I'm 20 years old and in university as well. I've got a few habits I've developed that have helped a ton with my motivation and productivity. Follow these tips and I promise you'll feel more productive and motivated towards the things you're passionate about.
1. Waking up earlier and getting proper sleep. I've found my peak hours of productivity and motivation are early in the morning. Most weekday mornings I'm working by 5:30. By 9AM I've finished most of my important work for the day, which is great cause of classes, other commitments, etc. Getting so much done before anyone else is even awake is a fantastic feeling, and is definitely a feedback loop of sorts, i.e. once you feel it once you're hooked and want to do it every morning.
It's kinda funny how many "entrepreneurs" on social media always talk about how "cool it is" to only get 4 hours of sleep a night so they can "grind" more... It's literally the most destructive thing you can do to your body and productivity. Of course, there are the occasional nights where you have a project deadline or want to get a new ad campaign live and have to sacrifice your sleep... But it's so difficult to be productive long-term when you aren't getting proper sleep. For me, 6-7 hours a night is perfect and allows me perfect mental clarity in the mornings. Any more, and I feel sluggish. Any less, and I have gnarly brain fog for the first half of the day. But don't sacrifice sleep. I assure you it will come back to bite you long-term.
2. Healthier diet. I've noticed that eating less sugar and red meat has also helped me feel less sluggish and reduced my "brain fog" at certain hours of the day. It's hard to feel 100% when your body is just constantly trying to process all the shit we eat (Especially in university trust me lol). I throw a couple superfoods in my morning smoothies too just cause why not lol.
3. Exercise. Working out helps keep the blood flowing and actually, believe it or not, gives me more energy and motivation to work. Just have to go at the right time (late afternoon for me).
4. Finally, dopamine fueled habits. I've significantly reduced my social media/phone usage significantly and other habits that give you hits of dopamine (drinking/smoking). In the case of social media, they're constantly bombarding you with sensational information that causes dopamine to be released in your brain. That's one of the reasons why social media is so addictive (if you don't believe me, just look up social media and dopamine). Over time, the constant dopamine hits cause your dopamine receptors to become "numbed" to anything sensational and it's harder for you to feel enjoyment from other things you are productive and passionate about (i.e. your business, IM, etc.). This is SO prevalent in university students. If managed properly this is arguably the most powerful tool of them all for productivity.
I've spent a lot of time getting to know my body, trying different things, etc. and I know the feeling of being unmotivated but simultaneously being hungry for success and just unable to execute. If I can help one person with this then I'll be content lol
