12 EASY STEPS TO STOP BEING TIRED AND START STUDYING
Is it sometimes difficult for you to study? Would you rather watch TV, a movie, listen to music or chat to friends? Do you like to study with friends but they are busy?
The simple trick is: just start studying!
Here are a few tips to get started studying when tired, lazy or just not interested:
· Say to yourself: ‘I will just do 10-15 minutes of study now’.
· Do not think about what you have to study. Do not worry about it.
· Wake up your body by splashing cold water on your face.
· Get a drink and go to your study area. Getting up to get a drink after you start studying will disrupt your 15 minutes of study.
· Jog or jump on the spot for one minute. Do a few stretches eg stretch you arms and hands up to the sky then gently bend over to try touching your toes. Breathe deeply while you stretch. By now you should have more energy and feel relaxed.
· Put your mobile phone on silent. Shut down all chat groups and email on your computer while you study. Avoid getting distracted.
· If you need to, write a ‘to do’ list of three things you will study.
· Slowly take a deep breath in and then breathe out. Relax and start studying with a smile on your face!
· If you are writing by hand, enjoy it by writing with your favourite pen.
· Think, ‘I will just study for 10-15minutes’, and do it. You will find that 15 minutes of study time passes quickly. You will notice that studying for 30 minutes, 45 minutes or more becomes easier and natural!
· 11.If you are at the library, get curious about your topic by finding some interesting books on the topic you need to study. Sit near others who are studying seriously. This can make you want to do the same! Do some stretches before you sit down. Most people are too busy studying to watch you stretch!
· This is very important: Be happy and grateful for your study today!
How to Get Motivated to Study
Have you ever sat down with your book and stared at the same words until you fall asleep? You know you should study but you just don't feel like it? Hopefully these ideas will help you get motivated to study.
STEPS:
1
Find a quiet place with little distractions, such as a room, a library, or a living room or at a cafe.
2
Get paper, pens, etc.
3
Have all your stuff there. You don't want to run round the house getting them while studying.
4
Think of the good stuff before starting such as what you will achieve by doing this.
5
Decide on some colleges/schools you might like to go to.
6
Though studying is sometimes boring and hard, think of what you will achieve in your end results, that will always keep you pushing yourself to study.
7
Don't think about that level you are supposed to complete or where you should be, just sacrifice your fun time for awhile to study, it's hard but like I said in number 6, it always pays off in the end.
TIPS
Do not procrastinate, i.e. don't wait until the last minute to do a long project or finish a book for class. If it is assigned Monday and due Friday, start on Monday and finish early in the week so you don't have to worry about it at the last minute.
Sometimes studying with a friend can keep you from getting bored. If this person is in your class, its more useful because they can help you with your work. But don't get too distracted by talking to him/her, remember, you're supposed to study!
Be sure to take good notes during class and keep them in an organized binder or folder. Use these to help you with homework, projects and especially upcoming tests. If you're scared you might miss out on a few things the teacher is explaining while writing your notes, just scribble on your notebook with a pencil while listening. You can always erase your pencil writings and re-write it legibly in pen!
If you know you have a test coming up, start studying early.
Get organized! Keep your desk or workplace clean and tidy, have your backpack free of papers you don't need, and keep all your papers in a binder with different tabs. When you are organized, you won't lose assignments, and working will be less painful.
If you need help, DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TALK TO YOUR TEACHER! I know teachers can be intimidating, but they are paid to answer your questions. They WANT to help you, and if you ask them questions, it will help you in the long run because they know you are motivated and want to do well in their class. Don't worry about what other friends might think. It's better to know your stuff than to act all cool and showy and act as if you understand.
Get a tutor! Tutors can be fun and they definitely help in subjects you are not too keen on. If a tutor is too expensive, you could always ask a family member with good knowledge of the subjects you are weak on to help tutor you.
Just get started! Sometimes that can be the hardest part. Just read one section or chapter. Just do one or two problems. If you start early in the week, the assignment will pass by without undue stress.
Remember to drink lots of water to keep yourself hydrated! People are more productive when they're hydrated.
Study in comfortable clothing. You don't want to keep pulling up your trousers all the time - Keep hair out of your face..
If you're easily distracted, face a wall.
WARNING:
Don't cram or otherwise study a load of material at once. Do an hour with breaks in between.
If you are really into music, do not listen to it because you will be so focused on the song you will not be able to focus on studying.
Try not to think of things you would rather be doing. This will make you want to give up thinking that you don't need to be studying.
Be self disciplined at all times.
5 ways to motivate yourself to study a boring subject and/or complete a project
Having just completed my honors thesis (which turned out to be the hardest, most stressful and rewarding project I have ever done) I am happy to say that there are many ways to motivate yourself, but it may involve some pain, frustration and overcoming mental barriers to begin with (at least this was the case for me!).
Unfortunately, there are no quick and easy solutions to have you feeling totally inspired and energized about studying a subject or completing a project that may not be all that inspiring/interesting at times.
Here are some of the things you can do to motivate yourself to get on with the work and study that needs doing.
1. Make every thought serve you and move you forward
During the initial phase of my honors project I spent a lot of time in my head but it wasn’t time well spent. I would worry constantly about whether I’d be able to pull this project off, whether I’d get the response rate I needed, how I’d start writing it, etc.
In hindsight, this was a complete waste of time. It was only towards the end of my project that I started to be more effective with my thinking. I heard Dr Sharon Melnick state that we have 60,000 conscious thoughts a day. Now for those of you who just thought ‘What’s a conscious thought?’ that’s exactly what a conscious thought is, you just had one! Dr Sharon Melnick states that each of these thoughts are going to either be bringing you closer towards achieving your goals or further away from your goals.
After hearing this I decided to carefully watch what I was telling myself. I replaced thoughts such as ‘I can’t do this’ and ‘My writing sucks’ with ‘I’m making progress’ and ‘I’m doing the best I can and my writing will evolve and get better. This is a work in progress!’.
2. Visualize yourself taking action
Studies have found that visualization makes a difference to professional athletes’ performance, so why don’t we as students practice doing it as well?
Practice visualizing yourself taking the actions that need to be taken (e.g. see yourself typing up your work on your laptop, organizing your files and being able to access articles/materials with ease).
This simple strategy helps you to stay focus on what needs to be done. As Jesse Jackson said
“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it”.
3. Small actions add up
My mum recently said to me ‘Jane, every action is a cause which has an effect! If you put in the action, you’ll get the results!’. What great advice mum!
Often we can get bogged down and feel overwhelmed/stressed by the enormity of the things we need to do (e.g. writing an 11,000 word thesis). I had to regularly remind myself that even if I wrote only one sentence each day, eventually all those sentences were going to add up to my 11,000 word limit.
But I was really committed to finishing my thesis on time and doing a good job, so in February I set myself a goal to write 500 words a day. This meant that if I stuck to my goal then my draft thesis would be written in 22 days. I said to myself ‘It doesn’t matter how bad the writing is, just type up 500 words’. This was a very empowering activity as it forced me to be in action.
I read somewhere recently that worry disappears in the face of action. So next time you start worrying about an assignment or exams, force yourself to do something, however small it might be.
4. Get some comrades and spend time with them
There’s something really comforting and energizing about spending time with others who are going through or have gone through the same painful experience as you.
I found that it made a huge difference to be able to talk to other students who were doing their honors projects or had completed an honors project in previous years. A lot of these people gave me motivating pieces of advice such as ‘You’re going to feel so good once you finish this project! We know it’s tough but just stick at it!’ as well as practical advice/tips (e.g. “Make sure you don’t leave your referencing until the last minute!”)
I was told by one of my lecturers about this idea of getting together with other honors students and having regular writing sessions each week (where you would all sit around at a table and write for an hour or so). Whilst I never did this for my honors project, I have done this in previous years with friends when preparing for really difficult exams. Getting together with others can turn boring, stressful tasks into fun, playful ones.
5. Remind yourself that this won’t go on forever
I see a lot of students that are really overwhelmed and want to throw in the towel at this point in the year in regards to their studies. If you’re a student, remind yourself that this won’t go on forever, that everything changes and all you need to do is just keep taking action.
Study motivation
Slackness explained
If you're hoping to give yourself a kick up the backside, begin by understanding why you've lost momentum in the first place. Only you can decide what's behind your work-shy attitude, but here are some of the main offenders:
· · Lack of focus - any long term goals, like graduating, don't register
· · Lack of interest - your coursework leaves you cold
· · Lack of drive - you're not good at working under your own steam
Other factors can include stress, depression, the break-up of a relationship, or problems with drink. The key is to highlight what's holding you back, in order to take steps to overcome the situation.
Share the problem
There's no shame in admitting you've been slacking. In many ways, it takes courage to admit the only time you get your head down is when it hits the pillow. What's more, people will want to help. Whether it's a good friend, a course tutor or your student welfare officer, they can help you get back on track. But first, of course, you have to want to help yourself.
Prepare to change
So you've worked out what's gone wrong, and taken steps to sort any underlying issues. With nothing to hold you back, you need to look at ways of firing your enthusiasm. There are several strategies, outlined below, but first establish the willpower to make them work for you. That you've identified a problem with knuckling down is an important first step. It shows you want to make a change. The key now is to build on it.
Motivation made easy
Get the work done properly, and you can kick back with a clear conscience. Here are the only four steps you need to achieve it:
Create the space
Wherever you live, from a hall of residence to shared accommodation, establish an area for you to work. Even if you don't have a desk, restricting a small area for you to open your books will help to create boundaries between work and play.
Ditch the distraction
Consider your working environment, and cut out anything that tempts you from the task at hand, such as the telly or even music. If you just can't work in silence, go for tunes without vocals or anything so complex you feel compelled to shut your eyes and listen. Review the state of your social life too. Instead of going out late through the week, consider staying in until the weekend, when you're free to party with a clear conscience.
Establish a work schedule
often a fear of the workload ahead is enough to tempt many into work-dodging habits. The run up to exams is a case in point, and at no other time is it more crucial for you to get a grip. The way forward is to break up the slog into more manageable sessions.
So, if you're faced with six hours worth of work, for example, why not split it into three two-hour sessions? You'll feel like you've achieved something faster, which is a buzz that'll keep you going.
Create regular breaks and rewardsthere’s nothing like the prospect of a treat to keep you focused, so be sure to pepper your sessions with them. Five minutes free time every hour, for example, will help to maintain that spark and drive. Use the opportunity to leave your working environment, get some fresh air, or do something that is rewarding to you.
Also think on a long-term basis, and line up something really special for getting through your exams or academic year. As for the moment that you graduate, if you can say you've worked your hardest then you'll be guaranteed to enjoy the rest and relaxation that follows.
Effective Study Motivation Tips:
Finding it hard to get study motivation? Have a big test coming up but just not motivated to study? Fallen back on your classes but still not able to get yourself to pick up the books?
Well you’re not the only one feeling this way. Whether you are currently a student studying in school or an adult picking up new knowledge, all of us have experienced lack of motivation to study. This is especially so when the subject you’re studying interests you as much as watching paint dry!
Fortunately, with will power, determination and some simple tips & techniques, anyone can turn their dislike into study motivation.
Studying can be fun, interesting and exciting. Never label studying as “boring”, “painful” or “uncomfortable”. That way you’ll be pre-framing yourself negatively even before you start. You’d have lost the battle before it even began. In fact, don’t even call it a battle.
Studying is a meaningful journey of discovery.
Useful Study Motivation Tips
1. Be Curious – get interested in the subject you’re studying
When you’re interested in the subject you’re studying, things become so much easier. You’ll be naturally motivated to learn and read about it. So how do we become interested in what we’re studying? We adopt a curious attitude.
As long as you’re curious enough, anything can be interesting.
Question it, use your imagination, get inside the subject, understand what makes it tick, find out how you can apply it in life, read real life case studies. There are many ways to make a subject interesting when you adopt a curious mindset.
2. Set a schedule and study at the right time
Set a study schedule everyday. It’s good to plan your day in advance. Set a specific time for studying, and a time for playing or relaxing. This way, you won’t worry about ‘missing’ your fun. You may be studying hard now, but you know that later on you’ll be enjoying yourself. So this keeps you focused on studying in the present.
Here’s a tip: When planning your day, it’s always good to study first and have fun later. If you think you should watch some TV or relax a little first before ‘getting down to it’, you’re making a big mistake. Doing that will only make it harder for you to start studying. The first step is always the hardest.
Also when setting study schedules, schedule your studying time at the time of the day where there will be the least distractions. Also choose the time when you’re at your peak state to study. This means obviously not studying after heavy meals (where digestion will make you sleepy) and times where you’ll be tired (ie. late nights).
3. Get started – 5 minute challenge
The hardest part of doing anything is getting started. The first step is always the toughest. After you got that out of the way, it’s all downhill. This is because once you’ve got momentum; it’s easy to keep it going. So it’s vital that you get yourself going in the first place.
This study motivation tip can help you get started. This is what you can do, whenever you’re not motivated to start studying, just plan to study for 5 minutes. That’s it, just 5 minutes. Tell yourself that you’ll be studying seriously for 5 minutes then you’ll stop.
Usually, what happens is after the 5 minutes are up, you would have been well into the swing of things that you’ll want to continue studying longer. Yeah that’s right. It’s quite a cool way to ‘trick’ ourselves. The key here is to make sure that for those 5 minutes you are really studying 100% and not dreaming or getting distracted by other stuff.
4. Stop/start at the fun part
When having to stop for breaks, meals or other activities, plan to stop when you’re at a fun or easier part of the subject. The parts that is more interesting and enjoyable to you. This way, when you continue to study later, it’ll be much easier to get started because you’ll be starting at the fun parts.
5. Remove distractions from your surroundings
Obviously this is very important for your study motivation. When you got the TV, phone, computer, bed, magazines etc nearby, you’ll be easily tempted to throw your books aside. Try to remove as many distractions away from you as possible.
You don’t need strand yourself on an island with only your books. Just make sure that any of these distractions are not near you.
When the remote is right next to you, you’re more likely to pick it up. Same with your phone, laptop etc. But if you have to walk all the way across to another part of the house to watch TV chances are you’ll be less likely to do it.
6. Set a study area – make it as conducive as possible
The environment can play a big part in your study motivation. Imagine studying in a dimly lit, hot and stuffy room with loud music on playing in the corner. Or, in a quiet room, bright, with the right temperature and good air ventilation. Which room would make you feel more motivated to study?
If possible, have a regular study area. Make sure it’s conducive like being well lit, has ventilation, quiet and so on. Place all your notebooks, stationary, reference books in your study area. Make your study area as conducive to studying as possible.
7. Put yourself in a strong motivated state
Take 5 minutes before you start studying to put yourself into the proper state. Turn off any music, sit down, clear your mind and take deep breaths. Say a prayer or do some visualizations and light meditation. Visualize yourself happily studying and clearly understanding what you have learned.
Other methods include pumping yourself up by saying encouraging words and making a fist, and also by using NLP techniques such as anchoring and sub modalities.
8. Set Goals
Setting goals will give you more motivation. When there’s a target to aim at, we’ll be more determined rise up to the challenge and push ourselves to achieve it. The sense of satisfaction from the achievement is also a good confidence booster, and this will further cultivate a studying habit.
Set goals such as for the number of sections / chapters you plan to cover within a period of time, your target grades to score in tests and others.
9. Reward yourself
Finally remember to reward yourself for the job well done. If you’ve stuck to your schedule, didn’t let yourself get distracted and successfully achieved the goals you set out, you deserve a reward for that.
Always reward yourself immediately. It doesn’t even need to be anything major, just simple things like enjoying an ice-cream sundae, watching your favorite TV show or calling friends up to chat. Of course, also give yourself big rewards whenever you have major achievements.
Final thoughts…
Remember, the toughest part in studying is to get started. As long as you are determined and push yourself to pick up the book, half the battle is already won. With willpower, determination and using the study motivation tips above, getting study motivation shouldn’t be a problem anymore!
MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES....
HERE ARE SOME QUOTES TO MOTIVATE YOU:
· · “A lot of us would like to move mountains, but few of us are willing to practice on small hills.” ~ Anonymous
· · “The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.” ~ Chinese Proverb
· · “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” ~ Albert Einstein
· · “Recipe for success: Study while others are sleeping; work while others are loafing; prepare while others are playing; and dream while others are wishing.” ~ William A. Ward
· · “The best way to finish an unpleasant task is to get started.” ~ Anonymous
· · “Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” ~ Napoleon Hill
· · “You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
· · “Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” ~ Conrad Hilton
· · “Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.” ~ Jules Renard
· ·
“If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.” ~ Nora Roberts
· ·
“Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you’re going to do now and do it.” ~ William Durant
· ·
“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” ~ Carl Bard
· · “You’re never a loser til you quit trying.” ~ Anonymous
· · “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” ~ Thomas Edison
· · “Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.” ~ David Bly
· · “Strength of mind is exercise, not rest.” ~ Alexander Pope
· · “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” ~ Robert Collier
HERE ARE SOME MORE QUOTES TO MOTIVATE U....
“Do It Once, Do It Right. Get It Over With!”
~ Nan, CPA Forum member
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work learning from failure.” ~ General Colin Powell
“Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.” ~ David Bly
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” ~ Robert Collier
“A lot of us would like to move mountains, but few of us are willing to practice on small hills.” ~ Anonymous
“The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.” ~ Chinese Proverb
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” ~ Albert Einstein
“Recipe for success: Study while others are sleeping; work while others are loafing; prepare while others are playing; and dream while others are wishing.” ~ William A. Ward
“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” ~ Napoleon Hill
“You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” ~ Conrad Hilton
“Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.” ~ Jules Renard
“If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.” ~ Nora Roberts
“I’m not telling you it is going to be easy — I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it” ~ Art Williams
“The most painful thing to experience is not defeat but regret” ~ Leo Bascaglia
“Tough times never last, but tough people do.” ~ Robert H. Schuller
“Doubt whom you will, but never doubt yourself.” ~ Christian Nestell Bovee
“When I was young I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures, so I did ten times more work.” ~ Bernard Shaw
“Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you’re going to do now and do it.” ~ William Durant
“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” ~ Carl Bard
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” ~ Thomas Edison
The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” ~ Elbert Hubbard
“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. it’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s when you’ve had everything to do and you’ve done it.” ~ Margaret Thatcher
It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.
Epictetus
Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet and sounding-line, and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? I was like that ship before my education began, only I was without compass or sounding line, and no way of knowing how near the harbor was. “Light! Give me light!” was the wordless cry of my soul, and the light of love shone on me in that very hour.
Helen Keller
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.
Abraham Maslow
You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.
Clay P. Bedford
Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism.
David M. Burns
A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.
Henry B Adams
Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
Mark Twain
The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.
Gloria Steinem
Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.
James Baldwin
Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.
Will Durant
The difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.
Tom Bodett
Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.
Chinese proverb
If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn’t need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.
Jim Rohn
People learn something every day, and a lot of times it’s that what they learned the day before was wrong.
Bill Vaughan
Education cost money, but then so does ignorance.
Claus Moser
What sculpture is to a block of marble
education is to the human soul.
Joseph Addison
Education makes a people easy to lead
but difficult to drive: easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.
Peter Brougham
Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.
Plato
It is in fact a part of the function of education to help us escape, not from our own time — for we are bound by that — but from the intellectual and emotional limitations of our time.
T.S. Eliot
If people did not do silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.
B.B. King
you are a genius, love u...
ReplyDelete