To get motivated to study, stop waiting to feel ready. Make the first step so small it is hard to refuse, decide in advance when and where you will start, and study beside someone if you can. Motivation usually shows up after you begin, not before.
This guide gives seven steps in the order you would use them, with the research behind each one and a source you can check. Where we found no research for a tip, we say so.
Roomie Cafe is a free focus timer you share with friends. We make it, and we mention it briefly near the end.
Why studying feels hard to start
Most people who cannot get started are not lazy. Studying is often a task they find unpleasant, and avoiding it feels better right now. A review by Sirois and Pychyl argues that procrastination has a lot to do with short term mood repair: we put off the aversive task to feel better in the moment, and the cost lands on our future self [1].
A large meta analysis of procrastination research points the same way. It found that task aversiveness, task delay, self efficacy and impulsiveness were among the strong and consistent predictors of procrastination [2]. In plain terms, you are more likely to put off work that feels unpleasant, that is due far away, that you doubt you can do, or that competes with something easier.
That gives us a plan. Make the task less unpleasant, bring it closer, make it feel doable, and remove the easier option. The steps below do that. If you want the wider picture first, read why you procrastinate.
1. Shrink the first step
Pick one action you can finish in two minutes and write it down: "open the chapter and read the first heading", not "study biology". This lowers how unpleasant the start feels and raises your confidence that you can do it, which are two of the predictors above [2].
We have no study showing that two minutes is the right length. It is a rule of thumb. Our guide to task initiation has nine more ways to begin when even a small start is hard.
2. Make an if then plan
Decide the when and where in advance: "If it is 4 pm and I am home, then I sit at the desk and open my notes." Gollwitzer and Sheeran reviewed the research on these plans, called implementation intentions, and their meta analysis covers their effects on goal achievement [3]. The idea is that the plan hands the decision to a cue, so you do not have to find the energy to choose.
Write the plan on paper or in your phone. Make the cue something that happens anyway, like finishing lunch or sitting on the bus home.
3. Pick a reason you own
Self determination theory says people stay motivated when three needs are met: competence, autonomy and relatedness [4]. You can use that as a checklist:
- Competence: choose a task you can finish, and tick it off.
- Autonomy: decide the reason yourself. "I want to pass this so I can move into the second year" works better than "my parents will be upset".
- Relatedness: study near other people, or tell someone what you are working on.
If you cannot find a reason you own, write down the smallest honest one, even if it is "so this is done by Friday".
4. Remove the easier option
Because the pull away from studying is a mood fix [1], the easiest way to win is to make the fix harder to reach. Put your phone in another room, close the tabs that are not for the task, and sit somewhere you do not relax. Our guide on stopping phone distractions while studying goes through this in detail.
5. Start a timer and let a break be allowed
Set a timer for 10 to 25 minutes and agree with yourself that a break comes when it ends. Knowing the work has an end makes it less aversive, and you can always continue if you are in a good place. The Pomodoro method is the best known version.
The research does not show that 25 minutes is magic. Treat the number as a starting point and adjust it to what you can actually do today.
6. Study next to someone
Working beside another person gives you a cue, a bit of gentle accountability and the relatedness that self determination theory describes [4]. It can be a friend in the same room, a video call with the camera off, or a shared timer. See studying alone or with friends for what the research says and study with friends online for how to set it up.
7. Use a small reward and stop on purpose
Finish the block, then do the nice thing you planned: a tea, a walk, a message to a friend. Then decide what the first step of the next session is before you leave your desk, so tomorrow's start is already shrunk. This is our own advice, not a research result.
Quick reference
When motivation will not come
If you have struggled to study for weeks, lost interest in things you used to enjoy, or feel low most days, that is worth talking about with a doctor or a counsellor. Tips about timers will not fix it. If you have ADHD, see our guide to focusing with ADHD, since the same steps often need to be smaller and more external.
Where Roomie Cafe fits
Roomie Cafe is a free focus timer you share with friends. You start a session, friends see you are focusing, and you can run short blocks together, which suits steps 5 and 6. You can try it at roomie.cafe or read why we built it in our manifesto.
FAQ
How do I get motivated to study when I do not want to?
Shrink the first step to two minutes, set a timer and begin. Motivation often follows action. If you keep avoiding it, remove the easier option, such as your phone, and study next to someone.
How do I get motivated to study with ADHD?
Make the steps smaller, add outside structure like a timer or another person, and plan the start in advance with an if then plan [3]. Our ADHD focus guide has more.
Why can't I make myself study?
Often the task feels unpleasant and something easier is available, so you pick the easier one to feel better now [1]. Doubting that you can do the task and a far off deadline also make it likelier you will put it off [2].
Does an if then plan really work?
A meta analysis of implementation intentions and goal achievement supports using them [3]. We did not see the effect size in an abstract we could read, so we do not quote one.
References
- Sirois, F. M., & Pychyl, T. A. (2013). Procrastination and the Priority of Short Term Mood Regulation: Consequences for Future Self. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(2), 115 to 127. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12011
- Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 65 to 94. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.65
- Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation Intentions and Goal Achievement: A Meta analysis of Effects and Processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69 to 119. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0065-2601%2806%2938002-1
- Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68 to 78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.55.1.68