5 Simple ways to stay motivated when studying
If you work from home or travel a lot, you know how difficult it can be at times to find a flair to get things done. Don’t reach for the comforter just yet – Have a read of the below tips to get things done!
1. What's your reason for studying?
Before deciding how you’re going to manage your study time, it’s essential to have a ‘why’. Your ‘why’ can be anything you like, as long as it works to motivate you. An end goal of having a qualification is nice, but studying to get extra letters after your name, getting a more prestigious job, or the ability to educate others, is a better drive. Deciding what study success means to you will take time, but depends on what deeply motivates you.
Getting a certificate or higher qualification might lead to getting a better job, which would result in status and more money, which would allow you comfort and ability to take care of those around you, ensuring a more meaningful connection to community. In this case, finding the deeper ‘why’ gives much more motivation than just studying for grade.
Your definition of success must be personal to you, avoid accepting someone else’s definition of success – even if they have similar goals to you, you can’t live to satisfy someone else’s dreams.
2. Your schedule should work WITH you
Procrastinating and putting off important tasks will quickly snowball into bad habits. Apart from the obvious short term delay to your routine, it will become clear that the longer you sit still, the harder it is to get up.
Thankfully, identifying how to add study into your existing schedule can be easier than you think! Finding a reliable routine is a matter of starting small, until the good habit comes naturally.
In just the same way you might idle, mindlessly scrolling on your phone, change that by reading an article on the field you’re already motivated to learn in, organising a study playlist, or creating a list of priorities to get done today.
The same way procrastination turns into a bad habit, so to does making continuous small progress become a good habit. The idea is starting with something so small and mundane it doesn’t feel like effort. If you can think of a real reason why not to do something, think smaller! Reading one page of notes is simpler than the whole chapter, one review question is simpler than an essay, jogging a flight of stairs is simpler than a full workout, etc.
Include study into your daily routine where it makes sense, and you’ll find motivation is like a muscle that needs to be exercised to get stronger.
Finally, consider when the best time of day is to study. Plenty of people prefer to study just before bed, so their mind can retain the notes they read. Other people have the most energy in the morning, so use that momentum to study. Someone else might prefer to read over their notes on a lunch break because their brain works best with food. Find the time of day it feels most natural for YOU to study and start there.
3. Study tips that actually work for motivation
Scrap the To Do list, and plan Priority List. Each morning, write down five or six tasks to get done that day in order of true priority. Do the first one before anything else, then once that’s done, move to the second, and the third, and so on. Your six essential tasks can be study or personal related, anything you absolutely need to get done that day, so long as you don’t multitask!
When learning something new, make sure it’s tied back to something you already learnt. Knowledge builds on top of itself and creating mental ‘connections’ between existing knowledge and new information allows you to remember it more effectively. If you’re able to tie learning material back to your own life it will make the information feel personal to you, and more likely to stick in the brain.
Organising your study materials every now and then is a fantastic way to trick the mind into remembering the content. Physical and visual hints like coloured post-it notes, labels, and different highlighter colours for different topics help build a mind map of the lesson. You can also try making quick summary voice memos of what you learnt – Even if you don’t listen back to them, the idea is to explain a topic as if you were teaching your connected notes to someone else.
Find your own study pace. A great way to start is known as the “Pomodoro Method“, named after an Italian tomato-shaped kitchen timer, which involves setting a timer for 25 minutes to study, then taking a 5-10 minute break. Repeat the process four times, then take a longer break. Adjust the times to your rhythm, as long as there is repetition.
Larger projects should be broken down into smaller tasks. Thinking about a big job in its entirety will quickly overwhelm anyone, so before starting work cut it up into smaller activities where you just have to answer one question, do one action, or discuss one topic at a time. If your brain prefers to work sporadically instead of in a straight line, try writing a broad outline of a project – Map out sections and describe in one sentence what each will be about. Once you have your framework, flesh out ideas a bit at a time.
Stop burnout by keeping your activities varied! If you’re sick of one topic, switch to another. If you’re restless from working on a computer all day, get up and jump around and get a break from your screen. Powering through your work when you’re exhausted won’t give the results you’re looking for.
4. Find balance in work and study
Multitasking might seem faster if you’ve got a lot of things to get through, but quickly fragments your concentration and leads to making mistakes, which will mean you may have to go over your work anyway.
Define your time and space for study – Morning in the library, or afternoon in the backyard, etc. Physically moving your body to a different place is usually enough to switch your brain into study mode, especially if it’s where you usually get work done. Consider local cafes, parks, libraries, etc. If you prefer to study at home, take note of how you feel trying to study in places you usually relax, like the lounge or bedroom, often you’ll find it’s harder to concentrate in places your mind is used to switching off.
Are you getting enough sleep? Are you sure? Sleep is massively important to the retention of memory and effective study. If you’re a restless sleeper or find it hard to nod off, consider ways to lower your room temperature, block out light, and silence notifications at least half an hour before going to bed. It’s also helpful to limit caffeine, sugar, and alcohol an hour or two before sleep.
Have you got some sunlight today? Have you talked to another human today?
5. Remember to reward yourself
Just like deciding on a motivation for study, you should have a similar plan to reward yourself after hitting a goal. Whether you just want to relax by yourself or plan an activity, have a good understanding of what motivates you.
Consider a small reward to work toward, like buying lunch or watching the latest episode of a TV Show, or a large reward like taking a day off or going to the movies. Decide on something you absolutely have to get done, like completing an assessment or finishing a recorded lecture for a small reward. Once you’ve achieved that and you’re still in the mood to study, take advantage of your momentum and keep going, then decide on a larger reward once you’re ahead.
Different things motivate different people, and should always be a way to celebrate your progress. Try to not get discouraged if you don’t hit your goals or get everything done you wanted to. This would be the time to ask what you CAN get done. Maybe you pushed yourself to work when your body wasn’t ready, maybe your took on too much, or maybe some unforeseen interruption happened. Reassess, and plan achievable rewards for what you can do.