Today, a few hints to get (and keep) you motivated in this post-festive season...
1. Acknowledge your resistance and difficult feelings with motivation. It may be helpful to write these feelings or thoughts down and then leave these on the side so you can then study.
2. Do not run away. Avoiding work can make you feel deflated. This is emotionally more draining than having to go through the process of starting your work.
3. Do not blame yourself for procrastinating now and then. Try to become aware of the habit and gently make yourself to go back to the task sooner rather than later.
4. Try to understand your studying style better. What will make it easier for you to work? We all prefer pleasant experiences and it is natural that we tend to avoid uncomfortable situations, boring chores and duties. So try to make your study experience as interesting as possible.
5. Don’t question your abilities. Don’t put yourself down by comparing yourself to others.
6. Visualise yourself starting. Make yourself sit down and work even if this is for just 20 minutes. See starting as a parallel process like a plane on a runway. You may start slow but you will still take off!
7. Focus on the task at hand and prioritise the most important tasks. Avoid multitasking.
8. Communicate to others any difficulties and/or what you intend to do. This can help you engage with the process and identify the important tasks. Communication / externalisation can help you to commit with immediate goals and you could also find out others’ points of view and tips.
9. Take a time limited approach in which you schedule your tasks. Ask yourself ‘how much can I achieve in the next 2 hours?’ instead of ‘Can I complete all tasks?’ In this way you do not get as easily overwhelmed by the volume of work you need to do.
10. Remember that studying can be challenging and take you out of your comfort zone. Think about the hiking of Mountain Kilimanjaro; it is not easy and can even be uncomfortable but the pleasure comes when you begin to see the view from height, feel the fresh air and when you reach the destination you get a sense of achievement and satisfaction. Focus on the outcome and not the struggle to get there!
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/students/news/2018/jan/10-ways-generate-study-motivation
This is a lovely post Jackie!
ReplyDeleteThanks Charlie! :)
Delete