Study skills
Study support
Life ain’t no dress rehearsal.
Anonymous
The Macquarie Dictionary defines the adjective ‘motivated’ as: ‘ambitious, determined, energetic’. Does this describe you? If it doesn’t, then read on!
A motive is defined as ‘something that prompts a person to act in a certain way/an incentive/the goal or object of one’s actions’.
Thus, in order to be motivated, you need to have a goal. (We will look at goal setting later.) Also, your level of motivation may change depending on a number of factors, such as:
Becoming motivated requires identifying what motivates you. This is a very personal thing and it may not be the same as what motivates your friends or your partner. Others, however, can certainly encourage, stimulate or reinforce your motivation. In order to become aware of what motivates you, try the following with a pen and paper:
1. Write down at least three things that are important to you:
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2. Now look at your list and categorise these things. Are they monetary or material rewards? Social rewards? Career rewards? Are they sensory rewards, such as clothes, music or food? Are they immediate incentives or longer-term rewards? Hold on to this knowledge, which you can apply in your life at any time.
(If you cannot think of anything at all that motivates you then chances are that you need to look at deeper questions about yourself and perhaps sort these out.)
Now that you are aware of what motivates you, you can use this information when you are goal setting. But first, what does becoming motivated involve?
Becoming motivated requires becoming committed to something that you wish to achieve in the future. In order to commit yourself to a task, you need to value yourself enough to do the best that you can to achieve your goals. This means taking your opportunities for work and study seriously. Opportunities may not repeat themselves.
Being unmotivated, bored or stuck with your studies can sometimes involve making excuses and avoiding doing what you need to do in order to become unstuck. If this describes you, try the following:
1. Write down all the things you do to avoid doing what you need to do - that
is, your work!
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2. Now examine this list closely. Decide which ones are ‘legitimate’ or unavoidable, such as the need to cook dinner, and which ones are actually excuses.
Can you do the unavoidable tasks more efficiently?
With the excuses, you could do either of the following. Keep the list and check your progress weekly to see which excuses you are still clinging to, or take the brave step of writing them on a separate sheet of paper, screwing it up and throwing it into the bin! Gone are your excuses. Either you decide to do your work or you decide not to do it. It is that simple. There is no room for just ‘trying’ to do it.
If you don’t know where you’re going you’ll end up somewhere else.
Anonymous
Closely linked with incentives and rewards are your goals or future plans. Goals can be categorised as long-term (say five years), medium term (one to two years) and short-term (ranging from a day, a week or months). It is the experience of many people that having goals or a direction helps them achieve what they want in life. With a goal in mind you probably will get to where you want to go faster and with a greater sense of satisfaction than otherwise. A goal can help you avoid distractions and escapist behaviours - although in their place, these too are valuable learning experiences!
If you have no idea of what you are doing at university, and for what reasons, there are exercises you can do that will sharpen your focus and increase your self-knowledge. (There are many books available on goal setting and motivation.) You could consult Richard Bolles’s What Color is Your Parachute? (any edition) or one of Barbara Sher’s books, such as It’s Only Too Late If You Don’t Start Now.
If you have goals or wish to develop them, take a pen and write down what you think your long-term goals may be (a five year plan). Take the time to dream and visualise how and where you want to be in the future. Include all areas of your life - emotional, financial, social, career, etc.
e.g. I want to be working as a psychologist in a community health centre
three years from now.
(This is an example of a long-term career goal. You will see below how it translates
into medium and short-term goals).
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Then do the same for your medium-term goals (a one to two year plan).
e.g. I want to secure an internship with a practitioner at my local community
health centre after I finish my degree next year.
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Now write down your short-term goals. (Select the time frame that suits you).
e.g. I need to obtain an H or HD in my stats subject this semester.
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Use active language with specific deadlines and behaviours you wish to achieve. Here is an example using medium term goals related to different areas of a person’s life: ‘By the end of next year I want to be working as an editor for a publishing company. I will be saving money in order to buy a flat in the city. I will also be singing in a band in my spare time’.
As a form of motivation, write your goals on a sheet of paper and stick this up where you can see it daily. Don’t worry if your goals change - just stick up new ones!
Having articulated your goals, the next step is to work out a system of rewards for the tasks you achieve each day or each week. Use your list of what motivates you to plan your rewards. For example: ‘At the end of each day I will review what I have achieved and if I am on schedule I will go and play basketball with my friends’ or ‘This part-time study is so difficult that I will take the family to Queensland for a holiday at the end of the semester’.
This happens to most people some of the time! When this happens the first thing to do is to work out whether there are any external factors causing difficulties in your life. Is it the end of the semester? Consider whether you are too tired, worried, etc. Work out whether it is a solvable problem, who can help, what action you can take to improve the situation. Get enough sleep, good food, exercise and relaxation, as the first thing we can lose when we are overworked, ill or tired is motivation.
