Motivation is the emphasis we place when carrying out certain tasks or activities. High and lasting motivation is vital to help us achieve everything we set out to do, especially when it comes to studying.
However, sometimes this is not so easy to maintain; so below we will see several tricks to increase your motivation to study whether during exam times or for quick learning times on your own.
Like most activities or actions that people carry out, motivation is the driving force that makes these activities carried out satisfactorily. This motivation can be both intrinsic, when we do something for the mere pleasure of doing it; or extrinsic, when what motivates us is the achievement of an external reward.
Likewise, motivation can also be affected by our mood. On some occasions, the different situations we go through in our daily lives they condition our mood and therefore this also affects our motivation to perform certain tasks, including study habits.
For example, one day we may wake up very motivated to study, we intend to spend the day in the library, and we feel full of energy. However, during breakfast they give us bad news. The most likely thing is that our mood will decline motivation therefore declines and we lose the desire to go to study.
Furthermore, study habits, like many other activities, need to start from a starting point, planning and a methodology with which we will guide our work. Lastly, and obviously, we need an objective, a goal for which we have decided to start studying.
Usually, our motivation strategies for studying They are conditioned by our perception of the subject or subject, or the tasks we have to do to study. For example, surely we will not perceive studying for a subject with a lot of theoretical material in the same way as for another that is more practical.
12 tips to motivate you when studying
Below we will see a series of tips so that starting a study session is something very attractive and bearable. By following these small steps, little by little they will become habits and your academic performance will improve significantly.
1. Plan the study session
It is essential to start by planning your study session. Choose what subject or subjects you are going to study and try to set a time limit for doing it. A good idea is to make a list of the tasks to be carried out during the session and order them according to their priority. As you progress with the tasks you will feel more motivated and fulfilled.
2. Set small goals
Establishing small goals or objectives in those moments when the study or work material is large **will help us feel fulfilled and therefore keep our motivation high
3. Do the hardest thing first
During the first moments of studying is when we have the most energy. This energy will be consumed little by little as the hours go by, therefore it is much more effective to carry out those activities or study those subjects that are most difficult for us at the moment.
Otherwise, if we leave it for the end It is very likely that we have hardly any strength left and let us perceive this task as much more complicated than it is.
Mobile phone, social networks, internet, television, etc. All of these are distracting agents that divert us from our task and cause our minds to wander, making it much more difficult to concentrate on our task again.
All these distractions only waste a lot of time be less effective and therefore encourage us to develop a feeling of incompetence and demotivation.
5. Rest from time to time
It is highly recommended to take some time off before fatigue takes over. If we leave our task when we can no longer do it, it will be very difficult for us to resume it and, surely, we will do so unmotivated.
The ideal is to take short breaks for 10-15 minutes when we notice the slightest sign of fatigue. This way, we will be much clearer and have more energy to sit down to work again.
6. Reward yourself
Once the work or study session is over, reward yourself with small rewards. If you think you have done them well or that the work has been productive Allow yourself some reward that motivates you
To be able to do it effectively you can follow the following steps:
7. Find the ideal study context
Each person performs better in a specific context and time. Therefore it is necessary know what our ideal schedule and environment is to study.
For example, we can study with music if it is appropriate, study in a place where there are more people such as a library, or on the contrary be totally alone and in silence.
In the same way, it is possible that during the early hours of the morning we find ourselves clearer to work well or, on the contrary, the afternoon is our ideal time to concentrate better.
8. Use libraries
Although, as mentioned above, each person has an ideal study place. Libraries provide us with a quiet space and without the distractions that we may have at home.
Also, if you are accompanied you can set joint goals and resting with another person, something that always makes long study sessions more bearable.
9. Adapt your workspace
Make sure everything works correctly and that you have everything you need to study or complete any pending tasks. Otherwise you will waste a lot of time looking for things and this can make you very frustrated when you see that you cannot advance the work.
Likewise, an orderly and clean workspace will not make us feel more comfortable and at ease.
10. Think about long-term goals
Reflect on what led you to carry out these studies or activities, as well as what you can achieve once you finish them. All this will boost your motivation and it will help you find a reason to continue.
A good option is to leave it reflected somewhere, on a piece of paper or a blackboard that will serve as motivation and can help you remember why you are making this effort.
11. Don’t procrastinate
Procrastination is the “art” of leaving what we don’t feel like doing for another time, replacing it with something lighter and that we want more. Although this sounds good, the reality is that you will always end up putting it off so the best thing is to set out to do it and do it when we still have energy.
You may be interested: “Procrastination or the “I’ll do it tomorrow” syndrome: what it is and how to prevent it”
12. Assume a certain level of stress
Experiencing a minimum level of stress is not harmful, on the contrary it It helps us stay active and attentive to what we are doing.
However, we cannot let this overwhelm us. Although a little stress is good for our performance, too much can make us saturated and the anxiety that accompanies it prevents us from concentrating and doing our work well.
