How do you motivate yourself to study?

[Bea]

I've mentioned before that I do a bunch of little things to get me out of bed during my depressive stages - I form habits and routines I can't break, I write little notes of encouragement, etc. But one thing I'm still having a lot of trouble with is motivating myself to sit down at my study desk and actually study, during my depressive episodes. I'm fine during my manic episodes; I'm so giddy and happy that I don't mind studying because I know it's for my best. When I'm depressed, though, I always think, "What's the point of it all? I'm gonna fail anyway." And I just end up sleeping or doing whatever after being productive for half the day.


How do you guys do it? Any tips?

 

[lexinonomous]

I can't motivate myself to study. I just have to do it. It's as simple as picking up my things and forcing myself to read the words, regardless of how I'm feeling about it. It's a difficult thing to do, but when you force yourself to get into the rhythm of studying, it becomes easier with time. I am currently taking classes and it's driving me insane. As much as I hate studying, I have to force myself to study for at least fifteen minutes a day. I set a timer sometimes and allow myself to sit in a room with my books for fifteen minutes. It has done wonders for my schooling and has really helped me understand the material.


Fifteen minutes a day is doable. It's easier to study in small intervals, since you are not dreading the idea of sitting in a chair for hours upon hours. Cramming information into your head is one of the worst things you can do. All of your pent up energy is going to be put into studying and you're going to be so unwilling to take in information.

 

[Robilas]

I had the same problems during the hardest stages of my depression. A question was always popping in my head: "Why I do this? I know that I'm not going to pass that test anyway". 90% of the time I used to give up, but the remaining 10% I used to study quite hard and soon or later I was able to pass that test.


Your best chance is to force yourself to study. Not "motivate", but "force". You don't need a motivation, you just need to study.

 

[Alex]

It is hard to focus and study, and then to enjoy it when you aren't in the mood. This is worse with finals and tests because you can't wait for your symptoms to subside when there is a deadline. There is no easy answer, and to be honest many good students suffer poor grades due to depression because they can't concentrate or study through lack of sleep or concentration.


I had to force myself to write out the notes the day before my finals as it was the only way I could actually read anything by physically doing it even though I had done the notes several times before already.

 

[fuzyon]

Studying has always been hard for me because I'm an active person so sitting down and focusing on reading doesn't work for me, but I started to reward myself and little by little I became disciplined. For example, after 25 pages I would reward myself with a chocolate or a tv show. If I would be able to finish a book in a day I would order my favorite type of food and that would motivate me a lot. Try this technique out, it worked for an active person like me.

 

[hades_leae]

Looks like that's where we defer. All I can do when I'm feeling depressed is study. I sit in front of my laptop for hours and do lots of things onlins as far as educating myself. I'm not in school or anything, but enjoy studying because it's a good hobby to continue to advance yourself for yourself.


It's really easy for me to do because it keeps me calm and I don't have to deal with anyone which is the goal.

 

[NormaD]

I guess different things work for different people. I have always found that when I'm at my worst, it helps to listen to audios. That way I can just curl up with a tub of ice cream and relax but the time is well spent because the information is still sinking in anyway, even though it doesn't feel like I'm actually doing any work... Win win..

 

[Jemina]

I motivate myself to study by saying, for example, if I get through these 5 pages of notes I can listen to my favorite song. Or I can have a piece of candy. Whatever I'm wanting at the time. I can't have what I want until I've done what I need to do. It works, because I want to have the thing I want. Even if it's just "I can get a drink after I'm done with this page." It seems to make me want to progress more anyway.

 

[joshposh]

Looks like you are trying with the reminder notes. You go that covered. I would suggest you start getting a good meal in before studying so your mind has fuel. By the way you need animal protein and fat for proper brain fucntions The brains is made primarily of fat so it needs fuel. Also drink a lot of water. Then to top it all off drink some coffee for a quick buzz and your now off to the races.


I have deadlines and so forth like most do. That is my usual prep before tackling a big project. Coffee does wonders. Preferably black or with a natural sweetener.

 

[StillStanding]

I remind myself of the reasons I signed up to my course. The future i envisaged. The reasons the subject attracted me. Usually this manages to give me energy I need to study.

 

[rz3300]

I seem to have a love hate relationship when it comes to studying, which I guess is good because I am sure that there are people who just have a hate only relationship, so at least I have a step up on them. The good news is that I used to really count on the unhealthy means of studying, mostly coffee and energy drinks, but there were also some pills in there. These days, though, my weapon of choice is exercise, and it I get a good workout in during the day I find it a lot easier to study at night.

 

[Panic57]

I always make sure to drink a lot of water or tea before I go to bed so that it forces me to get up out of bed and into the bathroom. Once I'm in the bathroom, I'll want a hot shower and then I'm in business. Doesn't matter how depressed I am, I can't sleep pass the need to pee or go back to sleep after a good hot shower. Then I'll meander into the kitchen for food. I always eat in front of the computer, so starting work isn't a problem. For me, it's setting up a system of habits that are almost fail proof. Even in my most depressed, I could still work, thought I was numb the whole time.

 

[bangtanboys]

I often find that if I am in the right environment, I am more inclined to study. My favorite place to study is at my university's library's study area. It's much quieter than my room at home, and definitely less distracting. So if you have a study hall or a library nearby, do do your studying there, you'll find that you'll be more productive. Or if that's going to be an impossible task, do what I sometimes do and reward yourself after you study with a treat like a favorite snack or show.

 

[EntropiaAddict]

I had the same problems during the hardest stages of my depression. A question was always popping in my head: "Why I do this? I know that I'm not going to pass that test anyway". 90% of the time I used to give up, but the remaining 10% I used to study quite hard and soon or later I was able to pass that test.
Your best chance is to force yourself to study. Not "motivate", but "force". You don't need a motivation, you just need to study.

This is also how I feel when in a down-swing, you have to force yourself to study whether you feel like it or not. The same holds true when you are working, no matter how depressed you are, you just have to get up and go to work. I have found when the depression is really bad that it really helps me out to break the studying into small chunks with small rewards (something like study for 15 minutes and grab a snack, then study for 45 minutes and watch a 30 minute show I enjoy). I also remind myself that if I don't study, I won't do as well in the class and when final grades come out, I will be pushed further into my depression since I know I could have done better. Avoiding falling further into depression usually helps me in "forcing" myself to study.

 

[AlysBunny]

I see knowledge as it's own reward usually and I like to learn new things. When I have trouble, I remind myself that I might fail the test (though that would be really rare for me) but I want to know the material. I think of how stupid I'll feel if I fail. If the class has a discussion or friends in the same class have a discussion or a friend who takes the class next semester asks me something, I think about how embarrassed I'll feel if I don't remember anything or, worse, tell them the wrong thing. I may be a miserable failure at a lot of things. There are things I can't control. But learning something is something that I can control. I can read and memorize and research and know. It's my armor against feeling stupid when I can't contribute to the discussion. I have enough trouble with the social stuff when I can follow the conversation so I can't afford not to be able to understand the objective stuff. That's my motivation.

 

[thecorinthian]

When I was still in school the one thing I did to study well was to leave my room and all the distractions that come with it. TV was a big distraction for me before as well as my computer and cellphone. To study I go to the library and keep my cellphone in my bag and consciously stop going to other sites when I study. I read for an hour or two then I take a 15 min. break and play all I want. It's all about prioritizing my friend especially if there's an exam tomorrow.

 

[rootle]

Well I guess thinking about the fact that if you do not study, it will lead to more depression is some sort of motivation to get you to keep studying. Although when you're in the moment I doubt it is easy to think like that. Perhaps the best thing to do is to make studying an extremely mechanical process that you do without thinking about it too much. Basically you got to train yourself to do it and ignore distractions. Then even when you're depressed you'll sort of automatically do it. I'm not a hundred percent sure to be honest, I haven't really been able to solve the problem.

 

[111kg]

I've been using the Forest app for the last 2 months. Basically, you can set app to grow little trees in a certain period of time. If you start the timer and then use your phone, the tree dies and you lose coins. Now, you could easily choose not to start the app, right? But here is a secret: get a studying buddy and compete against him or her. Trust me, it does wonders.

 

[noachleo]

There are a few variables that I take into account but the most important one would be the environment. I have also found that by timing the activities I have to perform, I feel more productive and cover much more ground. The one thing that I do before reading through a piece of paper is meditating. There are a few approaches like ASMR triggers. I don't know if you're familiar with this but these are whisper like sounds that stimulate the back of your rain are, sort of like a massage. Just look up ASMR on YouTube and you will come across a long list of ASMR artists with different triggers or role plays that will get you to concentrate more when hitting the books.

 

[Laneorexorcist]

I actually use studying as a way to distract myself about all the depression and anxiety, and it's something that I do quite often and that habit has given be quite good results when it comes to the grades, but I isolate myself because of that too. So... for me, it's not really a motivation thing, it's something that I need to do in order to keep my brain thinking about something else and trying not to sink on negativity.