How to Motivate Yourself to Study
BY DAVID GUTIERREZ
Every now and then, you’ll run across someone who really loves studying, but for all intents and purposes, these folks are unicorns. They’re fictional creatures that teachers wish existed. For most of us, studying is seen as burdensome, time-consuming, and tedious. But, as college students, we know that it’s part of the contract. Studying must be taken seriously in order to succeed.
5 Tips for Staying Motivated
The issue many of us have is that we can’t stay motivated enough to study for long periods of time. Thankfully, your lack of interest in studying isn’t just something you struggle with. We’ve all been there before. And if you want to pass your classes, you’ll need to leverage some tips for staying motivated.
- Don’t Put it Off
The absolute worst thing you can do is put off your studying until the last minute. When you’re suddenly up against the clock and have to get something done, you get frustrated and lose hope. What you should really be doing is breaking up your studying into small fragments and accomplishing objectives one at a time. This allows you to feel a sense of progress and propels you to the next task.
- Grab a Cup of Coffee
If you’re a coffee drinker, then you’re familiar with the caffeine kick that happens 20-30 minutes after consumption. All of a sudden, you feel like you can conquer the world. Well, who says you can’t enjoy a nice little jolt in the middle of the afternoon or late in the evening? (Let’s be honest, you’ll probably be up all night anyway.)
- Take Short Breaks
If you’re attempting to study non-stop for three or four hours at a time and you find it difficult to stay motivated, you’re just human. The human brain can’t stay focused for long periods of time. Instead, we thrive on working for short periods – such as 30-45 minutes and then taking 5-10 minute breaks. Try this and you’ll find it easier to stay motivated. It also gives you little things to look forward to throughout the day.
- Set a Prize or Rewards
The great thing about exam time in college is that it always precedes a major break. You either have a month-long holiday break coming or an even longer summer break. This means there’s light at the end of the tunnel. One way to motivate yourself is by planning something fun with your friends. Maybe you all want to take a snorkeling trip to the Bahamas? Or perhaps you’re all going to rent a house on the beach? Whatever it is, find a prize or reward, and use it as motivation.
- Focus on the Big Picture
“I see a lot of students that are really overwhelmed and want to throw in the towel at this point in the year in regards to their studies,” says study coach Jane Genovese. “If you’re a student, remind yourself that this won’t go on forever, that everything changes and all you need to do is just keep taking action.”
In other words, think about the big picture. Yes, studying may feel like it’s consuming your life right now, but it won’t be like this forever. You’re studying so that you can pass a class, graduate, and obtain a good job. Remember the end goal.
Make Motivation a Priority
People often complain that they hate studying, and therefore, they frequently fail tests, projects, classes, etc. Quite honestly, this is a load of crap. Nobody loves studying. The difference between people with good study habits and those with bad study habits is that the former find ways to motivate themselves.
How will you find motivation?
David Gutierrez has worked in the field of web design since 2005. Right now he started learning Java in order to get second occupation. His professional interests defined major topics of his articles. David writes about new web design software, recently discovered professional tricks and also monitors the latest updates of the web development.
