How can I get motivated to go to school?
Is there a problem that you know of, with getting yourself to school? What is stopping you from going there? Or is something holding you back at home? Have a think about whether there are problems with people, teachers, school friends (or lack of them), someone else, etc. How about schoolwork? Is it too easy, or too hard, or are you perhaps feeling guilty for not completing homework or a project? Have you got exams or tests coming up? Are you having any problem studying for these? Or perhaps they are just worrying you? Do you have a problem with your health, or at home that is worrying you? Maybe a problem with a friend outside school? Perhaps a problem with a parent or guardian is worrying you
Can you identify a problem that you think may be stopping you from going to school? It might be something like going to bed too late, so you are always late in the morning. Or it may be a problem with disorganisation and getting out of the house. Sometimes, the problems are very difficult to identify. We all try to hide away from unpleasantness. Sometimes we do our best to pretend nothing is wrong, even when other people know there is a problem. It can really help to talk to someone you trust if you have a really difficult problem that you feel you can't solve. Not all problems can be solved but sometimes, just talking about them can help. Your school or College may have someone who is trained to help with problems. Some people suffer from depression, also called "Affective Disorder" and this can mean they don't want to talk to anyone, or see people or go anywhere at all. If so, talk to your medical adviser.
Sometimes, there is no real problem you can identify with school, or other people or yourself - it's just that school bores you. This can be a problem for many students. Maybe it doesn't cover the subjects you like or you have to take classes in subjects you dislike? It could even be that you are really a motivated self-starter who does better by working on their own and doesn't need to go to school, except that everyone says you SHOULD be there, including, perhaps, the law!
Think hard about your problems with getting to school and also any good points you can think of and write them down in two lists side-by-side. For instance, on the positive side, you can miss out by not going to school. For instance, just mixing with other people, whether friends, teachers, or others, means you learn how to get on with others and how to recognise other people's feelings and emotions. The give and take of daily talk with your classmates has an important part to play in helping you develop your own take on life and learning to argue logically for your point of view, as well as listen thoughtfully to others. It is also important in learning how to get on with people. Physical exercise is also important, with team games helping you to learn lessons that will serve you well in later work, as well as helping to keep you healthy. These aspects can all be found elsewhere, besides school but that often means making a deliberate effort to seek out opportunities which could already be part of everyday school life. On the negative side, taking subjects you hate or don't understand can be boring.
You now have two lists, one of good points, one of bad points about going to school. Which list is the longer? The plus points or the minus points? If there are more minus points about going to school than there are plus points, then it is no wonder you are finding it difficult to motivate yourself to attend. See if you can turn some of those negative aspects into positive ones, because once the positive list is longer than the negative list, you are unlikely to continue having difficulty motivating yourself to attend school.
It is not always easy to change a bad point into a good one. It means work and it means taking action. Changing can be difficult because it means action here and now, while the future benefit may seem a long time in coming. In order to change, you need to work towards a goal. It also means taking action to reach that goal. A goal has to be something you can measure, something you can touch or count. A goal is not an airy-fairy aspiration such as "improve myself". A goal is something like "improve all exam results by 10%". You can measure that! For instance, if you just want to turn up at school more often, or attend all the classes in a day, you make that your goal. But make some kind of way of measuring it, or you won't know if you have got there. If you have only been going to school 3 days a week, you might want to make your goal 4 or more days a week. You can count that! Of course, just attending school may not be the only goal you want to achieve. Perhaps you want to pass your exams or pass them with a good mark. You might want to hand in homework on time or submit coursework. These are all measurable goals.
Just like in a game of football, if you want to score a goal, you have to keep going for it. Even if you miss your goal or fall along the way, it's not a problem. Just start straight back in again. Each time you set a goal and try all out for it. You are improving yourself. you will reach it eventually.
Make sure your goal is possible. There's no point in setting a goal that you know you will never reach. Some people suggest aiming for the stars and then at least you might reach the moon, but that is really setting yourself up for failure. Aim for a goal you know you can reach but not one that's easy - make sure it is a challenge. Break the goal up into small bits that can be tackled in turn. You will be able to measure each step you take and see how far you have travelled. Every step is an achievement. To climb six flights of stairs in a tall building might seem impossible right now, but you don't have to achieve that all at once. You can start off by climbing one flight of stairs and keeping that exercise up every day for a week or even a month. Then move onto climbing 2 flights, etc. Eventually, you will achieve your goal. And each small goal along the way is also an achievement. If you need to improve your school marks, again you need to set achievable goals and keep at them. This might include a goal of learning 10 spellings or vocabulary words a day. Or it might mean doing an extra amount of homework each day. If you want to improve your people skills, you could join a club and set a goal of attending weekly and taking part in something. If you already belong to a club, you might set a goal of doing some work in the club, such as organising an event.
Set yourself some big goals, break these up into smaller steps and measure and mark your progress. You'll soon find plenty to celebrate as you achieve what you want to do.