Whether you’ve been a student for all of your life or you’re just starting out, you will undoubtedly come across many obstacles on your journey to success. One of the most common obstacles is the lack of motivation. When you are motivated and dedicated to what it is that you are doing, it becomes easy to stay focused, concentrate and get things done. However, when you’re not motivated it can be very easy to give up on what you’re working towards.
The difference between students who succeed and those who do not is often the ability to overcome a lack of motivation and begin studying effectively. The idea is to figure out why you’re unmotivated and then make changes to help yourself feel better.
But finding motivation is not the same as finding a reason to study. The problem with having no motivation is that there’s no reason to study.
Many students find that studying is relatively easy when they are being tested on things they have recently learned. But when it comes to studying for an exam that is weeks away, many students just can’t make themselves sit down and do it.
There are a number of reasons for this lack of motivation. One possibility is that you simply fear the upcoming exam. You may have heard stories about other people’s experiences with the exam and don’t want to face a similar experience yourself. Or, you may have had a bad experience with a previous exam. Whatever the reason, when you are worried about an upcoming test, it makes sense to put off studying until right before the test.
With a lack of motivation, it is easy for you to find reasons why you cannot do something. For example, if you find that you cannot study for your math test because you are too tired, or you haven’t eaten enough today, or it is too hot in the room; then it is likely that your motivation is lacking.
In order to change your attitude toward your studies, you need to start thinking about the reasons why you are in school. So, what do you do when you have no motivation to study? Let’s look at some strategies for boosting your motivation.
#1 Find a study partner
This is the best way to stay focused and motivated. When you have someone else depending on you, you’ll find it much easier to focus your attention and get started. If you can’t find a study partner, try using an online program like Skype or Google Hangouts so that you can still see the other person while you’re studying.
If you have no one else to study with and don’t have any other ideas for motivating yourself, try taking advantage of the competition that exists between students in your class.
#2 Set goals
Start by setting short-term goals for yourself. This is especially important if you are having a hard time staying motivated in general. Set daily goals for the amount of time you will study each day, the number of problems you will solve or pages you will read, etc. When you meet your goals, give yourself a reward. Keep a chart on your wall to track your progress. Make sure your goal is realistic so that it is easy to achieve, but challenging enough so that it motivates you to work hard each day. You should also set long-term goals for yourself as well, such as improving your grade in a particular subject or getting into a college of choice by taking certain classes or doing well on tests (SATs).
Once you figure out what your goal is, break it down into several steps that need to be accomplished before the end of the semester or school year.
If you fail to achieve the set goals then try to adhere to a schedule. Here are some suggestions to help you get back on the right path:
Have a study schedule. A study schedule is one of the best ways to motivate yourself to study. It gives structure to your studying, and helps you avoid procrastinating. If you know that you have a test coming up in two weeks, it is much easier to motivate yourself to study than if you do not have anything planned and just wait for the last minute.
1) Create a weekly schedule for each subject in which you have an exam.
2) Write down all of the topics that will be on the exam and estimate how much time you will need to spend on each one.
3) Then, plan how many hours per day or per week you will devote to studying that particular subject.
4) Finally, fill in the blanks with specific days during the week when you will work on that particular subject: for example, if your history class has an exam coming up next Monday, write “History (Exam 1) – 3 hours per day Monday-Thursday.”
One way to beat motivation problems is to identify what causes them. Once you know what causes your problem, you can take the necessary steps to deal with it.
#3 Overcome “Lack of time” and “Tiredness”
What do you spend your time on? If you’re spending a lot of time on non-academic activities and not enough on academic ones, then your lack of motivation could be due to poor time management. Identify any activities that aren’t contributing positively to your GCSE and your life and eliminate them from your schedule. This will free up time for your GCSE studying.
It’s important to pace yourself when you’re studying. Make sure that you get enough sleep — going without sleep for too long makes it hard to concentrate on anything. Take regular short breaks from studying and make sure that you eat well (a healthy diet will make you feel better and increase your concentration levels). If you find yourself getting tired during your study session, take a break until the feeling passes.
Conclusion
Well, “No motivation” is one of the most common problems faced by GCSE students. It can also be considered as one of the most easily solved problems. Here, we have discussed three easy to jump-start solid steps to beat no motivation in your GCSE studies. Try it today and start studying more focussed for your upcoming GCSEs.
