Top 6 ways to find motivation to study after work

“Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living.” The immortal words of Dolly Parton. But imagine adding an extra 2-3 hours (or more) of study. How would you keep motivated?

We’ve come up with a few tips to help you better balance work and home study.

1. Make a plan

Get your diary out and see when your assignment deadlines or exams are. Work backwards and see how long you’ve got to study. Make sure you mark up any module change dates, or times, when you won’t be able to study – such as a holiday.

If you’ve booked the exams for your ACCA, CIMA, or AAT papers, add these to the plan.

2. Schedule study time

Each week put aside some time to study. But be realistic. Don’t say you’re going to study for 5 hours every night – you’ll lose sleep and your social life. Work out what days are busier than others, and fit your study time around them. Give yourself a couple of hours, including breaks, and stick to it.

3. Don’t get distracted

It’s so easy to procrastinate and put off studying when you’re at home. The laundry needs doing, dinner needs making, the dog needs walking – they’re all legitimate things to be doing, but your study is also a necessity.

Ask someone else to do the things you usually do. Can someone else do dinner tonight? Can you study alongside the kids doing homework? Try not to get taken away from your study by things that can be worked around.

We also thought this might help – How to motivate yourself to study

4. Focus

A real waste of time is sitting at your desk, wondering what you’re going to do, or getting distracted by a quick look at emails and Instagram. The willingness to study is there, but the focus isn’t.

Before you start your study session, work out what it is you’re going to focus on. It might be as simple as jotting down 1-3 priority tasks on a sticky note the night before. Or you could go one step further and take control of your weekly/daily study tasks with a detailed plan.

5. Relax

Don’t stress if you feel you can’t fit a study session into one night. Just make sure you get on it again the next night. If you’re not in the right mind to study there’s no point forcing it. Make sure you are relaxed and focused before you open your books so the information goes in, and stays in.

6. Ask your tutor for help

Your tutors are there for you throughout your time with Eagle and are on hand to answer any questions you may have. They can help explain tricky topics and give you an alternative way of looking at the subjects that you may be struggling with.

Feel free to find out more about Eagle and our Distance Learning courses.