Are you finding it a challenge to summon the motivation and the energy you need to study? Is this making you procrastinate and leave studying for last minute?
Well, we are humans afterall, and a lot of us experience a hard time trying to hit the books because we sometimes just don’t feel like it and have no interest at all. We would rather chill at the park and stare at the clouds listening to our favorite Spotify playlist. But sometimes even when we are feeling like this, we need to somehow break out the slump and do what we have to do. There are a number of ways for you to overcome that feeling and the thoughts that persuade you to stare at your books and decide to do something else other than studying.
Let us go over the five strategies that can help you study when you don’t feel like it.
Establish your why and set your deadlines
Remember that there is a reason why you are in University or College. You are not a student just to be a student and you cannot study just for the sake of studying. (Well, you can certainly try, but it won’t be easy, unless if you are somebody who just loves studying and finds it enjoyful.) You must have an answer to the question, Why you are doing what you are doing and your answer must motivate you. It could be something like, I want to study because I need to bag that degree so that I can secure that job, gain some experience and open up my own dentist practice or it could be because you want good grades to secure a scholarship or bursary for postgrad studies.
A way for you to establish your why is to think about your goals, and think about how your goals align with each other. for example, you want to study one Chemistry chapter today because you want to pass that exam, so that you can bag that degree, work as a dentist and open up your own practice one day. After you have established your why, you need to set your deadlines. If you have planned to study 2 chapters this week, set a deadline for when each chapter should be done and be sure to try your best to meet those deadlines. Your why and your deadlines should motivate you to study and keep you focused on achieving on your goals.
Break down your tasks into smaller tasks
Sometimes the only reason why you don’t want to study at all is because you are feeling overwhelmed by the thought of how big the task you have on your plate is. There is a way around this. You need to do some project decomposition. When it comes to your exams you have to always plan and study ahead. Look at what you have to study and the deadlines, break down that task into smaller manageable tasks and start with the most important one. For example, try to study one very important chapter in two days depending on your deadline, so that you can make sure you understand the concepts, and the other chapters you could do one chapter a day. This will make you less overwhelmed and stressed, improve your concentration and encourage you to study. Oh and you will find yourself having time to hang out with your buddies and not locked up in your room for 24 hours.
Find a study buddy
If you can have a study buddy who is studying the same courses or modules as you, has similar academic goals and who is committed to achieving them, then studying shouldn’t be such a drag. It should rather be more fun than studying alone, especially if a module is practical. A study buddy will help you to be accountable, to remember when you have to write your summaries and notes, to revise for an upcoming test or exam and motivate you to study when you rather feel like watching countless YouTube shorts, TikToks, or going out with friends. It will be easy for you to recall what you learn as you and your study buddy get to exchange information, and quiz each other before your upcoming assessments and exams.
Take study breaks
Even if you have been putting behind studying for that hectic upcoming exam and now you have to beat 10 chapters within a period of five days, trust that you will not be able to recall everything if you plan on going all in without setting aside some time for your brain to process the information you are consuming. Scheduling some study breaks in between your study sessions will help you to retain information and improve your concentration.
Try making use of the Pomodoro time management technique with which you will study for 30 minutes and give yourself a 5 minute break, or you could study for 2-3 hours and give yourself a 30 minute break. During this break you can do something that is relaxing, like calling your boyfriend or girlfriend, just as long you will be disciplined enough to stop when the 5 minutes or 30 minutes is over, or you could go for a walk, grab a snack, reply to some texts and listening to some music.
Treat yourself, Spoil yourself
Whenever you accomplish something or reach a goal for example you managed to complete your assignment within a 3 day deadline or you managed to study three chapters within a week, reward yourself before moving on to the next targets. Go ahead and get that thing you’ve been wanting or planning to do, this could be going out for dinner with your friends, purchasing a new pair of kicks that you’ve been eyeing or simply treating yourself to a cup of soft swirl vanilla ice cream. You may be thinking if this is necessary and the answer is yes. By rewarding yourself after putting in the effort to achieve your goals you train your brain to associate your hard work with a good feeling, which will motivate you to keep on moving, to keep on putting in the effort and to look forward to smashing all your goals. This is a good way to live life and be a student. Appreciate your labor.
Conclusion
Studying can be a challenge, especially when you dont feel like going through a single book or slide, but if you can have a reason why you want to study, set those deadlines, break down your study materials into smaller tasks, study with a friend, implement breaks between your study sessions and give yourself a treat after putting in the effort and achieving your academic goals, studying will become a definitely doable task and the next time you have to be studying, the feeling of not wanting to study should not have as much power over you. You’ll instead be looking forward to smashing that course and achieving your academic goals.