Having trouble finding motivation to study

[mangotree88]

I am in my last year of my RN program and i am finding it hard to stay motivated to study. Last year i was on the ball. Its not that i am not interested (i am actually more interested the more i learn), its that i think i am still in summer mode? I find excuses not to study. I dont know if its because i feel that i am comfortable with the material or what. I just need to light that fire under my ass again and get moving but im just full of distractions and excuses.

[cracklingkraken, ASN, RN]

I'm in the same non-motivated state.

I think it has more to do with the pace of my class. My Fundies and Med-Surg classes were fast paced and challenging. But this semester is very slow in comparison. And OB/ Peds really doesn't interest me. At all.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Don't make "being motivated" a required condition for studying. Do you only attend clinicals when you are motivated? Do you only pay bills when you are motivated? Or go to the grocery store? Or do your tax return, or take a shower? No, you likely do all those things because you have to, not because you are particularly motivated.

Designate certain times every day where you must study. You do this whether or not you feel excited about it or not. Start off by doing administrative type things that don't require too much concentration, like making note cards for future drilling, etc. If you tell yourself you must be motivated in order to study, you won't. But like many things you probably do every day that you don't particularly feel like doing, you do it anyway, because you must.

This is how I finally overcame my exercise flakiness. I was always struggling with motivation. Finally, I approached it with the above frame of mind. It doesn't matter whether or not I feel like it, if it's Monday morning, it's a work out day. Sunday morning is a rest day, etc. It actually takes the pressure off and gets rid of all that internal debate. And I now exercise for an hour a day, five days a week. Because I don't give myself that "out."

Good luck.