How can I motivate myself to study :/

[bl33ding_heart]

I don't currently attend university, but I'd like to in a year or so. I would love to become a psychologist as I am a very empathetic person and I love helping people. The problem is I don't have the motivation to study whatsoever, nor do I have the attention span necessary for it. My attention span used to be decent, but it slowly worsened over these past few years due to severe mental and physical issues. I'm working on bettering my health and working towards a peace of mind. I need to start studying as soon as possible, I don't have that much time so I have to be very wary with the time that I do have. I need to get myself into a schedule of studying for at least an hour a day by the end of this month. Thank you for reading this, and all advice is much appreciated.

 

[wham311]

I don't currently attend university, but I'd like to in a year or so. I would love to become a psychologist as I am a very empathetic person and I love helping people. The problem is I don't have the motivation to study whatsoever, nor do I have the attention span necessary for it. My attention span used to be decent, but it slowly worsened over these past few years due to severe mental and physical issues. I'm working on bettering my health and working towards a peace of mind. I need to start studying as soon as possible, I don't have that much time so I have to be very wary with the time that I do have. I need to get myself into a schedule of studying for at least an hour a day by the end of this month. Thank you for reading this, and all advice is much appreciated.

Create a schedule for yourself and force yourself to adhere to it. Have a spot you like to study at where there are no distractions.

I found myself finally hitting the books when I started competing with everyone else. I wanted the highest scores.

You kinda have to find intrinsic motivation.

 

[LookingFrPeace]

I found myself finally hitting the books when I started competing with everyone else. I wanted the highest scores.

I agree, that feeling when you're the dominant student in the class feels pretty good and helps motivate you to keep going. Having equally competitive friends also helps a lot.

In my experience I like to study a little about the materials that are about to be discussed 1 - 2 days prior. Then during the class, when you can answer some questions or understand something that the other students don't, it gives you a motivation boost which fuel your studying will which then allows you to be above average in class which again motivates you which fuels your studying will that... Yeah you get the point. The hardest part is actually when you have to kickstart yourself to study for the very first time.

I personally also have an alternative approach. I used my gaming hobby to build studying habit and improve attention span by playing knowledge based games, especially life simulation games. My most recent one is Stardew Valley, this game taught me time management and the knowledge check is so abundant that it forced me to try using advanced note taking app like Obsidian to help me plan stuff & minmax the playthrough. Additionally, it's fun!