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How do you motivate yourself to study (for AS Levels)?

I haven't really been a particularly hard worker at school, probably since about year 8 (although I haven't really been a total slacker either) and I coasted through my GCSEs with just studying for them the night before.

Not because I consciously chose to do that, just because when I have work to do, I constantly put it off and when I have a lot to do, it just gets to my head and I sit inside all day, not doing anything because I say that I'll do my work, but I don't. I've wasted so much time in my life doing that, especially at the end of year 11.

I've just started AS levels and I'm doing Geography, Maths, Physics and Further Maths. Geography and Maths are fine and haven't really been that much of a step up from GCSE yet. I'm falling behind in Physics but it seems pretty handlable, I'm just unorganized.

Further Maths is extremely difficult and I was behind in that from the very start, not that I was expecting it to be any different. I can just about grasp the concepts of it and if I put in the amount of extra work that they say you need to, then I think I'd be ok with it but it's just holding me back at everything right now because I'm stressing too much about it but not actually doing anything about it, which has been the story of my life since school started getting serious!

Anyone in the same situation or got any words of wisdom or advice on how to fix up and start caring a bit more about my college work, so that I do well?
I know what you mean, I alway say to myself that at will start doing my work at say 5 o'clock but then get distracted and end up starting at half eight ect. What I am doing now is just having to focus myself, say for example refuse to let myself watch a TV show until after I have done a certain amount of work. Also start the work the day you get it so it isn't left and rushed at the last minute as well as you forgetting half the stuff about it. Hope this helped.
You have nothing better to be doing than working hard during this period of your life. All the fun, partying, and girls can be done to a better extent a uni.

Also AS/A2 is the period where you are probably going to get the best pay off for your hard work, in terms of going to uni not going, Oxbridge or Crappy Uni X.

Read last years A-Level results day thread. Going into results day is bad, going into results day with a tight margin is terrible, going in being 90% you haven't made your firm is dreadful, looking on track and seeing you missed one or both, I can't say but judging by people's faces its the worse feeling in the world.

I've seen happier faces at funerals than people seeing their results for the first time and not getting what they needed.

EDIT: Also working hard during exams run up pays off tenfold to during the year.
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 3
Original post by elitepower
I know what you mean, I alway say to myself that at will start doing my work at say 5 o'clock but then get distracted and end up starting at half eight ect. What I am doing now is just having to focus myself, say for example refuse to let myself watch a TV show until after I have done a certain amount of work. Also start the work the day you get it so it isn't left and rushed at the last minute as well as you forgetting half the stuff about it. Hope this helped.


Good point. I find it easier to do work in college during frees but if there's no sense of urgency, I find it very difficult to concentrate! Especially if it's not set work, just study.
Reply 4
Original post by doggyfizzel
You have nothing better to be doing than working hard during this period of your life. All the fun, partying, and girls can be done to a better extent a uni.

Also AS/A2 is the period where you are probably going to get the best pay off for your hard work, in terms of going to uni not going, Oxbridge or Crappy Uni X.

Read last years A-Level results day thread. Going into results day is bad, going into results day with a tight margin is terrible, going in being 90% you haven't made your firm is dreadful, looking on track and seeing you missed one or both, I can't say but judging by people's faces its the worse feeling in the world.

I've seen happier faces at funerals than people seeing their results for the first time and not getting what they needed.

EDIT: Also working hard during exams run up pays off tenfold to during the year.


Good advice. Especially these 2 which I'd never thought of in that way before.

"All the fun, partying, and girls can be done to a better extent a uni."

"Also AS/A2 is the period where you are probably going to get the best pay off for your hard work, in terms of going to uni not going, Oxbridge or Crappy Uni X."
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by The-Dream
Good point. I find it easier to do work in college during frees but if there's no sense of urgency, I find it very difficult to concentrate! Especially if it's not set work, just study.


I know how you feel. On thursdays, I have maths at the start of the day then three free periods in a row (plus lunch) so as we get maths homework on thursdays, I do it then so I don't forget about it! I find it hard to start work when we have a week still to do it but it is best to get it out of the way because work soon builds up. At the start of the half term, I relaxed for a few days first but now I wish I had done the work first then rested.

The thing about study is that I never know how much to do, how long to focus on what area ect. But it is best to start with lots of time ahead that with little.
I'm in A2 now and have just f***ked up my as, two B's and two U's. So Considering I'm resiting two of them the pressure is on, but this has unexpectedly just made me less motivated....the logic. I'm doing Art, Dt and Geo, so I know I have alot of coursework to do and I know how to do it, I just cant find the effort. I worked incredibly hard for GCSE and did ok, I worked even harder for AS and did terribly, and I just find it incredibly demotivating and frustrating.

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