How to Get Motivated to Study

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The ability to get motivated to study can have a very positive effect on
a students study levels and grades. A motivated student will find it
easier to go the extra mile and do all the necessary tasks that need to
be done to assure success. The right motivation will allow students to
study a lot more focused and with more concentration. Motivating
yourself to study is especially helpful when you feel a lack of
motivation or face procrastination during your studies.
The following tips on how to study effectively will help you to become
motivated to study and to beat procrastination!

Effective motivation techniques for students

How to become motivated to study?

I. The motivational power of having a goal!
A very powerful motivational technique students can apply is to set
themselves well-thought-out goals and objectives. These aims could be
either short-term goals(e.g. about an upcoming exam) or long-term
goals (e.g. about the achievements you want to reach during your
studies in the university). Objectives and aims are one of the best
sources of motivation, as they will keep you focused and enable you to
do whatever it takes to accomplish your goals. Furthermore, cleverly
chosen objectives will inspire you to greater heights, allowing you to
reach your true potential. A very positive side-effect of an excellent
goal is that it will drastically increase your perseverance.
Important tips for goal setting:
#1 Write your goals down
#2 Avoid vagueness, negations and necessities

#3 Split complex goals into main targets and sub-goals

#4 State how you intent to achieve your goal
#5 Visualize the accomplishment of your objective and what it
feels like
#6 Gratification: reward yourself once the goal is reached
For more details and an in-depth explanation on the above named
aspects of the best goal setting strategies, visit How to set goals
effectively?

II. Gratification: Reward yourself!

Personally, I dont consider the act of rewarding oneself once a goal
is accomplished as a motivational technique for students per se.
However, the positive effect that a gratification can have on your
motivation to study is stupendous. Hence I have no other choice other
than including the fantastic aspect of gratification into this article. If
you feel the urge to become motivated to study, set yourself a goal (as
discussed in I. The motivational power of having a goal) and determine
an appropriate reward once the objective is accomplished. Its really
that simple, but so effective. By rewarding yourself, whenever a goal is
achieved, your brain elicits positive emotions, leading to the realization
that an effort results in a positive reward. Furthermore, you will
consciously or subconsciously recognize that a high effort will result
in an even more positive gratification. In accord with the
formula {high effort + accomplishment of the objective =
gratification} you start linking hard work with a gratification.
Basically, you will associate upcoming challenges (and necessary
efforts to reach a goal) as another chance to get rewarded (= positive
emotions). Hence you increase your motivation to study which allows
you to maintain your motivation on a high level, until the objective is
accomplished. Also, your willingness to make an expenditure (e.g.
studying) in order to accomplish the objective (e.g. an excellent grade)
will raise, when having a reward in mind that you have desired for a
long time.

Please keep in mind that this method can only stir your motivation to
study as long as you apply the simple rule: {demanding objective =
glorious reward} and {simple goal = small reward}. Also, its
crucial that you DO NOT reward yourself if you fail. If you were not able
to reach the objective as determined you will not get a reward.
Furthermore, the reward should be received once the goal is reached,
not any time prior to this.
Important tips for rewarding yourself to become motivated to
study:
#1 Set a goal & determine an appropriate reward for its
accomplishment
#2 Associate the efforts you take with the positive reward
#3 Ambitious challenges require outstanding rewards
#4 Basic objectives should only be rewarded slightly
#5 Do not allow yourself to receive a reward if you fail
#6 Reward yourself subsequently after achieving the goal

III. Just do it & start studying

I know that whenever you feel a lack of motivation to get started with
studying there are a dozen other activities that sound by far more
interesting than studying. Sometimes you would rather watch TV, an
episode of your favorite sitcom, the new movie that has hit cinemas,
listen to music or hang out with your friends. The simple trick to
overcome this dilemma is to just get going. Start studying, no matter
what. Boost yourself to get started with studying, no matter if you
feel tired or if the teaching material isnt interesting at all. You might
have to force yourself, but it is worth it.
It doesnt matter where you go, as long as you get going.
Why am I recommending to just do it, whenever you lack the
motivation to study? Thats simple. Forcing yourself will allow you to
free your mind from all kinds of negative thoughts about being lazy or
lacking the right motivation. Basically, instead of wasting important
time worrying about being unenthusiastic and lazy (in short: playing
the victim) you take action. You will notice that once youre getting
started just for a couple of minutes, time will fly by and you will get
used to your tasks. Once you got into the habit of studying, it will feel
just natural after a while to remain on your tasks for longer periods of
time.
Important tips to just get started with studying:
#1 Force yourself to do 15-20 minutes of studying for now
#2 Dont agonize yourself by picturing the alternatives to
studying
#3 Try not to procrastinate.
#4 The more you focus on your task, the faster youre finished
#5 Imagine the negative consequences of prolonging studying
#6 If youre tired, get up and jump on the spot, take a shower (or
the
like)

#7 Prevent
smartphone)

distractions

(TV,

internet,

email,

telephone,

IV. One step at a time avoid prolonging

Lets face it, one of the main reasons we students1 are not very
enthusiastic about studying is the fact that we prolong studying for too
long. As a result, we fail to grasp the subsequent teaching and learning
contents, which forces us to become self-tutors that have to teach
themselves everything that was missed. In the end, thats a very timeconsuming method of studying, and a direct result of prolonging. The
alternative is to constantly keep up with your tasks in college or

university on a daily basis. This by all means doesnt suggest that

you will have to study for hours each day. Instead, it means that you
keep going one step at a time, which allows you to grasp subsequent
contents and to stay ahead with your tasks. If it takes you 10 minutes
each day to organize and revise the contents you learned in the
present day, thats fine! That way, you will understand whats being
discussed, thereby you can avoid the accumulation of gaps in
knowledge.

Strategies for motivating yourself to study

At the beginning of your term, you could write down the specific goals
you aim to accomplish (as discussed in I. The motivational power of
having a goal). Consider this to be your letter of motivation for the
upcoming semester. Whenever you feel a lack of motivation, or
disinterest in studying, grab this letter and reassure yourself of the
higher purpose on why you are studying. Realize that you have a
once in a lifetime opportunity; you are young and entitled to study,
so you might as well make the best of it by working and studying hard
and by doing the best you can to get accepted at the destination of
your choice. Otherwise, you might regret it at a later point in time.
V. Music there is no easier way to get motivated
Music is a wonderful way to stir your motivation, as it elicits positive
emotions. If chosen wisely, a song can get you powerfully motivated to
study; it can cause a spirit of optimism which evokes the epic feeling of
being able to do anything. When compared with other techniques to
get motivated to study, listening to music is by far the simplest way to
become excited of studying. As a rule of thumb, you shouldnt opt for
ballads, chill-out or lounge music. Instead, choose songs that you find
motivating and inspiring, songs that immediately energize your whole
body and make you smile from ear to ear. So, grab your headphones,

turn on your stereo equipment and listen to some fantastic songs, for
instance Jorge Quinteros 300 violin orchestra2:

I really hope you like the song and if it stirred motivation then its even
the better! In general, you can listen to any kind of music, as long as it
energizes you, makes you happy and increases your motivation to get
going. In the following, Ive prepared a short list of suggestions for
music that could help you to get motivated to study.
Suggestions of very motivational songs:
#1 Steve Jablonsky Arrival to Earth (Transformers Soundtrack)
#2 Daft Punk The Game has Changed (Tron: Legacy
Soundtrack)
#3 Hans Zimmer 8 Time (Inception Soundtrack)
#4 Paul Engemann Push it to the Limit
#5 Nas ft. P. Diddy Hate me now
#6 Queen We Will Rock You
#7 Phil Collins In the Air Tonight
#8 ACDC Thunderstruck
#9 Blur Song 2
Hopefully I covered a broad range of tastes in music, for further
suggestions see The Best and Inspiring Orchestral Movie
Soundtracks and the Most Motivational Songs.

VI. How bad do you want to succeed?

The foundation of all motivation not only the motivation to study

will make or break with one question, How bad do you want to
succeed?. If you want something bad enough and you really want it
to happen, you are motivated to the hilt. Its as simple as that; you
know it and I know it. The question is, do you really thoroughly want
to succeed in your graduation or study? And if not, why is that? Get to
the bottom of this question and find out what you can do to make you
want to succeed in school, college or university. Focus on the higher
purpose of your education, i.e. getting enrolled in your favorite
college/university, earning a door-opening degree or being recruited by
that top employer you ever dreamed of. If you want to succeed in life
bad enough, some lack of motivation to study will not be a difficult
obstacle to overcome, will it?
Important tips to increase your desire to succeed:
#1 Find out the reason why you are studying!
#2 What is your driving desire to succeed in school, college or
univ.?
#3 Where do you want to be after finishing your education?

VII. A positive approach!

Your attitudes and mindsets about university/college can have a huge
impact on your motivation! Having a mindset like: University is a
place where I face daily anxieties and get mentally tortured by all my

professors is not helpful and will not help you to get motivated. But if
you have a positive attitude towards your studies (e.g. you see
university/college as a chance to gain important knowledge, to develop
yourself and to get ready to start your career) you will be able to boost
motivation, just by having a positive attitude towards it. A positive
approach towards your studies, your fellow students and professors will
help you to keep your academic motivation on a constant high level.
VIII. Negative feelings can kill your motivation!
You will be confronted during your studies every once in a while
with negative emotions such as anger, anxiety and disappointment.
These emotions can decrease your motivation drastically, which means
you will begin to lack drive with negative results for your studies. My
tip for you is to not waste your precious time and energy on negative
feelings/emotions and attitudes towards professors, fellow students or
situations you neither can change nor control. A lot of professors can
be a real pain (see: How to deal with difficult professor personalities).
The constant pressure to perform or the lack in social skills of some
can be very frustrating. However, you are not able to change them, so
anger would be an unnecessary and inefficient reaction towards their
behavior. Pay their negative behavior back with excellent marks,
instead! Anything else is contra productive (for you). The pay back
attitude is also an interesting method for those who want to transform
their negative emotions into even more motivation to study.
IX. True interest!
Another very effective motivational element that helps you to get
motivated to study is your interest in the subject. True interest! If you
are able to develop a true interest in what you are studying it will help
you in becoming very motivated! If you know the difference between a
task you dislike and an assignment you enjoy you know what I mean!
Important tips to become truly interestd in studying:
#1 Get curious about the subject
#2 Read interesting books, magazines or articles on the topic
#3 Team up with others that are interested in the subject

X. Beat procrastination and distraction!

Procrastination or any kinds of distractions can have a negative
influence on your ability to get motivated to study in general.
Therefore it is important that you create a space to study where you do
not get distracted by any means. Just by sitting in a room where you
cannot procrastinate or distract yourself will help you to get started
with your studies. Cut out any kind of distraction (TV, radio, mobile

phone, internet, telephone, etc.) that could interrupt you while

studying.

I hope the above mentioned motivation techniques Have helped you

to understandhow to get motivated to study!