what keeps you motivated when you study?

[stifler]

---

Members do not see this ad.

what keeps you motivated when you study?

i know this question is asked a lot, im studying for a psummer physics II exam. its a huge pain in the ass. i slacked off for 2 weeks and for those who took summer courses you guys know how much you learn in 2 weeks (A LOT). so yea im prob all nighting this stuff. what you guys think about when you have to put up with this stuff?

be more in depth then helping ppl, money, wanting to be a doctor

 

[internetwop]

what keeps you motivated when you study?

i know this question is asked a lot, im studying for a psummer physics II exam. its a huge pain in the ass. i slacked off for 2 weeks and for those who took summer courses you guys know how much you learn in 2 weeks (A LOT). so yea im prob all nighting this stuff. what you guys think about when you have to put up with this stuff?

be more in depth then helping ppl, money, wanting to be a doctor

BEER!!!!

 

[pagemmapants]

Summer classes cost more.

I'm actually paying for mine out of my own pocket, so $760 for ONE CLASS is quite a chunk - so I'd better do damn well.

 

[MiesVanDerMom]

I think about my son and how I want to make him proud. And I think about how broke I'll be for the rest of my life if I don't get into med school. And how much more fun studying physics is than taking care of a screaming baby. Boy, I bet that advice really helps a lot...

 

[FlippinOut]

I do a couple of things...

1) I try to calculate how much money each lecture and lab costs. That way, I feel motivated to attend class, rather than waste $30 or whatever

2) I keep an image on my wall, right in front of my desk. Something I want badly, more than anything...like say a Ferrari F430.

Corny, I know, but it works for me. I guess it's a combination of guilt/motivation. 🙄

 

[teflontess15]

I guess it's a combination of guilt/motivation.

Guilt and motivation, the strangest of bedfellows but what every pre-med needs 🙂.

As for mine, let me tell you this may not be the best of ways.

1) Got a really good pair of speakers and blast music when studying.

Hip Hop and Rap works the best to keep me going when I'm so close to quitting. Maybe it's something about the beat. Jazz (Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong) work to calm me down. Country's good background music (No offense, cause I do like country). Right now I have Lauryn Hill blaring cause I'm in the middle to studying all the crap I was supposed to study last week. I'm an expert at the art of juggling.

2) Realize that if you don't do well, you'll have to do it over again.

Unbelievably good at making me study. Every time I sat in lab thinking how unbelievable idiotic my professor was and how I wanted to go to starbucks and chill, I thought of how it would be taking him again. That made me try twice as hard.

3) Dream situation. Mine is currently being at columbia with plenty of cash from my parents, own a boat and a dog, and not having to worry about life as an undergrad. Let yourself daydream and make this more vivid if need be. I've got a lot of detail in my daydream. It works. For me at least.

4) Like someone mentioned before, add up all the cost you're incurring from classes. Then equalize it to a material item. For example, $700 in tuition is 1 new Martin guitar, 70 CDs or 5 nights at Sundance (I live in UT). It helps put it in perspective.

5) This may be cheesy, but I have pictures of people I admire in eyesight of where I'm studying. Mine include Michelle Kwan, Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, etc. I also have a picture of George W. Bush with various "creative" embellishments. But that's another matter.

Hope this might give you some ideas.

 

[Sunflower189]

1) I've got motivating pictures around my desk that remind me of things I want to do / become (including my avatar...genetically engineered blue roses get mad love from the synthetic biologist 😀 )

2) Get large Nalgene full of water. Drink. Promise yourself you'll be done with this chapter / problem / exercise / etc before taking a bathroom break. 😱 Works for needing chow breaks, too.

3) I wear the fastener from a silver medal (earned back in my contest days) on a necklace. Reminds me of how a little margin can make a big difference - and how I should go kick my a$$ if I want to end up on the happy side of that margin.

Speaking of...I have summer school too. Time to drink up. 🙄

 

[DrBowtie]

For a final, I set myself a reward. If I study and do well I get the reward. If not, I don't. I think the true key is self-discipline. I just keep telling myself I can't mess my chances up. That and caffiene.

 

[45408]

Desire to avoid failure. Seriously. I have a strong desire to do the best that I can and avoid failure as much as possible. I've still gotten shot down from things (job rejections, losing scholarships, failing exams, and I'm sure I'll have plenty of med school rejections), but ultimately, I achieve what I want in some manner or another.

Failure is not an option. [/apollo13]

 

[Freakyp]

Desire to avoid failure. Seriously. I have a strong desire to do the best that I can and avoid failure as much as possible. I've still gotten shot down from things (job rejections, losing scholarships, failing exams, and I'm sure I'll have plenty of med school rejections), but ultimately, I achieve what I want in some manner or another.

Failure is not an option. [/apollo13]

setting the curve and watchin other pre-meds scream.

 

[Will Hunting]

setting the curve and watchin other pre-meds scream.

You stole my thunder. 😀

 

[Will Hunting]

BEER!!!!

good point. There's nothing like getting trashed after finding out you smoked a test. 😎

 

[Overeducated]

Desire to avoid failure. Seriously. I have a strong desire to do the best that I can and avoid failure as much as possible. I've still gotten shot down from things (job rejections, losing scholarships, failing exams, and I'm sure I'll have plenty of med school rejections), but ultimately, I achieve what I want in some manner or another.

Failure is not an option. [/apollo13]

I'm the same exact way 😀

Fear of failure is the ultimate motivator... well, that and my egomaniacal drive for perfection

 

[Shredder]

what keeps you motivated when you study?

crushing my competitors. which is why i dumped yale. i love teachers who announce high scores, it motivates the hell out of me.

 

[DrBowtie]

Two words: Topless Tutors.

 

[Will Hunting]

crushing my competitors. which is why i dumped yale. i love teachers who announce high scores, it motivates the hell out of me.

same as me. Most would view me as gunner. However, what's wrong with wanting to dominate your opponents. No one sees anything wrong with athletes wanting to crush their opponents. However, pre-meds can't have the same attitude? when you stoop to sabotage that's unacceptable. However, as long as you don't do anything to negatively affect other people, then this attituded shouldn't have such negative connotations.

 

[crazy_cavalier]

the orgasmic satisfaction of a job well done. also, on rare occasion I get a "excellent" or even better - STICKER!!!!! - on my assignment(s).

 

[Will Hunting]

the orgasmic satisfaction of a job well done. also, on rare occasion I get a "excellent" or even better - STICKER!!!!! - on my assignment(s).

ha, i remember those from freshman english. It made me feel like i was back in elemenary and middle school.

 

[DrBowtie]

the orgasmic satisfaction of a job well done. also, on rare occasion I get a "excellent" or even better - STICKER!!!!! - on my assignment(s).

Female lab TA was notorious for stickers. Made me feel like a third grader.

 

[Will Hunting]

Female lab TA was notorious for stickers. Made me feel like a third grader.

Yea, only female instructors can do that. If a guy did that......no comment

 

[crazy_cavalier]

Female lab TA was notorious for stickers. Made me feel like a third grader.

haha ya mine did that (bio lab TA.) it was awesome. those stickers got me gunning for the A in that class!

 

[LJL]

1) Coffee, coffee coffee. It helps to go to a cafe where other people are studying too.

2) If you're going to take classes, it's a lot more fun to do well.

3) Med schools actually care what your grades are.

I'll admit that none of these actually worked for organic chemistry.

 

[zurned]

What keeps me motivated is the studying i did before that instant when i ask the question. If i dont study more, then the studying i did before would be a waste.

 

[Centinel]

Genuine interest in the material being studied.

 

[Its_MurDAH]

Genuine interest in the material being studied.

NOW I've heard EVERYTHING!


While pulling that allnighter what keeps me going is the fact that in another 4 hours I will be sleeping in my comfortable as$ bed for hours and hours...so by the the time the test rolls around all I can think about is sleeping for like 14 hours straight, which would seem like it would make you do worse on your test but for some reason it works the opposite way for me.

They dont call me curve-settah for nothin.



\ jk I failed out of undergrad \

 

[LJDHC05]

Mostly beer and sleeping were motivating factors

 

[frostynorthwind]

doctors without borders wallpaper on my computer and lots of pics of people in need of health care in developing countries...

alcohol never hurt one's motivation, though I must say that the hard stuff is definitely preferable to beer... Pass me some Stoli, Bombay, or Maker's Mark anytime, and I've got all the motivation I need. 😀

 

[obgyny]

1) setting the curve. I got a 89 on my first chem test. I was quite disappointed because I studied my a$$ off. Then the instructor said 89 was the highest grade of the class.. 🙄 I'm just one of those competitive people. Don't get me wrong, I'll help anyone who asks for it, and I'm happy if they get A's (as long as i have a higher A of course 😀 ).

2) I wouldn't want my doctor to be stupid or slack off in college

 

[PineappleGirl]

This might not be so helpful in physics, as I can't think of too many instances where it will directly relate to patient care, but in studying physiology or anatomy, I imagine myself as a doc, explaining whatever I am studying to a patient in less formally and in my own words. It also helps to think that this information you are learning is going to be very relevant to one of your patients and that you as their doc must be able to understand it. This helped a lot in physiology and anatomy, particularly with the parts of the body I am not so psyched about (e.g.; I hate respiratory phys) but then when I tried to think of myself as a doc explaining respiratory phys to a patient, it definitely motivated me to learn it through and through.

I also motivate myself with alcohol too. As in after this exam, I'm popping a bottle of champagne, after this test, 3 margaritas, etc. Pina coladas are reserved for areas where I really need motivated, like respiratory phys.

 

[jintonic5]

my recipe for motivation is quite simple:

fear of the caribbean.

(NO OFFENSE meant to anyone attending/applying/planning to apply/graduated from caribbean. i just really hate the idea of being away from my friends and family in another country for medical school. plus i hate humid weather.)

 

[dinesh]

1) My rocky music sometimes

2) Not wanting to face failure

3) Not wanting to face failure

 

[LJDHC05]

my recipe for motivation is quite simple:

fear of the caribbean.

(NO OFFENSE meant to anyone attending/applying/planning to apply/graduated from caribbean. i just really hate the idea of being away from my friends and family in another country for medical school. plus i hate humid weather.)

Were you in Boston last week???? I happened to notice that the AC in my car caused condensation on the outside of the windows...I dont think it ever gets that humid in the Caribbean. (I prefer pacific islands...better surf)

 

[Enginerd42]

Were you in Boston last week???? I happened to notice that the AC in my car caused condensation on the outside of the windows...I dont think it ever gets that humid in the Caribbean. (I prefer pacific islands...better surf)

Speaking of beer and the better surf in the pacific, I leave for Costa Rica in 9 days for a 10-day surfing trip! Cheers to that! Call it my reward for knowing that I will kick the $hit out of next April's MCATs. Of course, I plan on beginning studying shortly after I return . So after I kick the $hit out of the test, maybe a trip to Australia?!

 

[45408]

Two words: Topless Tutors.

see, that would pretty much kill any desire to study and provoke desires to do other activities

 

[Califlower]

I take a step back and away from the stuff I'm studying, and I watch an inspirational movie. You know, those movies where the main character overcomes obstacles by working hard and not giving up.... cheesy, but after the movie, I stretch, and I am overcome with this urge to get crackalackin....

 

[pagemmapants]

I am afraid of two things in this life: gremlins and mediocrity.

One of these is pretty much the entire motivating factor for any studying I actually get done.

 

[tank you]

basically, visualizing the success i will have in the future.

 

[MEG@COOL]

My motivation is that I hate everyone around me and want to destroy them. If someone ever beat me on a test I would either vandalize their property, or if they were weaker than me, beat the living crap out of them. One way or the other I will demoralize them and then pick them apart. Hate is more powerful than inspiration in the hands of a tyrant.

 

[shahalam]

My motivation is that I hate everyone around me and want to destroy them. If someone ever beat me on a test I would either vandalize their property, or if they were weaker than me, beat the living crap out of them. One way or the other I will demoralize them and then pick them apart. Hate is more powerful than inspiration in the hands of a tyrant.

I find this funny in a sick way.

 

[tinnyfluffy]

Well... Just think about it: you've put up with physics for the entire summer already--which obviously sucks. Would you wanna see a bad grade on top of that? 😉

 

[Medikit]

Female lab TA was notorious for stickers. Made me feel like a third grader.

My organic chemistry PROFESSOR gave out stickers if you got a 90%+. I didn't find out about this until second semester though...

 

[crazy_cavalier]

My organic chemistry PROFESSOR gave out stickers if you got a 90%+. I didn't find out about this until second semester though...

hmmm I wonder why that was... 😉

j/k

 

[Hoya11]

same as me. Most would view me as gunner. However, what's wrong with wanting to dominate your opponents. No one sees anything wrong with athletes wanting to crush their opponents. However, pre-meds can't have the same attitude? when you stoop to sabotage that's unacceptable. However, as long as you don't do anything to negatively affect other people, then this attituded shouldn't have such negative connotations.

Comparing taking tests to athletics is sad.

Tests mean nothing in reality, it is actual real world accomplishments that you should have this intense drive for. This "testing is everything" mentality is what breeds geeky/ineffective doctors who most patients hate. Its often easier for people looking for a confidence boost to get a top test score, rather than doing something really great.

 

[tank you]

Comparing taking tests to athletics is sad.

Tests mean nothing in reality, it is actual real world accomplishments that you should have this intense drive for. This "testing is everything" mentality is what breeds geeky/ineffective doctors who most patients hate. Its often easier for people looking for a confidence boost to get a top test score, rather than doing something really great.

so you're saying that intelligence doesn't count for much? what kind of doctor do you want to become then?

 

[crazy_cavalier]

Comparing taking tests to athletics is sad.

Tests mean nothing in reality, it is actual real world accomplishments that you should have this intense drive for. This "testing is everything" mentality is what breeds geeky/ineffective doctors who most patients hate. Its often easier for people looking for a confidence boost to get a top test score, rather than doing something really great.

Hoya, I'd like to introduce you to my good friend MCAT.

MCAT, meet Hoya. Hoya, MCAT.


'nuff said.

 

[tik-tik-clock]

Hoya, I'd like to introduce you to my good friend MCAT.

MCAT, meet Hoya. Hoya, MCAT.


'nuff said.

atlast, something gave me a good laugh.

 

[Zuras]

Comparing taking tests to athletics is sad.

Tests mean nothing in reality, it is actual real world accomplishments that you should have this intense drive for. This "testing is everything" mentality is what breeds geeky/ineffective doctors who most patients hate. Its often easier for people looking for a confidence boost to get a top test score, rather than doing something really great.

I can see this guy as a doctor.

Doctor comes and sits down, still reading the patient's questionnaire:
"Ok, insomnia, constipation, chills, and cold sweats... hmm"

Patient: "Doc?"

Doctor: oh, hey. I have no idea what the hell is wrong you, but watch this!

*crumples up questionnaire, throws it over the patient's head, landing it in the trash bin behind him*

Doctor: Swoosh!

*does an endzone dance*

 

[Belfagor]

I am afraid of two things in this life: gremlins and mediocrity.

One of these is pretty much the entire motivating factor for any studying I actually get done.

Marry me.

 

[deleted74029]

Tests mean nothing in reality, it is actual real world accomplishments that you should have this intense drive for. This "testing is everything" mentality is what breeds geeky/ineffective doctors who most patients hate. Its often easier for people looking for a confidence boost to get a top test score, rather than doing something really great.

I think you guys missed his point, test scores are not a measure of your success or failure, there are many great doctors with not so good mcats and there are other docs with superior mcats but their people skills are horrible. The gaining of knowledge is still essential however.

 

[crazy_cavalier]

Marry me.

I saw her first!!! MINE. *proceeds to bogart*

(FF6 girl-fans are hard to find!) 😉