MOTIVATION........aaaarrrggghhh

[beenee]

How can one motivate themselves to study for their exams?

[good2skull]

Fear, pure and simple. Fear of failing. Worked for me anyway. Probably not too healthy though. Good luck.

[bibbles love]

Chocolate, beer, clothes, weekend away, etc. Got to give yourself something to look forward to at the end of it all. Also little treats. "If I study for 5 hours today, I can relax for an hour with pizza and corrie later on". Worked for me. Also self respect- you'll end up losing that if you don't acheive what you are capable of. Something to ponder on. Good luck.

[good2skull]

Yes, wise words indeed, listen to bibbles love, not good2skull. In fact while studying for my PhD viva, I promised myself that should I be fortunate enough to become Dr. good2skull I would have a curry after the viva with my friends and get befuddled. And yea, I did.

[incitatus]

yea, he did. Rewards is good. And self respect. and fear. and the possibility of a better job with more pay. Also remember to try to break revision up. Do a timetable and stick to it. This lets you cross things off one at a time, and so feel you are achieving something. Face dwith the whole thing your brain tries to whimper and escape out the back of your head. Manageable chunks, thats the thing.

[lillie]

You know what I do? I imagine myself at 70 looking back on my life and thinking: I could have done so much, why didn't I just go for it- it's too late now. This seems to really spur me on, although having said that, it's not helping me get stuck into my current project, especially since I found this site. I think with mental blocks the hardest part is starting. Once your started, you'll be away. So force youreslf to start - be your own Sergeant Major!

[good2skull]

That's a good point too, if you work hard now, hopefully the future goes some way to taking care of itself. Sometimes, since I have left academia to join the professional ranks, I wonder what the point of it all was, the studying, exams, more exams, then a job. It doesn't sound to exiting. Then you think about what an education allows you: a job where you are using your talent, not sticking a label on a tin can 40 hours a week, where you get to see the world and hopefully you get a reasonable salary meaning you can give yourself presents all year round - not just at christmas !