What motivates you to study and try your best

[pans]

Hey,
Just a Yr11 procrastinating and wondering how do u guys motivate yourself to study.

[Coolmate]

Hey,
Just a Yr11 procrastinating and wondering how do u guys motivate yourself to study.

Hey pans!

Here is what I suggest/ do:

1. Motivational Videos/ Podcasts
I really, really suggest watching motivational videos on YouTube (I will link some YouTube channels below). Throughout Years 11 and 12 I listened to so many, that it was the only thing recommended for me on YouTube . I found that by watching these videos, I felt inspired to study and saw school as an opportunity to self improve and further myself.

You could listen to these while traveling to school (which personally motivated me for the day) or even just walking around
Motivation2Study - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8PICQUP0a_HsrA9S4IIgWw
HESMotivation - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3gWv-0A3qEeFBJESlsJa0g
ProjectElon - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl2d5Qgfcactbzkfpp0ayug
Eric Thomas - https://www.youtube.com/user/etthehiphoppreacher
Ed Mylett - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIprGZAdzn3ZqgLmDuibYcw

2. Chunk Your Study
Not only will chunking your study feel like less work, but it will also help content retention in your memory, motivating you to continue with studying. You could say for example, "I can complete this topics worth of notes today, and then move onto another subject". Doing this daily will eventually build up to a massive amount of work completed, yet it felt like minimal work, as you chunked it.

For Example, I had to write a 2,400 word essay this week for a Cybersecurity unit and I just told myself to start by writing the first couple of sentences and then see what happens. It turned out that once I did that tiny bit of the task, I wanted to continue writing and all these ideas and examples just flowed. Also, I used the chunking method with this assignment too, for example, I told myself that each day I will complete about 500 words and then move onto other study, and it worked.

Goodluck with your studies
Coolmate

[lm21074]

Hey pans!

Being motivated to study is hard. I would say discipline generally outweighs motivation as a driving force to study because we're not going to be feeling on the ball to study when we want/need to. In saying this though, doing too much study or forcing yourself to study when you're feeling like complete shit isn't very helpful and it can make you feel worse. So, it might be helpful to brainstorm the reason(s) why you aren't feeling up to studying. Then, try to find solutions to these problems.

Some possible reasons (and some solutions)

- Feeling overwhelmed with the amount you have to study in the amount of time you've got --> make a list of everything you need to do and tackle it, set small goals for study sessions. Once you've made a plan, countdown from five and then start working! Even just telling yourself that you're going to work for five minutes can be helpful. If after five minutes, you've had enough, then stop working and try again another time. A lot of the time, unfinished tasks can occupy your mind (I think there's a whole phenomena behind it haha), so you may end up working for longer than five minutes. Also, finding study strategies that work for you can make studying more engaging and maybe even fun.
AN has a wonderful database full of articles to do with studying and school, which you can access here.

- Not understanding the content --> shoot an email to a teacher at school / post in the question thread(s) on ATAR Notes of the relevant subject(s)

- Feeling like you won't do the work perfectly so might as well not do it at all --> this is a hard one but the sooner you do the work, the more time you have to edit it and make it to the standard you would like it to be.

- Finding the work boring or other activities are more interesting --> try blocking distracting websites using a website blocker (e.g. StayFocusd on Chrome, Forest on mobile), and keep devices like gaming consoles away from the area that you study in. Do the activities that you are doing to procrastinate as rewards for studying (which is difficult to keep up, but quite effective - don't be too harsh on yourself though)! Setting timers to do work can be quite helpful as well as you've set an intention to only work for X amount of minutes. Try to experiment with how much time works for you and remember not to spend too long studying and to take breaks in between study sessions!

- Too tired or can't concentrate due to lack of sleep / water / food / certain nutrients / other causes --> take a nap if naps are your thing / drink some water / have some food / see a GP for medical advice

- Physical / mental health reasons --> speak to a GP or mental health professional.

- Feeling burnt out --> take a break!

Another tip: think about any end goal(s). Is there a certain uni course you want to get into / do you want to feel proud of the effort you've put in / understand a subject better? It might look a bit hazy, but try to think about how doing well on that SAC / exam will help you achieve your goal(s). If you are in Year 11, studying for your SACs can assist you in finding what study techniques work for you and you can carry these over to Year 12. Also, for some VCE subjects, the 1&2 knowledge can help with the 3&4.
 

Hope this helps!


Coolmate posted whilst I was typing, so there may be some overlap!

[juicebox_441]

Hey,
Just a Yr11 procrastinating and wondering how do u guys motivate yourself to study.

☆ Thinking about my future! I have so many things planned for the future and I am the type of person who stays up late at night to either study, watch memes, or just plan and think about my future. It can be really daunting and emotionally draining if you think too much negative stuff; so I try to think of all positive things And then I would tell myself that nothing planned in my head will eventually happen if I don't finish the work that I currently need to do!

☆ "Being weak [or failing at something] only means there is room to grow" -Is one of my favourite quotes from Haikyuu (a sports anime) that is living in my mind rent free lol but it's really motivating and gets me going

☆ Taking a nap. If I feel like procrastinating, I would procrastinate for a bit and then just doze off to sleep. After I wake up I feel like my energy tank has been refilled so then I casually get back to work lol. Trust me, works all the time 👍
 

[mabajas76]

The time a teacher sat me down and said I was too dumb to do something that I wanted to and I should give up cause imma struggle in it.... jokes on her I'm acing it now mf.

[geraldwkoonce]

Actually, it all depends on the school and on the teacher. For students to be motivated it should be done by the school, at least in the elementary grades. Not very often you can meet an 11-year-old boy who is making plans for the future and looking for motivation to study, although if this question is already relevant at this age - I'm sure he will find a reason to study well. But just the lack of motivation, not interesting teaching - this is a common phenomenon for many students, because of which they lose interest in the material. Motivating students to learn is the most important challenge in the classroom, and schools are trying to find new ways to address it.