study motivation

Hey there! I know that feeling... so I am just going to share some suggestions.

I prefer to study anywhere but home. Especially when I am home alone studying, it is hard to stay focused and concentrated over larger periods. I usually go to a library, some quiet place. You could meet up with some friends there for example. The benefit of going somewhere is that you do not see the pile of books on your desk at home. This way you can relax at home and get a good schedule, without disturbance but with recreation time.

I try to start with something easy where I do not need to focus so much. Like, sorting, color coding, highlighting, plug in some post it notes at points where I got stuck, something like that. It helps me sit down (and avoiding getting up without doing anything) and leads into 'actual' studying.

Some other thing that might help you is writing down what you have done each day. Some study schedules are planned ahead, so that you tend to feel guilty or lazy when you are behind your schedule. If you start of with a blank schedule and a goal (in eg. 2 weeks) you avoid overestimating what you can do on one day and feeling guilty at days where you do not meet these expectation. Plus, at the end you have a list of what you have accomplished so far.

I hope this is understandable and it helps you during your studies!

@northernChild, I've been in the same boat...I don't know if you tried this, but cornell college had this great study method I recommend.

Basically-and I know it can be annoying hearing the same thing over and over, but try looking at the last sections of a chapter. the review page, particularly.

I know in humanities and most science text books they have chapter summaries. just take a glance at it-if you wish that is. are there repeated words or phrases? underline them, and from there look at the key terms.

after that read the first two and last two sentences of each top/sub-topic and maybe write in the books some questions relating to what you read. from there, I'd take a break.

after that go back, and see if you can find more repeated phrases or key topics in the chapter that matches the review.

What helps me, and I'm not saying you should do all of this if you don't wish to, is listening to some good music while I underline key parts as I skim. I learned what my major issue in taking notes or studying is that I read the chapters like a novel-and that discouraged me because it took longer.

also, are you more extroverted or introverted? I find that people who are more extroverted tend to do better with group study sessions. or even just talking about the little or large parts you read with a friend would help.

or as Evechen pointed out not studying at home.

sometimes, when I'm at work or taking public transportation somewhere I crack open a book-you may not want to do that but changing places or talking can help.

or- and I haven't tried this yet. but if you have a phone or a recording device that types text as you speak, i suggest using it for when you skim important parts in the textbook.

I don't know. I mean this is all study strategies and I know it doesn't reflect the motivation part. but, i feel like a lot of the lack of motivation-at least for me- lies in not getting anywhere fast enough with your studies or just anxiety at the work load. sorry if I didn't help. i wish you luck though.

I can definitely relate to this. I've been behind the past week as well, simply because I look to see how long the chapters are before I read and I start off discouraged. Like someone else said, going somewhere else may work. For me, I read them while I'm at work. For some reason I read more there than I do at home. I'm more motivated to get it done while I'm out so that when I get home, I can just relax and do whatever I want. I also start by doing assignments I know won't take long - the easy ones. It gets me motivated to keep doing the other assignments because I start seeing the list of things to do get shorter and shorter.

Hi folks,

I have been very stressed ou lately. I am a senior taking 18 credits, interning, on scholarship, involved in a fellowship program, and involved in campus Orgs. I need to pass all my classes to graduate, and make time for graduate school applications. I feel like my worth is tied to my ability to produce. Usually, I like working in the early AM, but recently I'm too exhausted to get anything done.

I've been trying to eat more and sleep more, but that's not helping me be productive. Any tips or advise?

I manage by setting goals and hold off from things I enjoy until I complete a goal