This one is for you students, whether you’re about to start your first year of university or if you are midway through your education. It is never too late to boost your motivation when it comes to your studies! Sometimes working hard feels like such a grueling task. However, if you can motivate yourself, the process will be far easier!
Motivation isn’t just about doing the work, it’s about knowing what you’re aiming for and having a real desire to achieve it. With this in mind, have a read through these tips to help you feel more motivated as a student!
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It All Counts
This one is particularly for you university students who have ever uttered the words: “It’s alright, the first year doesn’t count.”
Never let yourself fall for this one! Whether you’re in high school or university, every moment counts. If it didn’t serve a purpose, you wouldn’t have to do it! For university students, the first year is designed to help you get to grips with how to research and write assignments so that you know what you’re doing when the marks matter. Don’t miss out on this valuable practise!
And if that’s not enough to motivate you, think of it this way: When you are applying for part-time jobs or work experience during your studies, all they have to evaluate are the results from your first year! So let them see your best effort!
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Taking Constructive Criticism
I know it can sometimes feel like a punch in the face when you have put tonnes of effort into a piece of work, only to have it returned to you defaced with red ink scribbles. But the thing is, they are only trying to help you! I understand it can be difficult not to feel deflated when this happens, but as soon as you learn to take it in your stride, your motivation will shoot up.
This is all about being able to change your perspective on things. Try not to think of corrections on your work as criticisms, but rather as hints on how to do a perfect assignment next time! When you think of it this way, you’ll start to see that corrections are not there to put you down, they’re actually extremely useful!
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Keeping Track
Having a clear end point is a brilliant way to boost your motivation. That’s why you should make the most of it when you get given an assignment list at the start of a year! Even if you don’t know the topic questions, just knowing how many assignments and exams you will have to complete will help.
Create a list of all the assignments you’ll be doing at the start of the year. Then every time you hand one in, you can cross it off! Although it might seem overwhelming at the beginning as a huge list, seeing the list shorten as you complete the work will improve your motivation. After all, if you write it all down at the start, the list should never get longer!
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Learn Your Stuff!
Learn learn learn!! Not understanding the material is one of the biggest motivation killers for a student. When you don’t understand something, it can make you feel confused and frustrated. This, for a lot of people, gives a feeling of incapability, so they give up thinking they won’t ever get it!
Try not to let this get you down! Yes, you may have to put in a bit more work by doing your own research and asking questions, but you can do it! And there are people there to help you, so make the most of them. When you understand what you are being taught, it will make the lessons or lectures much easier to follow. This will also save you from having to learn everything from scratch when exams come around. If you learn it as you go along, you will actually only need to use the “revision” period to revise!!
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Think of the Future
Whenever you get a horrible essay to write, or you have to give a dreaded presentation in front of a class, just look at the end goal! Yes, it may not be particularly fun in the process, but it will be worth it when you land your dream job as a result of doing so well.
Let me put it this way: a couple of weeks of writing a boring essay is nothing in the grand scheme of things! It will be over before you know it, and you will have opened up opportunities for yourself by working hard! So when you start to lose motivation, just think of how you will feel when it’s over. Having that feeling in mind will help motivate you to work hard so that you can finish sooner and have that relieved feeling faster!
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Reward Yourself
Whether you watch an episode of your favourite TV show after completing an essay or treat yourself to a fun day out after a week of revising, rewarding yourself is key to motivation! I understand that thinking about your future career post-education may not work very well as a motivator for some since it is a distant goal. Therefore, it is also important to give yourself short-term rewards!
So make yourself a cup of tea after doing some work! Agree to meet up with your friends at the weekend if you have completed your work for the week! I have even seen a great idea for revision where people have a little sweet or something after completing each chapter. What a great idea! What rewards work for you is for you to determine, but don’t get too carried away! You do actually have to do some proper work before getting the reward!
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It’s In Your Hands
Whilst I can give you tips and ideas about becoming motivated as a student, you are the only person who can find out what really works for you! Just remember that you will get back what you put in, and all the hard work will be worth it in the end!
So there you go! I hope you’re starting to feel more motivated already! I’d love to hear if you use any other techniques to motivate yourself, so feel free to comment or contact me with any ideas!
– Becky
Organisivity 