What does motivation have to do with studying?

Actually, it's very, very important. Why DO you study, anyway? Why spend your afternoon or evening hours hammering away at reading or homework or memorization when you could be out having fun?

There are several things that motivate students to study and do their homework. Most of them are on the outside (extrinsic motivation). Outside reasons to study include to avoid getting into trouble, to stop an adult or parent from nagging, to get a good grade on a test or in a class, and to pass a test.

Is your reason for studying on this list? Unfortunately, these extrinsic reasons for behavior are some of the least motivating things around. Anytime you are doing something because someone else is making you, your motivation will suffer. Studying to satisfy someone else's idea of what you should be doing never feels very satisfying.

Instead, we should look for internal motivation. This is called "intrinsic motivation," and it's a far more powerful motivator than extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation comes from inside you. Examples of intrinsic motivations include graduation, getting a better job, learning, pride of accomplishment, and so forth.

When you find reasons inside yourself to meet the academic challenges, you will tap into a much stronger motivational scheme. All of the sudden, you complete work and study because you see value in the activity. It's no longer a chore, but a means to a desired end.

Here's a story about Robin, a student who needed to motivate himself. Read to find out what Robin does to keep his motivation and focus high while he studies for finals. Make a list of the motivational techniques you spot him using in this story. See if you can find all five.

Robin was worried about his big final in biology coming up next week. The class had been really tough and his grade was teetering on the verge of a D. The big test would make or break his final score. Robin decided to do everything in his power to get a good grade on the final.

Robin gathered up his book, his notes, and some other supplies. He made a plan to study biology at least once every evening for the next week. The final was over all twelve chapters and seemed overwhelming, so he decided to break the task up into smaller chunks. Robin wrote out a schedule that called for studying one chapter right after school and another right after supper for six days. He planned to spend at least an hour on each study session for biology.

Armed with his plan, Robin dug right in after school on Monday. He opened the book to chapter one and began to review. It seemed like it would take the whole hour just to read through the material! He set his timer for 20 minutes and promised himself that he would be finished skimming the first three sections when it rang. When the timer did go off, Robin had reached his goal! He turned his attention to making flashcards for the vocabulary that he had just covered in the book. Once that was done, Robin stood up and stretched and took a quick walk around the house. He was proud of how far he'd come, so he stopped in the kitchen for a cookie and a glass of milk. Back in his room, Robin finished reading the rest of the chapter by the end of the hour.

Later that evening, Robin got the bio book back out for his second study session. Chapter two looked even longer than chapter one! But Robin said to himself, "I know I can get through this! After all, I managed just fine with chapter 1! And I know all of this studying is going to help me ace that final." Robin read a few sections, then wrote down the answers to the first questions at the end of the chapter. He reviewed his flashcards and added a few new ones. After about thirty minutes of working, Robin stood up and stretched. He found that he was nearly three fourths of the way through the chapter, so he decided to call his friend Jim for five minutes, then finish up the rest.

And so it went all week long. Robin stuck to his plan and studied a little bit each day over a period of time. He aced that final and decided that this was a great strategy for tough classes.