Do you struggle to get or stay motivated to study? Do you find your motivation comes in fits and starts? When motivation is low, procrastination is high. And when procrastination is high we don’t do the work needed to make progress and get our motivation back.

That’s because motivation often shows its face only once you start gaining momentum. To gain momentum we need to start making progress and then continue to take action. The best way to do this is through celebrating the work you ARE doing.

It’s easy to always look forward when you’re studying. Especially when you’ve got a long road ahead of you to the qualification you want. I regularly find myself quoting Dory during tough times, ‘just keep swimming’.

3 Ways to Celebrate Your Studying Achievements to Boost Your Motivation

1. Note your main achievements at the end of each study session

Adding this 1-minute exercise to your study sessions is so powerful. It will allow you to finish each day on a positive note. 

My 1-page study session planner gives you everything you need for productive, focused study sessions (as long as you bring the hard work!).

One of the sections provides space to note down your key studying achievements.

You might find yourself thinking, ‘but I didn’t achieve anything’.

Unless you literally sat there and didn’t open your books then you did achieve something. (If you really didn’t open your books then check out this post on procrastination for a kick up the ass).

So write something, however small, and feel proud as you celebrate your studying achievements.

2. Swap your to-do list for an achievement list

Hands up if you’re a to-do list masochist like me?

Do you create a mammoth to-do list that is so long you’ll never get everything done?

When you (inevitably) don’t complete everything, do you feel like crap?

If so then I want you to try a new type of list – the achievement list.

Rather than writing a list of everything you have to do, I want you to write a list of things you have actually completed.

I use my achievement list to cover personal and business stuff as well as studying. So here’s my list from last Saturday including everything from studying, housework, errands and recording course videos.

There are no rules as to how big each task should be. The only rule is that it can’t go on the list until it’s finished.

Whenever I do this exercise I’m surprised by how much I can achieve in one day. Progress can often feel small but it’s the power of taking lots of small steps consistently that gets us where we want to be.

Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take small steps – Helmut Schmidt

3. Keep a happy things jar

When you’re beavering away with your head in your textbooks it can often be hard to notice what’s going on around you. I want to share a method I use to stop and smell the roses – so to speak.

Find an empty glass jar and grab some coloured sticky notes.

Assign a colour to different areas of your life you want to find joy in. For me I chose studying, personal, work and business.

Keep the jar and notes on your desk and every time you think of something happy – write on a note, fold it and put it in the jar.

Here’s some ideas of things to record in your studies: got a good grade; submitted an assignment a day early; studied for an evening even though you didn’t want to; asked your tutor for feedback (even though you were scared)

At work I record when I receive praise from my manager, when I help a colleague with something that isn’t my responsibility, when I stand up for what’s right.

In my personal life I track when I stick to my boundaries, when I learn something new, when I help out a friend.

Whenever you’re feeling down or stressed about studying, take the jar and read some of your notes and celebrate your studying achievements.

Seeing evidence of happy times and your accomplishments can really help boost your positivity and motivate you to keep going.

If you use any of these methods I would love for you to share on Instagram and tag me @chloe.burroughs