How would I go about boosting my motivation?

Dear Ian,

This is a complicated question, I would say that you need to look at your schedule and look at what is taking your time. I would also want to have you look at what barriers are preventing you from completing work when you currently have the time to do so; are you tired, have you been attending to your basic needs. There are multiple factors that may be involved in this lack of motivation. I would say that talking to a therapist to explore these possible barriers and topics would be beneficial for you.

One thing to keep in mind is that motivation follows action; we cannot create motivation out of nothing.  Based on the small amount of information presented in this question, I would suggest planning out small and manageable tasks for yourself to complete when you have the time to study. Doing small tasks can in turn increase your feelings of motivation and show yourself that you are capable of completing these tasks. 

Here is how to start working on small tasks: look at the assignments that you need to complete and the timeframes. Once you have completed this task, then you need to select one task from the list to complete when you have those times to work on the school work. Once you have completed a task then you will be able to look at that accomplishment and you will be able to focus on your ability to complete tasks, which you can then use to increase your motivation to complete other tasks. This skill works due to our natural ability to learn new skills. As we get older however, we can become stuck in routines and patterns of behavior that do not provide the same level of difficulty which can reduce feelings of mastery and motivation as well. 

This is a DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) skill called building mastery, a therapist who has experience with DBT can help explain this skill in more depth and also provide more skills that are also supportive of your goal of increasing motivation as well.