Several weeks into school after Christmas break people often feel their motivation and excitement to learn starting to wane. Week three or four usually marks the spot where people start complaining about how tired they are or how much math homework they have. Below are some tips that may help you keep (or find) the motivation to study! They are all tried and true, either by myself or people I've talked to!
- Music: this is one of the first things people say, but most people disagree on what types of music are best for studying. Some like rap, some like classical music. Personally, I usually fall somewhere in between, but it changes depending on my mood or what type of work I'm doing. Instrumentals are my favorites, but sometimes I just need a Taylor Swift in the mix. Some popular choices for study playlists include instrumental movie soundtracks, lo-fi beats, acoustic guitar and other coffee-shop sounding songs, piano only, or "spy music" (you'd be surprised how productive you feel if you study as if your life depends on it. It's also fun to type furiously at your computer imagining you are the I.T./hacker/sidekick in a movie).
-Study ambiance noise on Youtube: that's it. That's the tip.
- Library/Coffee Shop: a lot of people (including myself) swear they focus better in a busy place like a library or coffee shop. It's often easier to focus sitting at a table rather than in your bed, plus it sometimes helps you focus knowing people can watch you. For myself, I like studying in places like these because I'm surrounded by people and don't get distracted by how lonely I feel (a very real occurrence, as strange as it may seem!) but I'm still anonymous and able to drown out the world with a pair of headphones and zone in on my work.
- Hot drinks: not necessarily in the aforementioned coffee shop, but possibly. There must be some magic power in the steam coming out of a cup that hypnotizes you into working harder.
-Living the aesthetic: one of my favorite study tips I have ever received was to imagine I was in a movie. It basically said "imagine you are that girl in the movie that does all the homework in one, beautiful burst. Hair in a messy bun, papers and books spread all over, opening highlighters with your mouth, too busy to notice the time slipping by." But really, it works for whatever aesthetic is going to motivate you. Sometimes you gotta fake it 'til you make it, baby.
If all else fails, tell yourself that if you don't do homework, you'll go clean the bathroom.
You'll probably do the homework.
Hi Clara!
I love all your suggestions! I had never heard the tip about pretending you're in a movie, but I definitely know it would work. I get most of my work done when I either one) listen to the Little Women soundtrack or two) when I listen to the Terminator Genisys. (I may or may not be listening to one of them right now). For some reason, pretending to be someone else makes you feel better about doing work. Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll probably use all of them at some point this week! (:
Hey Clara!
I love your very personable tips and tricks for studying! You definitely just gave me some inspiration to finish my essay that may or may not be due in six hours...My favorite tip/trick is "living the aesthetic"; I feel like that is the perfect combination of all the others: music, coffee shop aesthetic, etc. There's nothing as motivating as pretending you are in the midst of a movie-montage where the main character (you) grind out all the work you've spent the week procrastinating...Okay, maybe I'm projecting a bit there. Overall, thank you for motivating me!