How did you guys motivate yourself to study ?

[spectroscopy]

Hi guys
i was just wondering what you guys do to motivate yourself to study. its become a huge problem for me (LOL)
i mean, its not that the work is hard, or that im doing anything important, its just hard to sit down and do the damn thing !!! i keep finding excuses
what do you guys do to get your studying done? whats important? a strict timetable? a minimalist room?
any ideas are much appreciated, year 12's starting !!!

[Sergy01]

"The sooner this is done, the sooner you can sleep/eat/internet"

I still slept really late most of the time, but it works. Studying with classmates occasionally can also be good because you can hold each other accountable and stay focused on the tasks. Listen to music if it helps you, or even a podcast or something.

[Aaron]

Definitely agreed with above! I knew there was work there to be done at the end of the school day (mostly due by the following morning) that had to be done, and I figured if I did it straight away, I could have the rest of the night off to do whatever. It's certainly a factor - the more you put off doing the work, the longer it's going to sit there, and it has to be done!!

I don't think a strict timetable personally is the way to go - but everyone studies differently so my opinion probably doesn't reflect many others. I remember countless times I was hounded by my co-ordinator at school to plan using a timetable. It worked for some, but it didn't work for others. I think you need to find a way that best suits you.

Do you like studying alone or do you prefer studying with friends/others? Study at the library or somewhere where temptations are removed - as a suggestion.

I used getting into my university course a motivating factor for me - I knew the amount of work I needed to get into it, and everytime I wanted to give up, I'd say to myself that I needed to do this to succeed.

[MagicGecko]

I stuck several papers containing the number (99.95 ATAR, 50 in every subject FTW!!!  lol highly unrealistic but I figured the higher I aim the better I will achieve, if I aimed for 50 I would probably get in the 40's, but if I aimed for 40 or so I would probably get high 30's etc) in places that I knew I would lose motivation (i.e study desk, TV, loungeroom, toilet, even on my dogs collar lol).
Also its nice to have a rival in your subjects, this way you will be more competitive and motivated to do better *note: it will most likely prove beneficial if you don't choose a weak rival*.

"The sooner this is done, the sooner you can sleep/eat/internet"

Definitely agree with this! I told my parents to not let me eat until i've finished all my set hw. This backfired in some days when dinner ceased to exist but it taught me to finish my hw early.

[brenden]

Fear and hope.

[Rod]

Fear and hope.

I watch the videos on your motivation lounge for inspiration! It gets me pumped up 

[alchemy]

Begin with the end in mind.

[b^3]

Fear and hope.

Unfortunately that wore off after first year uni....

Seriously though, I guess I work hard because I enjoy what I'm learning. If there is something that I have to get done by that night then I'll chuck all my books and stuff on my bed so that I had to go do it and can't procrastinate by lying down/sleeping in the meantime. If you do go to leave your desk, put what you're going to need to start studying and on it before you leave. That way when you come back it's all in front of you and there are no excuses not to do it, and you can't procrastinate by organising your desk since it's already in front of you

[BigAl]

with this

and that

[Dejan]

Watching  motivational videos

[Hancock]

Avendator by 40. That's why I study.

[slothpomba]

All approaches to this problem basically boil down to one of two (perhaps three) things:

Carrot

• Reward yourself with things like games, food and breaks
• Think of all the good things studying will bring, how it will change your life in whatever way
• Allow yourself a reward conditional on completing the task, one user here rewards themselves with expensive scotch for every HD
• Keep some kind of visual tally or indication of your prior hard work and the marks that resulted from them

Stick

• Cut down your internet time or other enjoyable activities for a set period if you do not complete your task by a set time
• Visualise how this will harm you or mess up your future plans
• Keep visual reminders of the things you have done wrong and aren't proud of around (this is probably too depressing and too demotivating for most people, i wouldn't do it personally)
• This website called Stickk (really a novel idea)

Of course, there's also intrinsic motivation within yourself. Arguably, not wanting to do it for want of reward/good consequences or fear of punishment/bad consequences but just wanting to do it for the sake of it, for the love of it. Here, the work is its own reward and i guess its kind of the ideal state to transform your thinking into.

Procrastination is its own seperate issue from motivation, often, its not really lack of motivation that is the prime contributing factor for procrastination. It's many things: Poor planning and time management, belief that you are not able to complete or do well in the task hence you don't start, not attempting to even start for some reason or another. Some obvious ways to fix this are better planning and time management, realising that even attempting the task is much better than never doing it and finally, just making a start, no matter how small. That last one is what really kills me, getting started, once i do, the momentum kind of builds.

[walkec]

What motivates me to study mainly is to prove a lot of people wrong who have second guessed me over the years. At school, I never really get selected for any high achievers programs, speaking at special events or whatever because I'm not some good student who also happens to be a teachers pet. So I guess I just want to show everyone what I'm capable of and to also prove to myself that I can actually work hard and achieve whatever I want.

In terms of motivating myself to actually study, the whole mentality of the sooner it get's done, the sooner I can do other things certainly rings true with me. I like to watch a few TV shows that air at about 8:30 a few nights a week, so I tell myself I can't watch the show until I get what I need to done. Or I can't go for a run until I do maths exercises, or write that essay or whatever.

[Limista]

I think if you have a balance, then you'll automatically be motivated to study. By 'balance' I mean:

* eat good, healthy food frequently. Nourishment is really important. What you eat = how you think, or as the proverb goes, "You are what you eat".
* socialise at least once a week (excluding recess/lunchtimes at school) with the family/relatives. Maybe not your friends - interact with people of different ages and broaden your mind. It's also quite refreshing to absorb the outlook of people who aren't teenagers like your friends.
* exercise/sport. Can't stress this one enough. The endorphins after a good training session or run in the morning pulled me through year 12. Aim for about 1 hour a day of exercise.
* help out around the house. Realise you aren't living in a hostel; you're part of a family, so it's your duty to contribute to the house. Do a few chores everyday and be polite to your parents. They undergo a lot of stress as well when their kids are in VCE with all the car-pooling and other stuff. I guess helping the parents keeps them happy and at the end of the day, that's what you want at home - a happy, peaceful environment for you to work in.
* do all the mandatory things at school. Don't skip the house events or celebrations or sports stuff just because you're in VCE.

^ if you do all that stuff, you'll be in the right, focused frame of mind to study when you need to. Procrastination is then no longer an issue. 

[T-Infinite]

I've heard this from a speaker at Monash, he said that if you want to be motivated to read a textbook or something...
Simply place a gummy bear on each section/paragraph, you can ONLY eat the gummy bear once you reach the end of that section/paragraph! Essentially, it doesn't have to be gummy bears.. it could be jelly beans, m&ms, skittles...etc.

LOL, I thought it was a funny idea.