How can I get motivated to start studying again?

Hi, I’ve just started y12, and I’m taking 4 A levels. In GCSEs I received all nearly all 9s and a few 8s which I was very happy with - I’d say (unlike most people) sitting those exams felt AMAZING, I slept better than I ever have etc and it felt like I had a purpose. I was really motivated and could probably have done another month of GCSEs!
However, since then I’ve been struggling to revise and can’t really find the spark which made me so motivated in y11. The truth is I’m really bored of studying 😂 but I know I need to do A levels, so I need to get working again…
Has anyone ever been in a similar situation/ have any advice? thank you :smile:

Reply 1

BCU Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post

by maia :)

Hey @maia [s]smile[/s] !

Firstly, a huge congratulations to you on how well you did for your GCSEs, you should be really proud of yourself and it is great to hear you enjoyed the experience as well. Honestly, how you are feeling is expected and relatable. The adrenaline you feel during GCSEs, clearly your brain was thriving on that. But A levels are so different, and I remember feeling the same actually! I went from enjoying studying to wondering where on earth I even begin. So I will first tell you that what you are feeling is totally normal and absolutely fixable!

A few methods that helped me were:

Start off with short term targets as opposed to vague long term goals. So instead of telling myself I need to get all A's I fixated my mind on mastering topics by a certain period. (E.g. "I want to master and test myself on this topic by Friday"). This helped my mind be more grounded, closing the loop with measurable wins.

I stopped treating revision like absorption but rather action. So literally timing myself and doing little mock exams of even just ten questions made a huge difference. I would even compete with myself 😂 telling myself that I had twenty minutes - let me see how many questions I can answer. Making it fun for yourself is always helpful!

If you are someone who needs to be held accountable (like myself) then do that. If you revise better for someone, then you can utilise teachers, friends, study buddies work great to reignite that studying flame.
Finding study methods that work best for you always helps. Note the study methods that helped you best for your GCSEs and try use them again for your A levels. However, sometimes that can get boring so you can swap those out to these methods:

Blurting: close notes and write everything from memory

Teaching someone else (even a wall haha!)

Flashcards

Using past papers

And lastly, I would say the biggest help for me was realising that motivation comes from actually starting. In as much as I hated that realisation, it really helps. Stop waiting to be motivated, and just start. 😀

I really hope this was helpful and gets you going with your studies. I wish you all the best and please feel free to ask any questions if you have any!

Ru
BCU student rep.