How to have more motivation to study

Studying is often the most dreaded part of any pre med’s life. Whether you hate it or love it, studying is the MOST important part of making good grades. Without spending enough time studying you are practically guaranteeing yourself to not make the grade you want. We all know that studying is important, but why is it that 64% of students now today study less than 15 hours a week? The biggest problem is motivation.

If you don’t have motivation then you will not study as much and the time that you do spend studying will be far less efficient. I have several articles on tips to help you improve your studying, but that really won’t help you unless you first are motivated to actually study. If you don’t spend enough time studying, no shortcuts will save you. So if we are able to find the motivation to study, that could literally revolutionize our grades on exams and ultimately your gpa.

Here are a few methods to help you get more study time in:

– Make a study group

– Pick a specific time of day to study

– Learn to love what you are learning

– Use your desire to make an A to motivate you

Make a study group: This is often an incredible motivator to study that is really underrated. Quite simply, if you are studying with other people it is a lot more fun! Also studying with your classmates and friends is one of the BEST ways to make sure you understand the material. Often in study groups, each person has an area they are good at and bad at. So people in the group can cover each other’s weaknesses while at the same time helping each other out in the areas they are strong in. Just make a few friends in class and ask them if they all want to meet up and study. Its that simple!
Pick a specific time of day to study: People are creatures of habit. So it goes without saying that an extremely powerful tool to help you study more is to simply get in the habit of studying at a specific time of day. Studies show that people spend more time studying between 10am-12pm. What time of day you pick is up to you, but the key is to pick a time of day that you know you will be in the mood to study and commit to it! It is optimal to have atleast two study sessions per day, each that are about 30-45 minutes long. (Check out the article on spaced repetition, to find out why).

Learn to love what you are learning: If you love what you are learning, then you don’t need ANY other tips! You will already have all the motivation you need to study and more! Put quite simply, this is the single most important factor in my opinion when it comes to finding time to study. If you love what you are learning and are fascinated by it, I am 90% sure you will make an A in that class. Period. It is that powerful. Check out this article which teaches you exactly how I learned to love all of my hardest classes and how I started getting A’s because of it!
Use your desire to make an A to motivate you: Now this might sound like an obvious one, but this is honestly one of the EASIEST methods to motivate your self to to study. If you are really serious about becoming a doctor, then I am sure making A’s to you is one of the most important things to you in your life. In that case, channel that energy into studying! Tell yourself that the more time I put into my studying the better grade I will get! I am going to study super hard, because I want that A! Even while you are studying, keep reminding yourself of this. “Once I get the concept down, I am going to do even better on that exam!”. What I am saying here is, try to channel all of that energy you have about getting into medical school, improving your gpa, making good grades into your motivation to study. Because studying is the key to all of those things!

Getting those good grades is about being a good student. Here at premed community, we will teach you how to be that student which makes good grades and really gains alot from their studies. Remember, being a good student is a skill. A skill which must be practiced like any other to get good at it. Its not about being a genius, its about understanding the fundamentals of good studying and work ethic. Tell us in the comments below what are the ways YOU motivate yourself to study?

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Proven method for improving your grades

We all know that getting good grades is essential to becoming a doctor and getting into medical school. So when it comes to having and maintaining a good GPA, it is critical that we master the art of studying. Getting good grades and acing your tests is much more than being really smart or being a genius.

It is a skill. A skill that can be learned and improved on.

Getting good grades is a skill. A skill which requires practice and constant refinement.

I’m going to repeat that getting good grades is more about HOW you study than about how smart you are. If you know how to study, you WILL get good grades. That simple. So it is important to understand the fundamental principles of proper studying and know all the associated techniques.

A new study from Harvard Medical school has found a way “to increase knowledge retention by 50%”. This method is now being used to help medical students remember their material better and score better on their exams. This method is known as.. Spaced repetition.

Spaced repetition is exactly what it sounds like. It is getting repeated exposure to the material you want to learn over a period of time. What this means is that, we are actually better at learning and remembering information if we see it many times over a period of time than if we try to cram the night before. Exposing yourself to the material several times over weeks or months helps to solidify it in your memory. So just remember that the more we are exposed to some information the better we will remember it. If you only see it once or twice before your test, you will find it difficult to recall it during your exam. And if you see that material 50 times, you are super sure that you won’t forget it!

Making it practical:

So here’s how can you use spaced repetition to improve your studying and help you get better grades..

– Start studying for your tests several days and possibly even weeks before you take them

– Study and review your class notes a little bit every day

– To help prepare for your finals. Review your old tests and quizzes every week

– Break a long study session into multiple shorter study sessions

– Whatever you do, DON’T cram last minute. (This is a recipe for disaster)

So the lesson to be learned here is that we remember information better if we are exposed to it several times over an extended period of time (weeks or months). Being exposed to some information once is not enough to solidify it in our long term memory. We must make an active effort to make sure we revisit the same material multiple times to be able to fix it into our memory.

The way we can utilize this advice is by trying to break up long study sessions into multiple shorter study sessions. This allows us more opportunities to see the material. And also the earlier you begin preparing for your exam the better! That doesn’t mean you will have to study 3 hours a day, it simply means if you spend 30 minutes a day for a week you will be in good shape!

The main thing is that you should start studying for your exams as soon as you can. Preferably study your material every day, and even after you finished your exam continue to review your old material every week. Doing so can help you get good grades and improve your GPA!

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Get our free ebook , “The Pre-Med Beginner’s Guide”, which summarizes everything that every premed must know!

Also get free access to our comprehensive lists of medical school rankings! Click here to download

Good luck on your journey to medical school! Premed Community is here with you every step of the way!