Self-Motivation? and some other problems.

[myc04]

I was just wondering, how do you guys keep yourself motivated?
I tried, I made so many cards and pasted it on my ceiling so I can look at it when I fall asleep. It worked so well I had a nervous breakdown on the same night. I'm actually studying everyday, 2 hours at the very least, this says a lot because I'm not a studious person.........at all.

The problem I'm facing now is that, I'm a night person. I just can not study in the afternoon. I tried, but I couldn't concentrate nor can I absorb anything. I can study for as long as 4 hours at night (mostly after 10). This is a really bad thing because I'll try very hard to sleep early so that I can pay full attention in class the next day. I mean, I don't mind sleeping late but it's better not to right? and I can rarely take afternoon naps, too hectic I am.

I also realised that the most important thing is setting your goals and achieving it because right now, I have my own goals in life and I'm trying my very best to achieve it, which I personally think is pretty good :p because I procrastinated a LOT during PMR and only studied a week or two before the exams. But I did manage to do well but that's not the point because I can never, ever, do that for SPM.

So yeah, back to the point, how do you guys keep yourself motivated and how was your timetable (after school) like during your SPM year?

Thanks :)

PS. I would REALLY appreciate it if you guys post some success story here as well (brag all you want) because it'll somewhat inspire me and keep me motivated. :D

[awesomeming]

I'm in the same dilemma too.I have a major problem where I could not finish the syllabus on time even though I study for 3 hours a day. Let's say I plan to study 5 subtopics of Biology during my 3-hour revision, I always fail to do so at the end of the 3rd hour and ended up studying 3 subtopics and have to postpone the other 2 subtopics on another day. The above cycle happens again and I don't have sufficient time to cover every topic when the exam approaches. I hope to hear some good advice from fellow Recomers on time management and how do you plan your study timetable to cover every subjects. Thanks.So yeah, back to the point, how do you guys keep yourself motivated and how was your timetable (after school) like during your SPM year?

[Thirdshifter]

If your motivated enought to ask this question.. you don't need motivation.

What you need is some creativity in how you go about reading your notes.

[myc04]

Actually, my question is how do YOU people get motivated but I digressed a lot. I said that I motivate myself by posting stuff on my walls.

[day_dreamer]

First, ask yourself. Are you really paying your attention on the books or you aren't ?? Is it possible to study that much in such a short time ?? Are you pushing yourself beyond your ability way to much ??

Sometimes, ask yourself and answer yourself honestly and be ashamed of it is something good. I mean you are helping yourself and if you succeed changing yourself, it feels good. :D

Well i am taking my SPM this year too. The methods mentioned above are some of the methods that i use. I bought a book about smart study when i was in form 3. A book called Study Swart, Not Study Hard. My friends thought that i am crazy, thinking that i am try to blow my own trumpet. Hehe, never bothered about them, coz deep in my heart, i know what am i doing. At the end , i scored 8 As for my PMR. That's sweet.

And Thirdshifter is right, if you posted messages on this thread, that means you are already motivated. You just need to buck up.

And i would like to thank ReCom. Having knowing so much scholars excites me of joining their rank as a scholars, and that is what keeping me improving myself.

[pinkpau]

i only started studying in like. late september? after october i stopped going to school so i had more time to study. i taped formulae and stuff to my walls, on my mirror.

wait. is this a thread on our study skills (since u mentioned schedules etc) or motivation to study??

[minyun]

Actually,i didn't really study for SPM.I simply did some revision(I'm not sure if it's revision though because it's actually the first time i touch the books)a few weeks before trial exam.And i didn't even bother to study them for SPM!(I didn't finish 'revising' some of the topics)

If u ask me how did i got trough SPM,I'll say it's pure luck!Perhaps it's just that the graft for A is quite low,I think.I even slept longer during the SPM examination period to make sure i can concentrate on the papers.I only studied subjects i like and for subjects i despise(moral,biology and history the most)I simply,erm,run trough them before SPM.

omg,this is supposed to be a motivation thread!

anyway,SPM don't require much hard work.That'll be the conclusion I make after 5 years of secondary school experience.

Good luck anyhow to those taking SPM this year!Just relax,everything WILL be fine.

(There's a rule,however,if u want to score with this kind of attitude,which is try your best to remember everything u heard,saw,tasted,touched and smelled)

Eventhough many other prospects contributes too,with curiosity being the most important ingredient,having sensitive senses helped me a damn lot!

I let out my recipe to study without studying already!Appreciate it!

[myc04]

wait. is this a thread on our study skills (since u mentioned schedules etc) or motivation to study??

Both. :)
Actually I asked a lot of people(especially the smart, straight As students in my class) these questions out of curiousity. And since ReCom has sooo many scholars in here so.....yeah.

And yes, I AM SO motivated because I already know what I want to do in the future. The only problem is my weird habits when studying, but I'm already trying my very best to fix it so yeah! :)

[DecentMerson]

my study method:
don't fix a time period, instead, fix a number of chapter you want to study... this is because i tend to rush it if i have a fix time, and in the end, didn't really study well...

to study:
i use reviewing method.... (probably there's a name for it, but i've no idea, i just find this way useful) after reading a subchapter, take a sheet of paper and jot down(without referring to the notes) what you have just read, from the big idea, to the smallest details...
(if there's review questions on the back of the chapter, try attempting them...

if you are able to remember the big idea of the chapter well, go on to the next subchapter, if not, you should re-read the part where you are not that familiar... and then, do the same of the subsequent chapters...

about practices, i would say, it's not always the more, the better, if you are already very familiar with certain topic, doing more practices on that topic will not help at all, so, it's not about the quantity, it's about knowing what you know, and avoid doing useless repetition, and this saves time...

know what study time suits you best... everybody has different time of study, probably early in the morning, or in the afternoon, or some late at night... know the time when you can concentrate the most of study during that time...

note cards... try jotting down vital points on a small notecards and carry it with you, flipping thru them when u have some free time, and you will be amazed how useful they actually are... don't jot down everything, just the main thing, and try to remember what's going on (the details) in your mind... i'm not asking you to memorize everything, but after reading through the materials and understanding, you should be able to recall a lot of it... if not, you are not really understanding it...

music? no music?... try and see how you deal with background music while studying...

at the end of the chapter, you should be able to recall everything, from the first subchapter to the very last...

that's how i study... and for motivation... being able to recall what you study shld be counted as one... being able to understand much more before studying is another... and if you have time, read more from other texts, or internet or encyclopedia... there's rewarding too...

no time? there's always time, it's just that u need better time management skills... for example, prioritizing your tasks, and knowing what's important and what's not... re-doing what you already know is definitely a waste of time....

hopefully, this helps...

[jerusha]

i think the worst mistake i did was study from the beginning of the year. come sep/oct/nov i had ZERO motivation, and kept asking myself the point of studying so freaking hard, for a slip of paper? my physics teacher told me she advises students to study REALLY hard in august so the pressure is there + it's easier to recall freshly studied facts.

1.when i was really depressed and all, i read motivational quotes. i don't know if it'll work for you, but you can find plenty online + in chicken soup for the soul.

2.compete with your friends. find someone at the top of your class who's really hardworking and set a goal to outstudy/outscore that person.

3.form a support/study group with a close friend who's facing the same problem. it feels great to be able to pour out your feelings and bitch over how pointless SPM is.

4.try to enjoy studying. or at least make it enjoyable. always, always study SMART not hard or you'll regret it. find out what environment/time ables you to absorp all the notes easily. like, i loved studying in the car, because i'd force myself to go through(that purple sejarah-notes book, life saviour i tell you) as many passages/pages before arriving at school. i'd read while walking, while eating. hell, i even had this dream where i solved an add maths equation i was trying to do earlier. buggggggggger.

5.take a trip to a nearbly pasar malam. look at how hard the vendors are working and ask yourself if you'd like to have that future?


well, good luck. and remember don't (completely) waste the two best years of your life over an examination.
it's weird you know, the happiest, smartest people i know are those that get 1-3 As for SPM, if that, while those top students have really sad lives.

[jerusha]

OMIGOSH I'VE BEEN CENSORED.