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MotivationThis information is available to download in a word document download

This page contains relevant information and resources for students who are concerned about losing motivation in your studies.

Motivation is what keeps us attending classes, getting assignments in on time, and studying for exams when we would rather be doing something else more enjoyable. Most students have a problem with motivation at some point in their course, for example:

  • At the start of a course - It is not what you thought, you are disillusioned.
  • In the Second Year of your course after a successful first year -"new year, same old s**t".
  • After a particularly stressful period - When it hits you that life just goes on as usual.
  • About halfway through semester - When it has gone on long enough for you to be tired but the end is not in sight.

Here are some things you might try.

1.Take a break. Instead of trying (unsuccessfully) to make yourself work, take a complete break.

2.Review your goals: long term (eg., satisfying job); medium term (eg., pass all four subjects this semester); and short-term (eg.,get this assignment in by the due date). Remind yourself how the present tasks are linked directly to your future goals.

3. Break large tasks (eg.“write an essay”) into manageable sub-tasks (eg. "write introduction paragraph"). Read the question thoroughly, go and collect the recommended introductory references, read and summarise them, jot down ideas on how to tackle the topic, locate relevant resources, read and summarise these, construct an essay plan, write a first draft, revise the draft, finalise and submit. Work your way through these subtasks in order, tick each one off as you complete it

4. Focus on your successes, not your failures. By all means write lists of “to do's”. But cross things off when they are done, remind yourself of what you have achieved so far.

5. Don’t make excuses, make progress. If something comes up to interfere with your study plans, work out what you can do to make sure it does not happen again. Rather than keeping making lists and trying to decide what is most important, just start doing something and finish it. Then pick another task, start, and finish that. Once the list is shorter, then make some choices about which of the remainder is most important.

6. Go with the flow. Not every subject is going to be interesting. Like in the rest of life, you have to do things that have to be done, whether you like it or not. Form a mutual support group of students who are also struggling with the subject, at least you can discuss the material with each other and feel understood.

7. Review how you are going about your studies. Look at the Time Management resources, compare what you are doing with what these suggest. Look at the Being a Successful Student resource - any useful ideas there?

8. Remember: loss of energy and ability to concentrate can have many causes, including health-related ones. Would a visit to your doctor be a good idea?

9. A talk with a Counsellor on your campus might be a good way of getting a new perspective on the problem.

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If you are concerned about exam anxiety, the resources below can help you learn more about effective preparation and time management during exams.

Swinburne University Services and Resources

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