Not Motivated To Study? Get Your Motivation Here

You know it's important. You know it will help you. You know you really should do it… But… You just can't be bothered! Hell, if procrastinating were a career, you'd be rich right now!

Sound like you? Don't worry, you're definitely not alone!

Most students start off Year 12 pumped and full of determination for the first few weeks or months, but then struggle to maintain this mindset. Especially towards the end of the year, it can be easy to lose motivation and wonder if your hours of study will pay off in the end. The team at MyGuru has some tips to help you regain motivation and strive to reach your full potential!

1. Find a constant source of motivation
   What you need in year 12 is a constant source of motivation, something that will push you to plough through that project, piece of writing or assignment you just can't bring yourself to sit down and do. This motivation can come in a variety of forms.
   
   One that works for most students is to keep your future career aspirations at the forefront of your mind. Although there may be alternative entry pathways if things don't go to plan, the effort you put in now is the easiest way to bring you closer to that final goal. If the field of study you're considering is notoriously difficult to enter, like medicine or dentistry, try to use this to motivate yourself. Visualise what it looks like when you're walking into your dream course, discovering your passion, meeting new people that feel as passionate about what they're learning as you. Where will your dreams take you? Remember your goals and ambitions. Hold on to those images in your mind. They are awesome tools to help you get things done.
   
   Your ATAR (or OP for Queensland) can be another good motivator. Don't just have a 4-digit figure in your mind or pinned in front of your study space. Visualise how you want to feel when you see that final number, the doors that it could open up for you. Still can't find anything? Sometimes your key motivator could be something a bit less obvious. Maybe you had a particular girl or boy that was mean to you in school. Hold onto the nasty things they called you, and use them to motivate you to prove them wrong. Picture yourself looking down on them when your CEO of the company that person works for. Hard work can get you further than you'd think. Whatever it is that gets your wheels rolling, find it and harness it to help you soar through your final year of school with flying colours.
2. Remind yourself that this won't go on forever
   Sometimes school days seem to drag on, however it is important to remember this year won't last forever. If you put in the hard yards, the blood, sweat and tears, in your final year, the feeling of relief when you finally cross the finish will be even sweeter. It will be so much easier for you to let your hair down when you're done because you will likely have more to celebrate. Look forward to schoolies, Summer holidays and freedom, and use that to help push you to finish your year strong. The year will eventually end and you will move on. The last thing you want is to look back later on in life and regret not putting in the work when it really counted, knowing you could have done better if you tried harder. Look back satisfied; knowing you gave it everything you had.
3. Start a countdown calendar
   Got a smartphone? Download a countdown calendar from the app store and track the days until the end of your last exam. Use the reminder that you are closer and closer to the finish line push you to give your work everything you've got.
4. Set realistic goals for each week
   Set yourself a list of tasks to do for the week. Make sure that completing the list is reasonably achievable though, otherwise you will end up overwhelming yourself and either stressing out or procrastinating because your efforts would seem pointless.
5. Set yourself realistic achievement goals
   Set yourself goals in terms of the grades you want to achieve for particular assessments. As you study for that test or write up that assignment, think of that mark you want to achieve. Imagine the joy that mark would give you, and strive to make this a reality.
6. Reward yourself for achieving goals
   If you get through all the tasks you set for the week or surpass the mark you were aiming for in a particular test, reward yourself for it! Go out to the movies, or treat yourself to a scrumptious snack. You have earned it, and it will push you do keep achieving, week after week.
7. Try to make study fun
   Is that even possible? Let's face it, study will likely never be as fun as most of your usual recreational activities, but there are ways to make it more pleasant and thus help you be more inclined to do it! Mix things up, try making a pretty mind map, do time trials with maths questions or pretend you are the examiner and make up questions and exchange with a peer. Whatever you can think of! See our blog about how to make maths fun for some more specifically maths related tips.
8. Get creative
   Find something that works for you, no matter how stupid or cheesy it might seem to someone else. For example, try writing little messages like:
   
   - "You can do it!"
   - "Almost there!"
   - "Time to kick some ass!"
   
   on coloured sticky notes and stick them around your study space. When you look up away from your work you will be surrounded by motivational thoughts. Cheesy, yes, but it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, if it's going to help you achieve your absolute best, then it is definitely worth it!

As past students, we have all been exactly where you are now. We're not telling you it's going to be easy, we're telling you it's going to be worth it. Year 12 is not a sprint, it is truly a marathon. You've survived countless years of schooling, you're almost there, finish strong! If you stick to a plan, give it all you've got and strive to achieve your personal best, reaching that finish line will be the best feeling in the world!

Some Motivational Thoughts to Help You on Your Way:

• "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you'll land among the stars"
• "Don't wait for a light to appear at the end of the tunnel, stride down there and light the bloody thing yourself"
• "Don't dream it, do it"
• "There's no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs"
• "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard"
  
  Article reproduced, thanks to MyGuru.