We’ve all been there - it’s after midnight on the night before a big exam, and you’re
over caffeinated, underslept, and downright panicked as you pour over your notes one last
time, hoping against hope that it will all miraculously click at the very last minute.
You know you should have started studying way earlier, but you can never seem to find
the motivation to get started.
If only you knew how to study when you don’t want to...
Most people struggle to find the motivation to focus on studying at some point - even
the best students have days when they just don’t want to study.
But waiting until the pressure of a looming deadline forces you to get started is a recipe
for disaster.
You’ll never absorb and retain the material properly by cramming, and pulling an all-nighter
will leave you exhausted and unable to recall anything you studied, and will negatively
impact your exam performance.
Studying a little bit every day is the key to really understanding the material and being
able to apply it in an exam setting.
Good study habits are also good for your brain, helping it learn to form connections and remember
information, and helping you build good habits of discipline and focus, which can only serve
you well throughout your education and even later in life.
The key is to find a way to make studying not only tolerable, but actually enjoyable,
so that it will become a part of your regular daily routine.
Believe it or not, it is possible to enjoy studying, and these tips will teach you how
to study even when you don’t want to, putting you well on your way to acing that next exam!
To really get yourself motivated to study, it’s helpful to get in touch with your “why”.
Even if you can’t stand a particular topic or class, thinking about how it plays into
your bigger-picture goals can help you find the energy to get down to studying.
Whether you need to pass a particular course to graduate, get your dream job, or just learn
a new skill, thinking about how studying for this test will help you achieve your long-term
goals can help you refocus on your priorities.
Of course, getting motivated isn’t always as simple as remembering why you need to do
something.
If focusing on your long term goals doesn’t have you rushing off to the library, try finding
some other sources of motivation to get you in the mood for studying.
YouTube is full of inspirational and motivational videos like this one, and you can find plenty
of podcasts or articles online that will help get you in the mood for studying.
If you still don’t want to study after trying to amp yourself up, then try this counterintuitive
tip - forget about the actual studying for the moment, and focus instead on getting yourself
prepared to study.
Spend a little time setting up your study area to encourage maximum focus - tidy up
your desk and remove any potential distractions.
Make a study plan - outline what you need to get done in the weeks and months ahead,
and write down the 3 to 5 most important things you need to tackle next.
Organize and file your notes to make it easy to find what you need when you actually get
down to studying.
Make sure you’re well stocked with healthy snacks, water, coffee or tea and some treats
to use as rewards.
Chances are, after you’ve got your space all set up, you’ll want to take it for a
test run and get right down to studying.
But if not, never fear - there’s another trick you can try to get yourself to study
if you still don’t want to.
Getting started in the first place is often the hardest part about studying.
To stop yourself from procrastinating, try starting small with the 5 minute rule.
Set a timer for 5 minutes and tell yourself that you only have to work until it goes off.
When your timer goes off, you’ll have gotten over the hump of getting started and you’ll
more than likely want to keep going - simply set another timer - maybe for a bit longer
this time - and keep working until it goes off.
You can also try the Pomodoro Method, where you work for 25 minutes at a time with 5 minute
breaks between each session, and a longer break after 4 work sessions.
Check out Tomatotimer.com for a fun and motivating Pomodoro timer.
There are other ways to start small and break studying into manageable, bite-sized pieces.
If you can focus on getting just one task done instead of stressing about all that you
have to learn before exam time, you’ll be more likely to sit down and get started.
Try reviewing your notes, going over them to make sure they make sense, adding some
clarification or examples, and highlighting key points.
If you have a bit more energy, take some time to condense all of your notes into a short,
well-organized study guide.
If you have access to a practice exam, take a few minutes to go over it and get an idea
of what you’re up against.
You could also send your teacher or tutor an email with any questions that you have
about the material.
If you’re working on a paper or other project, simply sitting down to set up your document,
save a few links for future research, or jot down some ideas for your outline can give
you the momentum boost you need to get going.
Once you’ve finally convinced yourself to sit down and start, it’s important to make
it as easy as possible to keep going, and that means avoiding distractions - or at least
using them to your advantage.
Listening to music is a tried and true study tip, but choosing the right music is key - you
don’t want to get sidetracked singing along to your favorite tunes, or get irritated when
a song you don’t like comes on.
Instead, try an instrumental playlist - classical music is, well, classic, but it’s far from
the only option - YouTube and other streaming services are full of ambient noise study and
focus playlists, or you could try listening to the score from one of your favorite movies
to make your study session feel as epic as a major motion picture.
YouTube is a notorious distraction, but when your focus is flagging, you can use it to
your advantage to find videos about the topic you’re studying to give yourself a break
from the books.
Of course, you’ll have to be careful not to fall into the rabbit hole - if that’s
an issue for you, consider installing an app that will block your internet access for a
set amount of time, or put your phone away in another room.
Another way to keep yourself engaged in studying is to get moving.
Exercise is not only good for your body, but thinking on the move can help you consider
the information you’ve absorbed in a new way.
You can read books or notes while you walk on a treadmill, or listen to audio lectures
or homemade recordings of your notes as you take a walk outside.
Going somewhere new to study can also help break up the monotony and give you an energy
boost - besides the library, consider studying at a local cafe, or simply find a quiet place
outside.
Some people learn best by association, so you might benefit from assigning a specific
space or room to each topic you have to study - math in your bedroom, English outside, and
so on - to help you better remember your material.
This one may seem counterintuitive, but one of the best ways to keep studying interesting
is to keep challenging yourself.
Especially when you find the material boring, making it just a bit trickier can help you
keep at it.
You don’t want to make it so hard that you get frustrated and give up, but giving yourself
little challenges, like timing yourself to complete a problem or trying to beat your
record for memorizing facts, can keep even the dullest topics fresh and interesting.
One of the best ways to get yourself to study when you don’t want to is to make it fun,
and gamification is the best way to do that.
We learn better and are more motivated when something is fun - just think about all the
time you’ve spent trying to reach the next level of your favorite game on your phone
when you should have been studying instead!
We can apply these principles to studying, too, and not only make studying more tolerable,
but more effective, too.
Flash cards are a classic study tool for a reason - not only does making them help you
organize and remember your material, but they are an easy and portable way to drill yourself
on the fly and keep yourself sharp.
But if you’re looking for something a little more interesting, try these tips.
You can find an abundance of mnemonics to help you remember important points for any
subject - for example, the phrase Happy Henry Likes Beer But Could Not Obtain Four Nuts
can help you remember the first 10 elements on the periodic table of elements - Hydrogen,
Helium, Lithium, Beryllium, Boron, Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Fluorine, Neon.
If you can’t find a ready-made memory aid, you can make up your own!
The act of creating your own memory aid will help cement the learning, and the catchy phrase,
song or rhyme you come up with will help you remember some of the most important points
from your studying.
If you’re more of a visual person, drawing a doodle or even creating a comic strip can
help make sure that what you’re learning sticks with you.
If you want to take things to the next level of gamification, you can build your own puzzles
and games to help your learning sink in.
Board games are great for history and English, sports can help you learn to apply statistics,
and a treasure hunt can help bring science topics to life.
If you’re tech savvy, you could even build an app or online game for your material.
The process of actually creating your game counts as studying, since you are engaging
with the material and applying it to the real world, and you’ll be much more likely to
look forward to studying if it involves playing a game.
When your motivation is really failing you, and you’re finding it hard to focus no matter
how fun you’ve made your studying, it might be time to make studying social.
Studying with friends can be a recipe for distraction, especially if you’re relying
on that time to get all of your studying done, but as long as you’ve put in some time on
your own, getting together with some friends who are all focused on the same goal can help
reinvigorate you.
Talking about the material with others can help cement your learning and get you to think
through the material in new ways.
You can also make your social studying extra fun by sharing some of the games and memory
tools you’ve created, or by role-playing as a group.
You can also play some group games together, like study-themed truth or dare, where you
have to complete a study dare, like writing a paragraph or answering a problem, if you
don’t know the answer to the truth question.
Studying with friends can be a nice way to make studying more fun, just make sure you
stay on topic!
Finally, it’s important to reward yourself for a job well done.
If you’ve achieved your study goals, make sure to pat yourself on the back - positive
reinforcement will make your brain want to repeat the activity to get that good feeling
again.
If you’re the type of person who loves buying fresh school supplies, consider treating yourself
to a nice new notebook or some fancy pens to encourage yourself to keep studying - plus,
neat and attractive notes can actually help you better absorb the information.
If you need more immediate gratification, check out writtenkitten.com - this ingenious
website will show you a different picture of an adorable kitten for every 100 words
that you type.
Whatever form your studying takes, it’s important to take breaks to refresh and reward
yourself.
Don’t just zone out to the TV or get lost on social media, though.
Take the time to check in with some friends, or go for a walk or play a sport instead - exercise
helps improve concentration and boosts your mood.
Some of these tips for how to study when you don’t want to may seem a little wild or
weird, but, according to the Oxford Royale Academy, the golden rule of studying is - nothing
is silly if it helps!
Whether you’re playing your own history board game, wandering around singing about
chemistry or role-playing a character from your English novel, if it helps you get an
A - and gets you to study when you don’t want to - then we say go ahead and embrace
the weird!
Happy studying!
If you need just a little bit more motivation before you get down to your studying, you’ll
want to check out our other helpful videos, like this one called “Scientifically Proven
Best Ways to Study”, or maybe this other video is for you.