How Do You Build A Good Study/ Work Ethic?

[Ruth]

In Leo's video of advice for high school and College students he says that an important thing to do is to build a good study ethic. I am Finding this really difficult because I find my self procrastinating a lot or being lazy when it comes to doing my schoolwork. I really love the subjects that I'm taking and I am good at them but I just find it so hard to get stuff done. I get distracted and end up taking lots of unnecessary breaks because there are other things that I would rather be doing at the time. My work is really important to me and education is one of my main values so I don't understand why I am struggling to study so much. Does anyone else have this problem? Any advice would be really great    

[bazera]

I have exactly the same problem, learning is my top priority, or at least I want it to be, but I end up with procrastinating day after day after day... Just like you.

One thing that has helped me a lot is scheduling my next day. Before going to sleep, I journal the passed day, emotions I felt, things that happened, ideas that came to my head and etc. I write all of that in ny notebook, and I also schedule what I will be doing the next day, hour by hour. Something like this:

• Wake up at 7:00 o'clock
• do something from 10:00 to 12:00 o'clock
• do anoter thing from 13:00 to 15:00 o'clock
• etc...

This helps me a lot, because I don't waste my energy into thinking what I'm going to do at a certain time. I know exactly what I should be doing at any moment of the day. It's up to my willpower now, if I accomplish all the things from my checklist or not. 

Maybe you should try something like that too

[xXxXx]

Make it as easy as possible for you, create a routine and limit partying to 1-2 days a week, preferably with low alcohol consumption. Try to pamper your brain with good healthy food, meditation and a reasonable amount of rest. Don't suffer yourself into learning, try to create curiosity and lightness when you learn, procrastination is sometimes a sign of too much pressure. Sometimes it is better to recall your stuff in a smooth way for 3 hours than not at all or with high pressure for 1 hour.

And most important: Understand that the people you meet will most likely not be there in a few years, invest your time in your future and don't focus on building eternal friendships, you will have to invest time and energy in your studies and these are limited.

Nobody can drag you through the barriers of the learning process, but if you overcome them you have a good chance in finding something priceless - a profession which fulfills you

Edited February 17, 2016 by Locooig

[Zephyr]

Really good advice guys. 
One thing you can also do is create a to-do list. Make sure you don't overwhelm yourself by putting in the whole projects/assignments especially if you have lots of them. For example if you are doing an essay you just put in small things at a time like the introduction. Then move on to other stuffs. Not sure if this works for you, but this is what ive been doing. Try it though^_^

[Ruth]

@bazera - I have tried doing this a few times and it really helps! I just forget about it when I feel like I have too much to do so I think making it into a good daily habit would be a really good idea  

 

[Elton]

@Ruth intrensic motivation vs extrensic motivation. Passion and intution can be your saviour 

[ChristopherW]

1) Remove all stimulus/distractions.

2) Be sure to do it in manageable intervals. A 40 minute study session works for me, with a 10 minute break after each. Without the break you lose focus and performance, it is vital. Once you have your break, your performance is refreshed. 

3) Keep a study log/or at the least record how many intervals you did/how much progress you made. It'll keep you going, have no doubt.

Another thing I find really useful for when going on long study sessions is listening to classical/ambient music, in headphones.  Really clears your mind, and puts you in focus. Plus, no one will want to distract you if you have headphones on. Vivaldi the four seasons works well for me, since its 40 mins exactly.

Beyond that, you must force yourself through the pain. Without the mental pain, you cannot be great.

[Zephyr]

@ChristopherW I had this problem too. I started with 5 minutes studying - 10-30 minutes break though^_^ and build from there. 

[bazera]

@Ruth Do you know what I am doing in order to not forget it? I add "Schedule the next day" as the last thing in my daily to do list, that really helps, because, every day when I do everything according to my to do list, at the end of a day I see at the end of the list - "Schedule the next day", and I just do it, takes 2-3 minutes  

Yup, it has been almost 2 months for me now, and I am feeling how this becomes my new daily habit

[SmokeAndMirrors]

Hey,

three things that really help me a lot are:

1. Getting my work/study environment as clean as possible, with everything I need at hand and anything I don't need out of reach. 

2. Continously reminding me that the task at hand is a part of the way I decided to go, and therefore a necessary step for my overall goal.

3. Continously reminding me that the task at hand is a great opportunity to grow my self discipline, just like weightlifting is for muscles.

bye

paul

[ayokolomo]

What you are looking for is a magic trick that will somehow alleviate the pain of studying.  @SmokeAndMirrors has some great tips, but ultimately you know what has to be done.  Bite the bullet, sit down and study.

[Eike]

Even though there have been some great suggestions i'd like to add something too. I've heard most of the suggestions given, yet i'm procrastinating. I guess my problem is focusing on too many changes at once, which might be a problem for you too. My suggestion is to set rewards. One evening i was procrastinating, which I'm pretty familiar with. Suddenly two friends of mine asked if i'd like to hang out in around 10 minutes and i've said ofc. Actually the following 10 minutes were the most productive on that day. 
Further, since already mentioned, I recomment to build a habit and use rewards to build it. Start small, like 5 minutes a day. The important thing is, that you do it daily. Watch out for something you do by habit anyway and make it your trigger. For example brushing your teeth or exercising. Like mentioned reward yourself with small rewards after each session, middle rewards after a week and something you are excited about after a month. Keep that process for at least 1 month, otherwise it won't become a habit. 
Last but not least I have 2 (audio)books i can recomment you, which empower to take action and have further advise. The first one is "100 ways to motivate yourself by steve chandler" and the second one is "Time Warrior by steve chandler".
Hopefully this might help you