Focus On Yourself Who you are is more valuable than what you do. Your worth as a person is not based on your intelligence, your grades, or how hard you work. It is enough to be you. Practice impulse control by contemplating the consequences of your actions. How will you feel afterwards? Then, act to satisfy yourself. Write out a plan for yourself. Jot down personal and academic goals and priorities, and reread them when you're in a slump. Don't worry about or dwell on things that go wrong. Concentrate on your successes. Remember that little successes build up just as quickly as little failures. Give yourself time to change. Forgive yourself for backsliding and making mistakes. Mistakes are a normal part of the learning process. Without them, learning is difficult to impossible. Most mistakes are mislabeled when they are really attempts that didn’t work. Don't choose to be a perfectionist. Make approaching and the process of achieving your goals the basis of your self-respect rather than reaching your goals. Don't allow feelings of inadequacy to get you down. Think about all the things you do have going for you. Choose to believe in yourself. Imagine the worst that could happen if you're feeling down or hopeless. Exaggerate your fantasies and then smile at them. This puts your current situation in perspective. When you're down, go to someone whom you know cares for you and ask for a "pep talk" that reminds you of your good qualities, talents, and abilities and/or make a list of your good qualities and read them aloud. Be willing to risk failure for something you really care about. If you are willing to risk failure, you are also willing to risk success, too! Learn to recognize when events are not turning out as they should and act early to redirect your efforts to achieve satisfaction for you. About Your Work No one else is forcing you to do your work. You've decided to take it on. Don't waste your energy on activities that don’t move you toward your goals. That doesn’t mean periodic rest and relaxation aren’t important to include in your schedule. Start early. The sooner you start, the more time you'll have to learn from non-productive attempts and the sooner you'll be free to do other activities. Expect a degree of tension. Use that tension as energy to motivate yourself. Different people have different styles of working. For example, some people need competition to do their best, while others work better at their own pace. Make long and harder tasks as comfortable for yourself as pos-sible. One way is to do them in short bits (but stay with it), do them in comfortable clothes, among friends, in familiar surroundings, with whatever you need to keep moving forward. Pure motivation is rare. Most of the time we mortals must keep plugging away before we can enjoy success. Sometimes the plugging can be very enjoyable. Pause every now and then, as needed, to remind yourself why you have chosen to take on certain work and what you expect to get out of it. Give yourself a pep talk. Reward yourself with a treat when you've done something you feel good about. You did it so you deserve the rewards. Completed tasks keep interest and motivation higher. If a large task is not completed, be sure to complete one or more small tasks before you quit for the day. Taken From: URL: http://www.sarc.sdes.ucf.edu/learningskills/When%20Motivation%20is%20a%20Problem.doc Site URL: http://www.sarc.sdes.ucf.edu/learningskills.html

Design an adequate environment for yourself. Check lighting, noise, comfort of furniture, etc., in three or four places to determine which spot works best for you. Make sure you have all the tools (i.e. compass, notebook, pens) you need before beginning a study session. Choose a regular time to study each day so that you set a pattern for yourself. Have a special reminder pad for jotting down extraneous thought that enter your mind while you are studying (e.g. Calling a friend for a lunch date). Use a symbol for studying. Choose an item, like a hat, that you put on when, and only when, you are studying or an item that you place on your desk as you study. Relax your body before you start studying. Relax your body and give yourself an affirmation and/or an image that will motivate you. Do some alternate nostril breathing before you begin study. Active-Passive: Do 3 rounds, starting with your active nostril, break 3 rounds starting with you passive nostril, break, 3 rounds starting with your active nostril. Imagine that your brain is filled with the subject that you are going to study and that there is no room for anything else. See that the entrances to your mind are blocked by that subject. Take two minutes before reading to jot down everything you expect to come up in the text that you are about to read. Employ and SQ3R technique to begin each subject. Break assignments into small step-by-step tasks. Analyze your study skills to make sure that your problem is one of concentration, not faulty study skills. Look for a special interest in each subject for which you do not feel motivated. For example, of Biology does not thrill you but you are interested in keeping your body in good shape, you may be able to develop an interest in nutrition, the effects of exercise on muscles, etc. Develop a contract for a particular study problem. Decide if you are more responsive to reward or punishment and construct a contract accordingly. For example, "For every 10 pages read, I can listen to music for 10 minutes", or "If I don't read 20 pages of history, I must wear mismatched socks tomorrow". Set up the contract on graph paper. Chart your progress over 5 study sessions before you consider making modifications. Set realistic study goals. Solve some of the problems that are interrupting your concentration (i.e., speak to your professor about the lecture that you didn't understand). Keep a pencil in your hand while studying so that you can be an active participant in the process. When you find that you are not concentrating, take some action. Suggestions: Make a check mark every time you find your mind wandering; stand up and turn around every time your mind wanders. Take a short break after every 20-40 minutes of reading to let what you have just read have a chance to sink in and find its way to connectors and memory storage points in your mind. Do not use the break for a phone call, TV. Etc., just sit back and reflect on what you have read. Watch your diet. Limit the amount of chemicals (that includes junk food, too!), sugar, and caffeine you are taking. They can give you a buzz but that don�t really make you any more alert. Exercise on a regular basis. Try exercising before you study to increase alertness. Get 7-9 hours of sleep per 24-hour period. It does not all have to happen at one time. Do not give in to mental fatigue - the kind that goes away when you do something besides studying. Push on and wait for the 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) "wind" that is another stage of alertness that will come if you persevere. Talk about your concentration/motivation problems with a friend and/or make an appointment at the Student Academic Success Services.

Concentration "I can't concentrate" is a common student complaint. Although learning to focus your attention may not be a simple task, you'll probably agree with most students that it's a skill well worth developing. Quality study time leads to better grades and extra hours in the day. Check over the causes of poor concentration listed below, then experiment with the active learning strategies suggested for each problem area. If you... Try to... Lack interest in the subject
1. Read actively. Converse mentally with your textbook authors: question their viewpoints, anticipate their conclusions, and attempt to disprove their ideas 2. Learn to use an effective method of reading. Survey the material before you begin. Raise questions and then read for answers. Recite what you have learned. 3. Relate the course to your life, your goals, and your future. Lack background knowledge 1. Use inexpensive review books available at the store.
2. Check out a less complex book on the same subject from the library.
3. Ask a friend or a tutor who has the background to help you fill in the gaps.

 Lack goals for each study session
 1. Plan ahead exactly what you expect o accomplish in a study session. Keep working until you accomplish your goals. Plan an enjoyable activity as a reward for a job well done. Have poor reading and study skills 1. Go to the Student Academic Success Services (104 Eddy Hall) for individual help in developing these skills. 2. Enroll in Becoming a Master Student (LASk 1001). Having trouble getting started 1. Choose one place to study. Keep pencils, paper, dictionary, and necessary supplies on hand. 2. Set a definite starting time. The sooner you begin, the sooner you will be free to do other things. 3. Warm up to studying with a brief review. Are generally fatigued 1. Make proper rest, good diet, and exercise part of your regular schedule so that you�ll have the energy necessary to study efficiently. 2 Determine the time of day that is best for you and use this time for your most difficult assignments. Get sleepy while studying 1. Study in a well ventilated room. 2. Take regular breaks. 3. Change subjects, or change your approach to studying the same subject. Daydream (to escape from work) 1. Keep only one courses' material on your desk at a time. Keep visual (photographs, souvenirs) and auditory (favorite music) cues to a minimum. 2. Jot down your irrelevant thoughts on a scratch pad and come back to them later. 3. Study more actively (take notes, read aloud, etc.). Worry about personal problems 1. Go to the appropriate student service agency for help � University Counseling Services, Financial Aid, Health Center, etc. Worry about poor grades 1. See your professor to talk over low grades or unclear assignments. 2. Talk to your academic advisor to evaluate your program and to discuss difficulties you are experiencing. 3. Make an appointment to see a learning skills counselor (109 Eddy Hall). Worry about deadlines 1. Keep a calendar of assignment deadlines and appointments. 2. Make a schedule of studying and completing assignments, then stick to your schedule. Noise 1. Find a study room, an empty classroom, a corner in at the library - somewhere tucked away from campus traffic. Two or three hours of efficient study in quiet surroundings does more good than ten hours of study in a noisy place.

Driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on any external pressure.

Comes from outside of the individual. Common extrinsic motivations are rewards like money and grades, coercion and threat of punishment.