Staying motivated while you study can be difficult, which is why we’ve come up with 5 tips that will help you stay motivated when studying for tests and exams.
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Why Do I Lack Motivation to Study?
The reason why you may lack the motivation to study is more complicated than you may think— and you’re definitely not alone. Â
There are many reasons why students lose the motivation to study during tests and exams, which may include any one of the following:
- a lack of support from teachers, professors, family members or friends
- physical, mental or personal problems
- a lack of resources
- knowledge gap in the subject being taught or topic you are studying
- lack of interest in the content you are studying
- distractions and motivation to do something else besides studyingÂ
- Technology (going on social media, watching TV, streaming Netflix)
With that said, it’s important to understand that it’s not technology that leads to demotivation in students; it is the way that technology is utilised that is the cause of concern.
Don’t worry though, we’re here to help. In this blog, we’ve listed 5 effective strategies that you can use to help you stay motivated while you study.
5 Effective Strategies to Help You Stay Motivated to Study
There are many ways stay motivated while you study for your tests or exams. Staying motivated is incredibly important, as it allows you to achieve your goals and get the marks that you truly deserve.Â
With that said, here are 5 effective strategies to help you stay motivated to study:
1. Evaluate Why You Are Not Motivated to Study
Before you can get motivated to study for tests or exams, you first need to identify why you are not feeling motivated to study.Â
Discover why you are unable to concentrate on your studies and why you always end up procrastinating and lacking motivation. To help you figure out what’s keeping you from staying motivated, here are some of the common issues plaguing students today:
- You lack confidence and think that your academics are beyond your capabilities
- You want to rebel against your teachers or parents
- The internet and social media consumes most of your time
- The topic is too boring for you
Understanding the root of the problem is the first step to getting motivated to study. Once you realise the things that have been pulling you back for so long, you would be in a better position to eliminate them.
Spend some time on these issues and reflect on why something like social media is not worth it in the end. If you are having a hard time with a topic, then don’t leave it for later on — it will crumple your motivation even further and won’t allow you to move to the next topic. Â
If you are studying a challenging course such as data science, leaving out a topic due to low motivation would always do more harm than good. To stay motivated in the long run, focus on the easier topics to start with and then slowly work your way to the more difficult or challenging topics.Â
If you are still feeling a lack of motivation to study, try out different study styles to make studying more exciting or enlist the help of some friends to study with you.Â
2. Take the First Step and Start Studying
One of the biggest hurdles students face when feeling a lack of motivation is also a lack of willpower, meaning they are unable to take that first step, open their textbooks and start studying.Â
Being unable to take the first step and just getting to your study work may lead to procrastination, as you will continuously tell yourself that you will “do it later”.Â
When you start telling yourself that you will study later, this is a sign for you to take immediate action, open up your textbooks and start studying! Taking that first step will silence your inner voice and help you get started, even if you only end up studying a few pages.Â
Another way to take the first step and start studying is to create a study schedule. Creating a study schedule or timetable will prevent you from procrastinating as you will have set times for when you need to study.
With that said, it’s important to practice self-care, and still include study breaks in your schedule, which brings us to our next point.
3. Don’t Overlook Self-care While You Study
Self-care helps you alleviate the stress of studying, which boosts your confidence, and ultimately, results in augmenting your motivation.
Let’s face it, the student life can be stressful, but you need to make self-care a priority, too. For example, if you like going out with friends, then don’t hold yourself back and include those breaks from studying on the weekend (in between your study sessions of course). Â
Making time to have fun will give you something to look forward to while studying, helping you stay more motivated to study as you’ll feel exuberant and well-rested.
Another important part of practicing self-care is to get proper sleep. Try to get at least 8 to 10 hours (and no more) to help you stay well-rested, energised and motivated.
4. Break Down Your Study Tasks to Stay Motivated
You can stay motivated while you study by breaking up your study tasks into smaller pieces. For example, if you originally planned on studying 25 pages per week, you can break it up into studying 5 pages for 20 minutes each weekday.Â
Breaking down your study tasks in this way will make them seem more manageable, and will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed, thus making you feel a lot more motivated.
It’s simple — you need to break down everything in steps, and once you start implanting them, you would realise that everything is finally in place. The main goal is to make things simpler so that they look less overwhelming and more manageable.
5. Create a Study Space to Stay Motivated
Having your own study space will help you stay motivated because it will set a ‘study mood’ in your mind. Basically, you will be able to trick your brain into getting motivated to study simply by being in your study space.
It’s important to make sure that your study space is, firstly, clean and neat and that all your study material is in close proximity to where you’ll be seated. You’ll also need to make sure that you have good lighting and that there are no distractions that will stop you from studying for your tests or exams.
Make sure that you have a comfortable chair and healthy snacks to keep you going during your study sessions. Once you’ve got all of that ready, you’re good to go and ready to start studying!
Get More Study Tips with FundiConnect
FundiConnect is a great resource full of tips, tricks and guides to help you pass your tests and exams! Be sure to check out our study advice section in order to guide you during your assessments.Â
You can also follow FundiConnect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn to get information on all things career guidance, study advice and funding. Â
