What are 5 ways to change my Attitude Toward Studying?

We’ve all been there: it’s been a long day at school, or maybe a series of long days to make things worse. Sleep has eluded you, and you can feel your motivation slowly waning but the tests, assignments, and classes continue to pile up. So what’s a year 12 student to do?

While there isn’t an easy solution, but by changing your mindset, you give yourself the best chance at maximising your study. In this article, we share 5 tips to make studying less of a chore!

Table of Content:

1. Study with the End Goal in Mind
2. Break it Down
3. Treat Yourself
4. Find New Ways to Study
5. Form a Study Group
6. FAQs

1. Study with the end goal in mind

It’s hard to feel motivated to do something if you don’t see a bigger purpose, and it can be hard to see the point of studying parabolic functions. When will you ever use it outside of Year 12?

However, shifting your thinking to consider study as part of a bigger plan can help you persevere through the more mundane tasks. Do you have a goal in mind for university study or a career? If so, great! Remind yourself that everything you’re learning in school will help you get there.

While you might not deal with parabolas directly as an architect or physiotherapist, broadening your problem-solving ability is essential for any career. If you’re still uncertain exactly where you’re headed after school, that’s fine too. Consider your study as a way of enriching your knowledge and skill set in various domains, which can give you so many more options in the future.

2. Break it down

If you’re struggling to grasp a concept, staring at page 222 out of 223 in your textbook (where the most difficult questions are) can make the task seem insurmountable.

So be patient, and start with the basics. Consider the timeline from now until exam day. Break down your expected knowledge into a series of steps, and check back in with yourself every week to see how you’re progressing. Learning a little bit more, then delving into slightly harder content on a week-by-week basis is a lot less daunting than going straight for page 222 on day one of revisions.

3. Treat Yourself

A great motivation to do anything is knowing there will be a reward at the end.

So for every study session, think of something you can do either immediately after, or sometime soon as an incentive for your hard work. Maybe it is letting yourself watch an episode of Netflix at the end of the day, or perhaps you get to stock up your pantry with your favourite snacks to use as rewards. It could be as simple as calling a friend, taking a long hot shower. Whatever will serve you as the light at the end of the study tunnel, use that as your motivation!

4. Find New Ways to Study

Part of the reason you’re hitting a wall might be because the way you are going about studying just doesn’t work for you. It doesn’t mean you’re bad at studying, or that the concept is beyond you. It more likely just means that you haven’t found what works for you.

If you’re a visual learner, draw the concepts using colour codes, make flashcards, mindmaps etc. Try different study methods until you find the one that works for you.

5. Form a Study Group

Year 12 can feel very lonely, and like the weight of the world is all on your shoulders. Joining a study group, or even studying alongside your friends, can make it feel more like a team effort.

Being in a supportive environment where you encourage each other can make studying something to look forward to, especially if you break up the sessions with time to catch up and talk about anything other than school.

Conclusion

There are many possible reasons why a student can struggle to find the motivation to study, but the good new is there are different strategies to work that out. If you’re in year 12 and need some inspiration to break your study funk, consider booking a free 30-minute study skills consultation with a KIS Academics tutor to discuss what might work for you!

For more tips and resources, check out these KIS Academics articles:

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FAQs

Written by Dee Tomic who completed her PhD in epidemiology with Monash University.

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