MOTIVATION TO STUDY: 11 TIPS TO WIN - GEOGRAFÍA - 2025

Can't find your motivation to study? You may be tired of reading the same subjects, that you are not interested in the subjects or that you find them extremely boring. But don't worry, you can increase your desire to study, start to get better grades and what is more important; enjoy studying.

In this article I will explain how to motivate you to study, try to enjoy studying and even some habits that will help you get better grades. It is something that is not usually taught in colleges, institutes or universities, but in fact knowing how to motivate yourself is essential to have good results.

Learning to have more desire to study is important to achieve your academic goals throughout your years of study because:

• You will concentrate more easily.
• You will study more constantly.
• You will avoid temptations.
• You will persist despite a possible failure.

In addition, today finishing a degree, bachelor's, master's, doctorate or any training is only the first step. Many people think that they will drop out of college, find their job, and no longer have to worry about learning.

This may have been true 30 years ago, but today more and more knowledge is created and new technologies appear. What you learned 1 year ago has likely changed.

On the other hand, previous generations will stomp. How are you going to be competitive if you don't keep learning? Therefore, constant training is very important, wanting to learn, and being curious.

Keys for you to be motivated

Understanding what the keys to motivation are will help you to have more desire to study and to find the reasons to do so. According to Daniel H. Pink in his book The Amazing Truth About What Motivates Us, people are motivated when they have:

Autonomy: people are motivated by not being controlled, having freedom to choose how to do their work.

Mastery: people are motivated to master skills or subjects. Your level of competence in what you are learning increases with practice. Mastering a subject or skill almost always requires effort. On the other hand, you never reach complete mastery of a skill or subject, although the more you train, the closer it is.

Purpose: people are motivated to work and dedicate time to something that has a purpose. For example, studying well for medical exams is intended to treat patients better or save more lives.

Some ways to increase your motivation to study are:

1. Take breaks

Stop studying when you notice any signs of fatigue or tiredness. Do not stop when your energies are at a minimum because that way you will achieve an aversion to study. Ideally, rest every 50-60 minutes.

If you take a break when your energy level is high, after 10 minutes you will return to the study rested and with even more energy.

2. Think about long-term goals

Thinking that if you pass an exam you will be able to access a job or get the career you want, it will motivate you and find a reason to make all that effort.

Write the benefits of effort on a post-it note and remember them when your motivation wanes. For example:

• This knowledge will serve me for the rest of my life.
• It will help me get my degree approved and get a good job.
• When I finish I won't have to study it again.

In addition, writing your goals on paper will be important to motivate you and remember the achievements that you have to achieve to meet them. Read this article for more information.

3. Change your perspective

Although some subjects are boring, you can try to change your perspective and perceive the content you study as interesting. If you feel a real interest in it, it will be much easier for you to acquire the knowledge and deepen your study.

Remember also that not everyone has the opportunity to study.

4. Use rewards

If you've spent an entire afternoon studying and you feel like you've given up, give yourself a reward; a meal that you like, watch a movie, practice some sport…

If you keep in mind that at the end of the effort you will get something pleasant, you will study with more enthusiasm, energy and motivation.

To reward yourself:

• Set a goal (for example study topic 8) and its reward if you achieve it (watch a movie).
• More difficult and effortless achievements should have higher rewards. Likewise, small efforts should have lesser rewards.
• If you don't push yourself, don't reward yourself.
• Also use rewards with self-affirmations: "You are doing very well", "You are the best", "Keep it up and you will get good grades."

5. Plan the study session

If you start studying and you don't know where you want to go, you will be lost and wasting your time. Plan the syllabus you want to study and try to set an appropriate limit in which to finish it. Remember Parkinson's law and try to do less in less time.

How to plan?

• Make a list of tasks to finish and put a limit on each one.
• Sort the list from most to least important tasks.
• As you finish each task I cross them off the list.

6. Go to a library

If you feel cloistered in your home, go to a library where you can see that many more people are studying just like you. If you go with friends, better study at different tables so as not to be distracted and take breaks together.

7. Avoid distractions

With distractions, you will only waste time and see how the hours have passed without advancing on the agenda, which will help decrease your motivation.

Above all, turn off your mobile or place it out of sight so you are not constantly checking if they have sent you a message.

8. Do the hardest first

Because when we start a task we have more energy, it will be better if we invest it in the more difficult tasks. Also in this way you will not be worried during the day when you have to finish something complicated.

9. Listen to music

Music is a good way to motivate yourself, focus, or avoid distractions. As long as the same music doesn't distract you. Therefore it should be classical music or soundtracks mainly.

10. Accept stress

One of the things that has the worst effect both in the study and in the exams is excess stress. Some stress is positive because it will activate you to study, but too much will only achieve physiological symptoms, that you spend too much energy and lose focus.

Just think that exams and study are just another part of life and that life will not end if you fail a simple exam. If you try hard enough and persevere, you will pass and receive the rewards you wanted.

11. Do it little by little

This is related to planning. Don't suddenly study 10 hours in a day. You will become frustrated and develop disgust for studying.

Instead, study a little every day. 2-3 hours to avoid saturation and demotivate you. Also, if you study early, rather than just the day before, you will make the knowledge you acquire settle in your long-term memory.