Leaving Cert - No motivation HELP!

lol_

Hi,
So, I have just started Sixth Year and I have no motivation. I am studying in dribs and drabs but I have found it an effort to do. Last year I was so motivated and I was studying all the time. What advice would you all give me about this? If you were doing your Leaving Cert again, what would you change study wise?

stop animal cruelty

Hey I was just like you, had no movivation, but I was also crap at school. If I had to go back and do it all over again, this is what I'd do:

Make the time for study, I always made up some excuse!

Highlight/make notes of the n.b stuff, just make sure you know them.

Dont do too much at once, like trying to study 3/4hrs in one day, it'll just turn you off.

Some down time is important, like maybe everyday go for a 20min walk or whatever.

I know my points aren't really motivatinal, I dont have any good quote or anything but all I can tell you is I regret not making the effort. Its only for a few months of your life that you have to put the hard work in!

Days 298

lol_ wrote: »

Hi,
So, I have just started Sixth Year and I have no motivation. I am studying in dribs and drabs but I have found it an effort to do. Last year I was so motivated and I was studying all the time. What advice would you all give me about this? If you were doing your Leaving Cert again, what would you change study wise?

Keep your desk clean.
Make time for study.
Put your phone out of reach. I put mine at the top of my desk, upside down with all notifications on mute with no vibrations. Don't touch it until you are done.
Don't panic and overload yourself at the start. That will just turn you off study.

Dont sit down and say Im going to study probability in maths. Sit down and plan to study probability for X minutes but if I get it done before then great, if not stop,take a 5 minute break (check your phone, get water) and move on. Dont rush, its tiring and pointless.

I joined after school study this year so I can go and sit down and study with no distractions. The amount of work you will get done with no distractions will motivate you to study more because you are actually learning not getting frustrated at lack of progress and being turned off by it.

8.30 is the latest I will touch a book on a week day. Early bed time (10.30) are a pain but are well worth it.

Depending on your subjects try 2 and half to 3 hours proper study per day during the week and 2 hours per day on the week end. Make the weekend a time of recoup for the next week but not totally devoid of work.


Most importantly... Do you want to repeat? I guess no. Do you want to be enjoying freshers week next year? The leaving cert will be come and gone in no time, give it your best shot.

arthurday2013

It has been a long time since I have done the leaving certificate.

In addition to the excellent suggestions you have received so far, I would suggest that you set goals for yourself. Start with monthly study goals - define these in terms of material covered rather than time spent. For each subject you could have a set of objectives in terms of material covered, exam questions answered, problem sets, etc. Once you have monthly goals set, convert these into weekly and daily goals. use daily to do lists to keep you on track

You may want to invest in a study planner to facilitate this.

The other thing I would recommend is to emphasize active rather than passive learning. Before you read a chapter, have a few questions written down to guide your reading and keep you focused. Also, make sure that you use lots of exam questions to keep you on track. You can use these later on to revise.

Finally, try as much as you can to study early in the day rather than night. Get up an hour early and use that as study time. Also use the five minutes between classes, or some time over lunch to accomplish your objectives.

Good luck!!