You’ve got an exam in a week’s time and you know you need to start studying for it today. But every time you tell yourself you’re going to start revising, you just can’t bring yourself to open your textbook. Instead, you tell yourself you’ll do it after one more episode of Riverdale or worse yet, ‘tomorrow’. Before you know it, the exam is the next day and you haven’t even started studying, so you’re forced to stay up late for a cram session. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Procrastination is extremely common, with 87% of students admitting they leave things to the last minute. It also happens to be one of the biggest killers of productivity and can lead to a lot of unnecessary stress around exam times. Luckily, it is possible to break the procrastination habit. Read on for our 7 top procrastination tips and to learn how to motivate yourself to study.
How to motivate yourself to study in 7 simple steps
1. Set rewards
One of the most effective tips on how to motivate yourself to study is to set little rewards for yourself if you stick to your goals. So, perhaps if you do two hours of Maths study, you’ll reward yourself by playing 15 minutes of that new video game, going for a walk or playing some guitar. You’d be amazed how inspired you will be to study when you know it will soon result in doing something you enjoy! However, try to avoid using food or spending money as a reward, as this can set you up for unhealthy habits in the future.
2. Turn it into a game
Always find yourself wanting to play video or smartphone games when you’re supposed to be studying? Beat the temptation by turning your study into a game in itself! Treat the chapters in your textbooks like levels and advance through them every time you slay the ‘final boss’ — the test at the end of each chapter. You can do this by creating your own game rules, or by using a program like Habitica, which turns your daily tasks into a game. You can even get some of your friends involved and turn it into a fun competition!
3. Make your study notes fun
Let’s be honest — nobody finds staring at mountains of text on plain, white sheets of paper particularly motivating. It’s for this reason that #studygram has gone viral on Instagram, with thousands of people sharing photos of their aesthetically-pleasing study notes. While you don’t necessarily have to turn your study notes into works of art, jazzing it up with colour coding, diagrams and charts can make them a lot more appealing and interesting to look at. Plus, research shows that you’re more likely to remember information that is represented visually. You can check out study note templates online, or create your own at home using highlighters and textas.
4. Start small
There are going to be days when for whatever reason, you reallyjust don’t feel like studying. Maybe you’re tired or had a fight with a friend, or just had a bad day at school. On these occasions, if you tell yourself you have to hit the books for hours, you’re likely to become overwhelmed and do nothing at all. For this reason, it’s best to dedicate yourself to just 10 minutes of study. There’s a chance that you will become so absorbed in what you’re learning about that you’ll want to keep the momentum going — but at the very least, you will have done 10 minutes of revision, which is better than nothing.
5. Remember your goals
It can be hard to be motivated to study when it seems like you’re trapped in a bubble of books and papers. It’s important to stay aware of the big picture — why do you want to do well in your exams? Perhaps you want to get good marks so you can become a vet and help animals, or get a job that allows you to travel the world, or even just earn a lot of money so you can own a Ferrari one day! Getting into uni isn’t the only way to achieve your dreams, but it’s a necessary requirement for a lot of occupations. Plus, the work ethic you develop now is what is going to help you succeed in the future. Write down your goals for the future or create a vision board and keep them somewhere you’ll see them every day, so you can remember why you need to study.
6. Find a study buddy
Everything is far more enjoyable when you do with friends — even studying! So, rather than going it alone, why not pair up with a friend and study with them? You could even round up a study group of a few friends who are doing the same subjects. Not only does the social aspect make studying bearable, but you can help each other out when you come across concepts you don’t understand, or test each other on your knowledge. To make it even more enjoyable, you could hold your study session in a location like a beach, park or by the pool, or do something fun afterwards, like going bowling, to the movies or to lunch.
7. Consider tutoring
If even with these procrastination tips you don’t know how to motivate yourself to study, you can want to consider getting a tutor. At C3 Education, our dedicated tutors not only help guide you through the curriculum and develop your skills and knowledge, but also help to keep you accountable and teach you time management and study techniques. You can learn more about our Sydney tutoring services here.