Q&A for How to Get Motivated to Study

The first step when you are feeling distracted is to identify what kind of distractions are occurring. There are a few types of distractions, including digital distractions, internal distractions, and human distractions. Digital distractions can be handled by putting your phone on silent or Do Not Disturb. Internal distractions are commonly stress-related. Try to put aside your stress for the moment and finish your work or attend to what is causing the stress enough so that you can come back to your work. Human distractions can be dealt with by communicating the need for some space and finding a quiet part of the house to study.

If you are struggling with motivation, try to do one simple thing a day to modify your environment. Whether that's making your bed or cleaning your desk off or putting up some posters, shaping your environment can help fuel motivation.

Set your phone's background to a picture related to your goal. Set alarms to go off every couple of hours on your phone with reminders. You can even find apps that will send them to you at random times. Put a Post-it note by your bedside so that it's the last thing you see at night and the first thing you see in the morning.

Before going to bed, clear your study area and take out the books and materials you will require for studying the next morning. Sleep early. Wake up early. As soon as you wake up, brush your teeth and drink some hot coffee or tea. Eat a quick and healthy breakfast. Go to your study area and get started.

Make a study plan. Revise your subjects little by little, each day. Maybe one chapter or 20 pages a day. And don't forget to do some reviews every single day so you won't forget what you studied the past days.

Set yourself some goals when you study that have a time frame. When you achieve those goals, be confident that you're studying effectively and that whatever you're doing is working for you. When you see that you managed to reach your goals, it will confirm that your habits are really beneficial, and push you to carry on with them. If you don't manage to fulfill a set task, maybe it was a bit unrealistic, or you could try a different study technique.

It is best to study in the morning because your mind is refreshed, whereas at night, you may feel tired due to working hard during school time.

Study everything from the prescribed textbook (usually NCERT and CBSE), have a dictionary by your side (to look up the difficult words), use a pencil and mark important stuff, and make notes side by side, and keep writing. Read from the book, understand, then keep the book aside and write a summary of what you read, framing questions on your own. Be patient; some people read the books at least four times to understand, then another four to five times to remember. Fully absorb your text book. If doing maths, practice every question until you can do them on your own.

Make sure you are in a quiet place. Move whatever might distract you away from the area so you are unable to reach it. Exercising before studying can also help considerably, because it will help get blood flowing to your brain. Set short 5-minute breaks every 30 minutes so that you have something to look forward to. See also How to Focus .

Procrastination is usually a fear of failure or maybe even success. Look for the reason as to why you procrastinate. Is it because you lack the skills to do the tasks or you simply just don't have the motivation to do the task so you just delay it? Keep track of the reasons you start procrastinating and slowly tackle them as well as talking to someone about it. See further: How to Stop Procrastinating .

Hard chapters are usually based on the easier ones, as they form the foundations of your understanding. Start with the easier ones done first, so at least you have something that is done thoroughly. Try reading one easy chapter and then one hard chapter. Be prepared in advance for it to be harder going.

Having an area free of distractions can help you focus on your work.

I find that clutter is my number one distraction. Things like putting away clothes, keeping surfaces clear and organizing my desk always help me focus on study. Try a motivation board as well - quotes you find inspirational and pictures which fire your creativity will help to keep your mind open.

Try to take some breaks during your study sessions. For example, you could take a 10 to 15 minute break every 2 hours. This will help refresh your mind, and make it easier to focus.

Do some simple exercises to energize yourself and get motivated. Get some water and snacks and set up with your materials in a quiet place where you'll be able to focus. Set a goal for this study session, and a timetable.

It depends on what sort of music and on your own ability to concentrate with noise in the background. If you are the type of person who can concentrate better while listening to music, then it is a good thing. But if you're a person who is easily distracted, it may not be ideal. Focus on instrumental and/or classical music, as the lack of lyrics can help you to stay focused.

Your goal in working shouldn't rely on others' strong points. Focus on your own weak points and try to improve yourself, or do better than what you're already doing. Once you put your full attention on yourself, your competition should be only with yourself. Soon enough, others won't matter, as you will be satisfied with yourself.

Yes, if you want to make a fair copy so it can help you revise your subject a second time, that is a great idea.

If you don't like silence, try instrumental or classical music playing softly in the background. It's suggested that you don't use anything with lyrics, words or speaking as that can easily distract your concentration. Some people like white noise, such as the constant sound of a vacuum cleaner or the static of an untuned electronic item -- these noises can be downloaded as apps or played from YouTube. Running water or nature sounds can work for some people too -- you could have a small room water feature, a bubbling fish tank, or download the sounds. An old-fashioned ticking clock can be soothing. Try a few of these to see which work best for you.

First of all, accept that you haven't studied the whole day. Now, instead of regretting that you didn't study, create a goal that I will study more and more the next day and cover the previous day's study.

As long as you don't eat too many, it's fine (chocolate is high in calories but a few small pieces a day is fine). Chocolate is also said to aid the intellect. Franz Messerli of Columbia University once did a study that showed countries with high chocolate consumption also had a good amount of Nobel Laureates -- but you can make of that what you will!

Be very particular about what you include in the timetable and be realistic -- if it's too much, you won't be able to motivate yourself. Then divide your study time into half-hour blocks and fill them with assignments from different subjects -- the variety will help you avoid getting bored.

Watch YouTube videos or just start paying attention in your lessons. Also get help from others -- ask your friends, your teacher and your family.

Refresh your mind by doing some hobbies. It will take away your stress and then you can completely focus on your homework.

Having a study partner is great because you can work together instead of being alone. You can quiz each other on the material you are learning, or you can work together to understand things that you are having difficulty with.

Have you tried writing down those thoughts to get them out of your head? Sometimes that helps.

You can take a short, 30-minute nap, or you can get up and do some exercises or stretches. Drinking water will also help you feel better. You can also try tea or coffee instead; avoid herbal teas, however, as those lack caffeine.

Move your laptop away from you, somewhere it is not easily accessible. You could also use parental controls to block YouTube.

Follow the instructions listed in the article above. Make sure you are avoiding all of the distractions that are around you.

You could ask your family to be respectful of your studying and keep their celebrations quiet. You could also use holiday celebrations and events as motivational tools. For example, if there's a dinner party you want to go to, then tell yourself that you have to finish a certain number of assignments first.