Motivated to study? Top ten tips!

Recently I started an MBA programme. To be honest I had fancied doing an MBA many years ago and had ideas about owning a business and being my own boss. However, I lacked possibly enough maturity as well as money for course fees.

Financing your own studies might seem like the most obvious way to maintain the necessary level of motivation to actively study. It is not enough though because other commitments and the dreaded ‘procrastination’ can get in the way of us realising our full potential. We’re all busy people.

I’d like to offer my observations on keeping up the study momentum and hopefully these ten reflections will prove useful for those of us on this journey of lifelong learning.

1. Make an appointment - with yourself. Time just slips away but if you actually book an appointment with yourself you are doing a couple of really positive things. First off it allows you to manage your time and second of all it allows you to adopt the focussed frame of mind you will need to study. It helps to have a dedicated place to go as well with a door you can close.
2. Post - every day. Increasingly technology is used and you’ll be on a blended learning course or even experiencing your course 100% online. Posting in discussion threads will constitute part of your marks. My habit is to post everyday but my tip is to answer 2-3 posts at most in a thread and then mark all threads as read. That way you do not waste time reading everything, you spend more time being active and the next time you view the discussions you will see exactly how many new posts have been written since the time you last marked all threads as read.
3. Get textbooks early and browse them for longer - there will be a schedule of modules to come throughout the year. My tip is to look through each module outline, identify the textbook and get it borrowed. This allows you to review it often and for short periods. I like to do this with a coffee and in relaxed on the couch - but that’s me. Familiarity with content means that you are less likely to get surprises and have more time to work on items you feel you know little about or lack confidence in. Doing this gets you that little bit more prepared for class and that is also a confidence booster.
4. Read, read, read the rubric - actually, this can be a weak area for me but it really does help to read, read, read the rubric (grading criteria) for your assignments. Then it’s time to be critical: Does my essay cover the rubric, give I given the required number of examples or points? This goes hand in hand with point number 5…
5. Write and return - those appointments with yourself have really paid off because you are ahead with the assignment and that is a good move. Why? It allows you time to walk away from the assignment when it is in draft form. You can then return to it afresh with a more critical eye and go over what was written before as part of your editing process.
6. Check the format - drone, drone, I hate this bit, but it is necessary. Always fit in time to go over the nitty gritty such as font size and style, indentation all the way through to referencing style (usually APA) and whether you have adhered to the standard.
7. Leverage your network - you’ll be working with some great people in your group, class or team so it helps to make the time to hook up and hang out even if this can only ever happen online. You will learn so much about your classmates and be able to share experiences. if you can eat, drink and socialise with them - even better!
8. Allow yourself that warm glowing feeling - every success ought to be celebrated even if, like me, that means cracking open a beer. You are giving yourself permission to enjoy the success of your achievement. There is nothing wrong with that at all. Enjoy that glow of positivity and allow it to wash over you.
9. Try, try again - Hey, I found managerial economics a pig because I had to go back through calculus and maths that I had forgotten I had forgotten! There’ll be times of hard slog as you work your way through some difficult and frustrating exercises and problems. Just keep on plugging away. Take a break and come back to it, you’ll get through it either on your own or with some help.
10. Don’t assume your lecturers can teach - a lot of your lecturers are in business not academia and for this reason the finer points of teaching practice can evade their experience. As a teacher I sometimes find it all too much to witness but as an adult I understand the lecturer as a valuable resource. Remain calm, remain friendly and start asking engaging questions. Generating the dialogue between students and teacher can overcome the lack of lesson plan and bring out the best of the lecturer’s business experience and insights into the topic you are studying. It beats letting your head hit the table as you doze off.

There possibly could have been one-hundred observations from me but let’s keep it to a reasonable and hopefully useful ten. Please feel free to comment on this post and good luck on your learning journey if you are now back in college or university for a bit.