Losing motivation to study

[reluctantoptimism]

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This semester I'm taking 16 hours of course (12 of which are upper level) and I keep losing motivation to study. I'll go the library and sit down and only study for like an hour and then I lose focus and my mind starts to wander. I have a fairly good g.p.a. and think I fairly decent chance of getting into some medical school yet I keep losing motivation to study in my last year of school. I recently bombed an exam due to insufficient study but I still can make an "A" in this class if I turn myself around. Without a doubt, I care about my future but, at present, I just cannot seem to focus on intense study.

What should I do?

 

[Mclovin0351]

Just do it

 

[Mad Jack]

I feel like a lot of kids in college would benefit from not going right away. A few years of living below the poverty line was all the motivation I needed lol.

 

[deleted600623]

I feel like a lot of kids in college would benefit from not going right away. A few years of living below the poverty line was all the motivation I needed lol.

This.

 

[reluctantoptimism]

This.

I grew up on very little money and I have worked construction- I tend to not be lazy. I just keep having nagging doubts and it seems to sap my motivation.

 

[Jalby]

The second you get into medical school you become 30-40% more attractive. I've seen some of my friends getting with people they have no business getting with. I guess I have, too. Don't just do it for today. Do it for your future potential hook ups.

 

[deleted600623]

I grew up on very little money and I have worked construction- I tend to not be lazy. I just keep having nagging doubts and it seems to sap my motivation.

I'm not bashing you at all OP. I had the same experiences every semester in college. I doubted myself every semester but clawed my way back from a 3.4 gpa to a 3.73 and even then I had reservations about whether it was worth it. Just grind it out and finish then work in a field that is not associated with medicine for a lil bit to see whether medicine is truly what you want to do. It seems counterintuitive but I did it and realized that medicine is truly the only field for me. Even now I'm working in a practice but have been "promoted" to handling more administrative issues for a physician and am realizing that I want to be on the physician's side where I can hand off paperwork and have someone else do it for me.

 

[Dream_big]

Hey, everyone goes through this at LEAST once in their undergrad career. Don't give up. If you find that you need some time away, take a full weekend to yourself. Motivation can get lost in the mix of things, but your discipline will get you through it. If you need a reminder as to why you're doing all of this in the first place, try shadowing a physician for a few hours a week.

 

[----x----]

If the issue is an ultimate lack of interest in medicine, and you wondering if you should do a different major so not even do these courses - talk with an advisor. Get other's perspectives, learn about other options.

If you know you're pursuing medicine or another career which would go from the same major, then you know why you should be motivated.

With the latter situation, your primary problem is your study habits and discipline and not necessarily motivation. Consider the following strategy I use to study:

Study a subject until your mind "wanders". Evidence of this would be needing to reread a paragraph because you weren't taking it in for example. When this happens, take a ~5 minute break and do something else - whether you walk/jog around the building, or browse the internet for 5 minutes. Come back refreshed and engage again.

Initially, you may find yourself taking multiple breaks per hour, but this studying is still more efficient than 6 hours of ineffective glazed over, mindless highlighting. Eventually you'll increase your stamina, and be able to study for longer and longer periods without needing a 5 minute break. Some use the pomodoro technique, but personally I let my mind be the gauge, and easily study well for longer periods than the pomodoro technique calls for, so I prefer this.

This training of your mental stamina would also help with tests like the MCAT, or other long tests. In college I had 3-4+ hour long tests taken during lab sections, and would regularly take breaks on my own as above (as they're not scheduled like the MCAT).

 

[Petrichor1]

Sometimes it means that you are not challenging yourself. I had this feeling because I went to a major that didn't live up to my potential or interest and I kept telling myself that it was so I cud get a job. I was scared from pursuing my real interests. Sometimes, it's impt to forget medical school and live in the moment and tell yourself what you think is impressive for you.

 

[Atom612]

Don't let your dreams be dreams. Yesterday you said tomorrow.

 

[Domepiece]

 

[Dagrimsta1]

As soon as your motivation is gone, you've lost the race. I'm sure the competition is cheering.

 

[Turkishking]

As soon as your motivation is gone, you've lost the race. I'm sure the competition is cheering.

My motivation is lost at times, but my race isn't over.