How do you stay motivated?

Achoo!, LPN · Mar 15, 2007

I block my time. I won't study for more than 1/2 hour at a time. I at least change laundry over, make a phone call, do something else until I am ready to focus again. There is no point in studying if your head isn't in it.

I have a type A personality though. I know if I don't get it done it will just pile up, so that is my motivation.

trellimana · Mar 15, 2007

I have a lot of kids and very limited study time, so I make up note cards as I go, whenever I have 10 free minutes or whatever. Then I can flip through note cards while I'm cooking, nursing the baby, whatever, and by the time test rolls around I've looked at that stuff a million times and have them down pat.

No way I can sit and study in long sessions, just doesn't work for me at the moment!

Megsd, BSN, RN · Mar 15, 2007

My question is -- why does the material seem overwhelming to you when you go to study? Is it too much information, or too difficult to understand? My suggestion is to study small chunks of info at a time, and do it AFTER lecture. I know some people recommend reading before class and for some classes you have to (pop quizzes and all that), but I tend to be able to read more efficiently (faster and with more comprehension) if I have seen the material before. Study a little every day so the volume doesn't stack up, give yourself study breaks. Try different techniques to study to break it up -- notecards vs. reading vs. rewriting notes, etc.

xt1 · Mar 15, 2007

Im just starting nursing school and can tell you I never thought there would be more than 12 steps to washing one hands. There's no magic sentence to make you more motivated. Besides motivation doesn't last very long you might get motivated to do it one time and then tomorrow your back to your old ways. You dont have to like doing it, to do it. JUST DO IT. You want motivation? Talk to the people at your school who are graduating. Ask them how it feels to bring and end to the journey. Aside from motivation the only real advice I can offer is to divide the information into the smallest chunks possible. The smaller the amount of info you have to intake at once the more likely you are to complete the task. small steady steps. Read a chapter a day. At the very least read the titles anything in bold print and the opening and closing paragraphs of each section. that will give a good idea of what the chapter wants you to know and depending on the book your using you can take a look at the key concepts to get an overview of the chapter. I dont have the luxury of taking a chapter a little at a time because of the stupidly fast pace of the program. I have to read like 4 or 5 chapter a night. seriously who can absorb that much information in a night. Our skills labs are demonstrated one day and the next we have to return demonstrate. Blah! Anyway at the very least skim the chapter and bet a basic overview of the info. Then listen very closely in class :) Maybe get a tape recorder to refer back to when needed but there is no substitute for just doing it. Work hard now and reap the benefits later(test day).

caliotter3 · Mar 15, 2007

You might try making yourself a large progress calendar. Block out your assignments and milestones on a calendar. One by one, with a pencil, cross out the day, as you progress. You can get as detailed as you want, depending on how much you can get on each day. As you cross off the days, you will be rewarding your brain, by seeing how much closer you are to your final nursing school day which should be very prominently displayed. It would not hurt to place little self rewards in your calendar too. Something special after a semester or an important test. Little motivators. Can't hurt.

Scrubz · Mar 15, 2007

It's habitual. If you make yourself study, you'll find yourself just studying more, and the less you study, the less likely you are to study. So just go to the library or somewhere quiet and just make yourself study. Sounds like a bogus time, which usually it is, but it's worth it.

I find the best motivation to study is to know that come test time, it would have been worth it. Much better to study a little here and there and do good throughout than to have to cram before your final test because if you don't make a good grade on it then you fail the course!! There's my motivation!!

Plus I just like to learn. Except now I'm in an OB class and I KNOW that I'll never work OB. I plan to work adult ICU. It's hard to get me motivated to study for something I know that I'll never need pass the NCLEX. But hey, I'm still trying to make a good grade.

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 15, 2007

I have a few moments from time to time when I dread studying for the next exam. What keeps me motivated is recalling past employment, where I was not allowed to think on the job, even though the job required experience and an education.

I'm not joking, I had a few supervisors who wrote out all the tasks I was to complete during the day and how I was to complete them step-by-step! If a task was not written out in such a way that caused me to use my brain to complete it, I was required to ask my supervisor's opinion in order to get clarification. This was also how I was to interact with the public. I could not say anything other than, "that is a good idea, but I am going to have to ask my supervisor how she would like to proceed with this matter and get back to you." This occurred even in cases where I was the project manager and the point of contact to others. By the way, no I was not new on the job nor do I have a poor track record for managing projects. I also recall being unable to find a second job for more then a year because the opportunities for my skills and education at the time were limited.

In fact, I think back to my last supervisor who put me through emotional turmoil with her bipolar mood swings and her micromanaging ways in order to seek ALL the motivation I need to study! The awful thought of her is enough to get me up early on the mornings of my days off from work and school! It is also enough to keep me up late at night with my nose in the books even when an exam is weeks away! :lol2:

Don't get me wrong, I know Nursing is tough and that some supervisors are out right CRAZY, but one thing I am assured of is the fact that Registered Nurses must THINK on the job. It is a requirement at all levels of employment because it is part of their scope of practice! Plus, if I have a crazy supervisor as a nurse, I can give my two weeks on the spot and move on to another position right away! GL!

IrishIzCPNP, MSN, RN, APRN, NP · Mar 15, 2007

I know what you mean. I never learned to study. I know that may sound odd to people but it's true. When I was in high school I didn't know what studying meant. I would read things but got bored really quickly. I'm not a reader. I'm a doer.

Studying is VERY hard for me.

I honestly believe I may have ADD. My brother, father, son and daughter (of 4 kids) have been diagnosed. There's not much I can do about it because even if I had it I don't believe I could take anything for it because it would likely be contraindicated with another medication I'm on.

So I feel your pain. I have no advice...just know where you are coming from.

Kemccanha · Mar 15, 2007

I just study 20 minutes at a time. Studies have shown that after 20 minutes you lose your interest in what your doing. I'm in my last semester and so I can say it's worked for me. I also have children and I will tell you that they have always come first. I take my books everywhere with me or else I have my earphones in my ears listening to my taped lectures! Good Luck to you!

FutureNurse2005 · Mar 15, 2007

what gets me motivated is my long term goals!! If i'm struggling to study, I will take a few minutes and think about WHY I am going through all of this. For me, I want to work in Africa one day, but I cant be a nurse over there unless I finish here. KWIM?

Make a list of reasons why you are in this program. Refer to it when needed!

jemommyRN · Mar 19, 2007

Sometimes I have to just ask myself "How bad do I want it?" Then I start thinking about my future goals and how I can't do any of it if I don't get past this part. Everybody just has to "do their time".