. My social life is great, and most of the time I'm in a great mood. I've also tried working in a study group, but I'll just talk to everyone or slack off.

So, what the hell? Do I have some kind of learning disorder? ADD? Or am I just a lazy ****? I'd really like to know, because my grades really affect my relationships with my parents.

4 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    9 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    What I did to get thru college with very severe depression was to use this trick - I would study for 45 minutes, then take a 15 minute break and REWARD myself - I'd get a bowl of ice cream, play a videogame, read a novel, call a friend, whatever. Then after the 15 min was up, I'd study another 45 min, then take another 15 min break, and reward again.

    can you concentrate on stuff you LIKE to do? If so, it's probably no mental disorder at all. You just don't like school right now, and have not learned the discipline to work on stuff you don't care for. That's ok, you will get there, if you plug away at it. And we can't all get PhD's in engineering. Perhaps you are more interested in being an auto mechanic, and not taking all that calculus. there is nothing wrong with that. But in school, you ought to give everything a good try, because you don't know what you like until you work at it some. I was going to drop out of math after college algebra, because I hated it, and my high school math teacher talked me out of it, told me I'd LOVE trigonometry, and you know what? SHE WAS RIGHT. I went on to get a math degree.

    PS you can tell your parents the new study skill you are going to try, and maybe there will be a brownie in the deal for you.

    PPS my husband also procrastinates a lot, and for him, it's fear, I think. Like he won't do some plumbing repairs, and why? because you change a connection, and it turns out a whole bunch of pipes are rotten, and your hour long job just blew up into a 2 day job. so he delays and delays and it drives me nuts. Well, maybe you have a reason for procrastinating, too. Think about it.

  • 9 years ago

    Maybe it is stress or you have been studying too hard/need a break? I used to be the same way in school. I was in the honors classes and got very good grades, but I think I burned myself out. I started taking the standard classes and barely doing enough to get by. I have never been the same, but keep in mind I have anxiety and other medical stuff, so it could be due to those things. Maybe you have things on your mind that you don't realize are bothering you. Talk to someone. A doctor, counselor, or therapist. That is the best advice I can give to you. But, I know that if you are trying to keep your parents happy, or anyone else for that matter, and it's not working, that can cause A LOT of stress, especially if you feel like it's not working. That could cause you to 'give up' and stop putting as much effort into things.

    Source(s): personal experience
  • 9 years ago

    My husband has the same procrastination problem and it is NOT laziness.

    Ask your parents to take you to the doctor for your problems. You may not want to go, but it will do two things - answer your questions about what might be wrong and show your parents that you have a serious problem, not just a lazy personality.

  • Anonymous
    9 years ago

    haha master slacker thats a good one

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