You wake up knowing exactly what needs to get done — that assignment, that email, the laundry piling up — but somehow, you just… can’t start. You scroll through your phone, stare at your to-do list, and feel the weight of everything you “should” be doing, yet you just can’t get yourself to do it. Sound familiar? Losing motivation is something we all experience from time to time and is very common for college students. But when it becomes a pattern — when the energy, focus, and drive you used to have seem to vanish — it can be discouraging and confusing. It’s easy to think you’re being lazy or unproductive, but in reality, what’s often happening has much more to do with mental health and executive dysfunction than with willpower. Motivation isn’t just about “trying harder.” It’s a complex process that involves the brain’s reward system, emotions, and energy regulation. When your mental or physical resources are low, that system can easily short-circuit. Common reasons motivation m...