One of the core aspects of education is motivation. How to motivate yourself to study has long been a question that many people ask. However, when we get into the habit of studying and working hard in school, results will come. Will it be easy? No, but it will happen. If you work hard and study regularly, good results will start to come your way.

It’s impossible to motivate yourself if you don’t define a goal. So why do your parents force you to get certain grades when they know that it’s not the right thing for you? They expect you to be in a high-flying career in life, but they don’t realize that their goals are not always the correct ones.

So how do you push yourself to study when you know that it’s not the thing for you? The answer is simple: You set your own goals. Without these, how are you supposed to motivate yourself?

To start with this process, ask yourself what you’d like to do for a living and then work backward from there. Next, think about things that you love doing – activities or different jobs – and write them down in a list. It is your career goal.

From this long list, pick only three items you would like to pursue. Be realistic in your goals at the beginning, rather than setting something that you know will not take off. These are your super-goals.

Now you need to get rid of all the excuses preventing you from doing what you want to do. So here is the 5 step process of self-motivation:

Step 1: Take a Walk

There are many different things that you can do for this step, such as jogging or playing sports, but the idea of taking a walk helps us to relax and think about what we want to do. For example, if you walk through the park and see some beautiful flowers growing, don’t be tempted to pick them. Instead, think of your goals and write them down on a piece of paper.

If you still feel like you cannot motivate yourself to study after doing this exercise, go back and read the first step again.

Step 2: Commit to a Single Task

If you want to study, do it! Commit yourself to a single purpose of doing something everyday. It doesn’t have to be studying, but ensure that this is just one thing you give your full attention to. You will find that if you keep doing this, you will feel more motivated from time to time and will have a desire to study again. The more things you commit yourself to, the more motivated you’ll be.

Step 3: Clear your workspace to be neutral

It’s difficult to be motivated when you have clutter on your desk. First, clear out all of the clutter from your workspace and give yourself some space. Then think about the item that you are going to work on. It should not be confused with a project you are working on in school; you will do it during the daytime while studying.

Step 4: Use the “Low Effort” Hack

This hack is a simple technique that you can use to be more motivated. When you are about to start your study for the day, set the alarm for 15 minutes beforehand to have some quiet time. It will help you get into a proper mindset. If it’s your first time doing this, consider setting the alarm for 30 minutes before and make sure to relax like mentioned above as well.

Step 5: Use the Pomodoro Practice to Overcome Inertia

The Pomodoro method involves breaking down your work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. Frequent breaks improve your mental agility. Francesco Cirillo coined the technique back in 1980s.

Here’s how it works:

Decide what task you’re going to do. Fix the timer to a preset of 25 minutes and get to work. Work without distractions until the timer elapses. Take a break for 3-5 minutes. It helps to get up, move around and re-energize your mind during this break. Return to step 2 to maximize your productivity throughout the day

Conclusion

Focus on the bigger things for yourself. If you are motivated by happiness, do something that creates happiness for someone else. A good way to increase motivation is by helping others in need. It’s never too late to help others.