Finding The Motivation to Study or Revise

So how can you help yourself to get up and get working, properly and productively?

Set short term goals. It’s a lot easier to work productively if you have a specific, understandable and achievable goal ahead of you. Whilst ultimately, your goal is your exam and getting the result you need or want, you’ll probably find yourself better able to focus on a short term goal. What will you achieve today? This hour? The most productive work you do always occurs in the last 10 minutes of a task – so if all of your tasks are 30 minutes long, rather than several days, imagine how much more time you’ll spend working at your best?

Create a rewards system for yourself! After you’ve finished your task or days work, reward yourself for it. At the same time as you set your goal and time-frame, set a reward for completing it. It could be as simple as letting yourself eat that chocolate bar that’s been staring at you all day, watching your favourite TV show, or even a night off, or night out with friends. Even the simplest thing can really spur you on, and the more you procrastinate, the more you want the reward (especially if it’s food!), so you’ll have to work then, to earn it.

Be strict with yourself. You do need to keep to these self made rules if you want to achieve anything. Really set your mind to it, and don’t let yourself get away with stopping before you’ve reached your target for the day.

Take regular breaks. Don’t overdo it. Take breaks often, and at set times. The same theory as before applies – you’ll work much more effectively in the last 10 minutes before a break, IF you set when it’s going to be in advance. Taking breaks whenever you feel like it will be good for resting your brain, but taking them at set times will make you work better in the run up to it as well.

If you can, try to find some ways to make it fun. Work with friends (only if you’ll actually work!) and test eachother. Find new ways to make notes (a new set of coloured pens/notecards could be a great reward for finishing a task). For me, English revision consisted of me reading the play I was studying aloud with some friends, using a different silly voice for each character. Sounds stupid, and it was, but when it came to the exam and I needed to quickly scan my brain for a particular quote, it was really easy to remember who said what line, as I’d hear the voices in my head! Also I’ve never had so much laughter in a revision session!

How to Improve your Memory – Top Tips for learning or revising!