Let’s face it: studying can be a real bore at times. After all, who wants to hit the books when you have spent all day at school or work? No, it would be far better to throw those books under the desk and crash out in front of the television for a few hours… So if this sounds like you most nights of the week, read on for 5 tips: how to be motivated for study!
Motivation is a tricky thing and a lack of motivation is usually linked to a loss of focus, direction, and self belief: “what is the point in studying if I am stupid / never going to get a decent job anyway / don’t know what I want to do with my life…”
Often, what motivates one person is ineffective for another, so the key to increasing your levels of motivation for study involves a good insight into what makes you “tick” as a person. Until you have such an insight, you may well continue to spend more time watching MTV than actually writing those essays…
5 tips: how to be motivated for study
1. Harness your competitive spirit. Unless you are blessed with an IQ of 175, you are going to have to study in order to ace those exams, so instead of slacking off every evening, consider how much better your fellow student’s grades will be unless you put some effort in and study a lot more than them.
2. Rewards: make a promise to yourself that if you put in a certain amount of study time, you are entitled to a small reward. The reward does not have to be anything major—even a nice cup of coffee and a biscuit will do the trick—but don’t forget, you are not allowed to slack off until you hit the target!
3. Set achievable goals: look forward and think long and hard about what you are trying to achieve by studying. If you are still at school, you are probably studying for exams that are your passport to further education, but if you are taking night classes while working, you could be working towards a work related qualification. But whatever the goal, always keep it in mind and focus on this when you feel motivation slipping.
4. Enlist support from friends and family: if motivation is a problem, confide in friends and family and enlist their support. This could involve arranging for a friend to come over and help you study—studying together is often far more rewarding and motivational, especially if it is a difficult subject. Families can also be supportive by limiting the number of distractions likely to prevent you from studying effectively.
5. Keep it all in perspective: students often complain that the subjects they are forced to study bear little relevance to real life. But this is not true as most of what we learn in school is a foundation for what we learn later in life, so always keep things in perspective and remember that studying is a passport to your chosen future career!
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