FEELING MOTIVATED

Keeping motivated

Below are some strategies that can help to raise and then maintain your motivation. Identify  (with tick mark) which ones would work best for you.

*             Clarity of purpose
Be clear about your reasons for studying this course, and how you will benefit. If you are excited about your course now, you may not feel this is necessary. However, it is well worth spending time doing this.

*             What I want from my study
 Use the reflective self-evaluation What I want from my study to focus your thinking

*             ‘I am doing this because….’ 
Jot down your response to this prompt, drawing on your ratings for the self-evaluation above. List as many reasons as ratings for the self-evaluation above. List as many reasons as ratings for the self-eveluation above. List as many reasons as you can. Underline those that are most important to you.

*             Link to longer-term goals
               Make a list of all the ways, directly and indirectly, that your studies will be of benefits to your life, personal and professional, over the longer term. Use your reflective journal to think this through.

*             Make a screensaver of your motivational chart, so that you are continually inspired 

*             Make good choices
*             Find out as much as you can about your course and options, so that these support your overall objectives.
*             Be active in finding points of interest and relevance
*             If necessary, speak to financial and careers advisers about either (a) changing couse, or (b) how your current course can help meet your objectives.

*             Seeing results: short-term goals              
The end of your course may seem a long way off. It is natural to want to see results. You can gain a better sense of this by setting short-term goals, milestones, targets of challenges that are:
*             meaningful to you, and
*             can be achieved in small steps in the near future

*             Give yourself a precise focus
If you are easily distracted from study, start each session by jotting down a quick list of the things to complete in that session. Check these off as you complete them.

*             Develop a routine
If you find it difficult to put time aside for study, take a more structured approach. Write specific times for study into your diary, and keep these as appointments. Where possible, study at the same time and place each day.

*             Manage the boredom
               *             Clarify exactly why the task is relevant and what you will gain by completing it.
               *             Be active in searching for points of interest, either in the material or the way you design
               the study session yourself.
               *             Use active learning strategies to break up time and focus the attention.
               *             Set yourself short-term goals and mini-challenges
               *             Manage time effectively.

*             Awareness of positive triggers
               Take note of the conditions that encourage you to get down to study, and then create these around you. SO, if you work best with others, set up a study group. If you work best under pressure, set yourself demanding challenges to complete during a study session rather than leaving work to the last minute.

*             Awareness of negative triggers
               *             Become aware of the circumstances that demotivate you; plan how you will avoid these.
               *             Take note of the people around you who have a demotivating impact on you.
               *             Notice those aspects of your own thinking or behavior that demotivate you. Devise a   
               strategy for using your positive triggers instead.

  *           Manage anxieties and confidence
               Academic study is demanding, so you may feel anxious at times about what you can achieve.
               *             Take note of your feelings but don’t dwell on them. Speak to a counselor to gain a  
               clearer picture of what you need to do to succeed.
               *             Set yourself short-term goals to provide focus and a sense of achievement.

*             Use a ‘supporter’
               Ask a friend for motivational support, such as:
               *             checking in with you occasionally to see that you are on task
               *             reminding you of your goals and ambitions
               *             reminding you of your staregies.

*             Meaningful reward
Give yourself treats for undertaking the aspects to study you find least motivating. Identify different kinds of reward, proportionate to how much time or emotional effort it takes to undertake the activity.

*             Have a ‘Motivation plan’
               Feelings of low motivation may just pass, but it is wise to plan for such occasions.
               *             Decide which strategies you are going to use for various kinds of circumstance.
               *             Write these out and put them where you can see them.
               *             Put the necessary resources into place (such as putting money aside for rewards, or 
                              time to spend with a mentor).
               *             In your diary or planner, write in times when you will check whether your plan is 
                              working. If it isn’t, revise is so that it does.
 
                             
 
 
              

 

 

 

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