Overcoming Procrastination & Lack of Motivation for Studying

[Tosh5457]

Since I began studying at the univ. I find it really hard to motivate myself to study. I always end up thinking "I've got much time left until the exam, I'll study later" and then I always end up studying everything in a rush before the exams. It happened on every single exam/test I've taken, I always fall in this "trap".
If I go to the library I can study for hours, but it's really hard to keep it up every day, or regularly, because with always so much to study, I easily lose my motivation and end up not doing anything.
Tomorrow I have a test and I've done the same thing again. I promised myself 2 days ago I'd study x pages, and the day next I'd study other x pages. But I didn't do anything, I got bored and stopped studying.

Then, of course, I feel really guilty. I know I could get much better grades and be the best in my class and I know I could understand maths and physics much better (which I want to) if I didn't have this complete lack of discipline, and that's what makes me feel guilty.

Did anybody have or has the same problem? And what should I do? Thanks...

 

[Pengwuino]

Solution: Stop what you're doing.

That's pretty much the best you can do. You obviously know the consequences of your actions and the solution, so go do the solution. If you don't, you'll have to be stuck with the consequences.

 

[Choppy]

When you go to the library you study for hours of course it's hard to keep this up. It would be like running a marathon every day. You put it off because it's a big pile of work.

One strategy that might help is to lower your action potential - that initial psychological hump you have to climb to get down to work. Can you set up a decent place to study at home - some place that's convenient to get to, quiet and allows you to focus? Can you break up your studies? Do a 15 minute session before dinner to review and organize lecture notes. After eating do half of a problem set. Exercise. Do the other half. Relax and catch up with some friends. Complete your pre-lab. Finish the night with some fun reading and go to bed early... you get the idea.

 

[nobelium102]

get a motivating friend to study with you (best to follow around nerdy friend who wouldn't chat for hours though)

best solution for me

I live alone, so i have been slacking off, but when my dad came to visit me for a day, i studied like crazy just to show off (lol) to my dad,
it works though :) hahah

 

[Geezer]

I tend to have sufficient internal motivation to study, even if there's not an impending exam. However, there are occasions when I just can't seem to get motivated. What I do is reward myself for studying. Like, I'll got a favorite cafe on campus--a place that feels very old and scholarly (which I find motivating)--and treat myself to a special coffee or treat while I'm there. Or I'll read some motivating quotes (my current favorite: "Do it now, because in the future you will either wish you had or be glad that you did."). Or I'll make myself do one simple project--not something too time-consuming, but something I've put off doing...it may or may not be school-related; once that's done, I have a tiny sense of accomplishment, which is motivating (accomplishment breeds accomplishment, right?).

 

[zif.]

I used to do this. And then I decided I wanted to do well.

You say studying for hours is hard to keep up... How many hours per week are you spending on your school work?

A rule of thumb is to take the number of credits you're taking and multiply that by three. That's how many hours per week you should be spending on school, *per week*, if you want to do well.

Last semester I took 17 credits. That means 17 hours were in lecture every week, and 34 should have been spent doing homework/studying. I was actually closer to 41 hours average per week than the expected 51 and my 3.4 GPA last semester instead of 3.8+ reflects this. You need to set up a routine.

My earliest classes last semester started at 11:30am. Every day I would get up at 8:00am and eat/shower/smoke, and then crack the books at 9:00am. Up until 10:30am was for me to review what I had covered the day before and to rewrite my notes if they were messy. Then class, and then I wouldn't leave campus until around 8:00pm.

I wasn't working solidly this whole time, but the majority of it was spent in the library.

Studies have shown that you should study in 50 minute chunks with a 10 minute break in between. Stick to 50 minutes even if you feel like you're on a roll. Honestly, I really don't know what you want to hear. You need to spend a lot of time studying and there's no way around that. Even with a standard 15 credit load you should be spending 40+ hours per week on schoolwork.

You say you lose motivation... What's your motivation in the first place? It really doesn't sound like you're a serious student. I recommend that you take a year or two off, work some garbagety, entry-level jobs, and then see what your motivation is like.

 

[QuarkCharmer]

I schedule my courses so there is a 3 hour or so gap between classes and I just sit in the library there during that time and take care of anything studious. It's worked out really well for me.