Get Motivated to Study: Location, Location, Location
This is part of my How to Stop Procrastinating series.
Hey, friends!
As a computer programmer, one of my first jobs was in a salmon-color office building. I only spent four months of my life there, but it was awful. (My boss had wildly inconsistent and, often, incoherent expectations.)
Years later, my stomach turns whenever I drive by that hideous building. My anxiety rises, so I go out of my way to avoid seeing it. (And I'll never again step inside and take the elevator to the third floor.)
In contrast, there's a flood of positive emotions when I drive past Grandma's old home in California. I remember watching "The Wonderful World of Disney" on Sunday nights, eating raspberry jam on wheat toast, and getting a hug from Grandma when I arrived. She'd exclaim, "It's Schnookie-doo!" and give me a huge hug.
Physical location triggers powerful emotions.
Apply this to studying
We can use physical location as a catalyst to tell our brain, "It's time to study."
For example, I often studied on the main library's 4th floor, in the Asian Studies section. (I even had a favorite corner table.) The Chinese wall hangings, the rack of Japanese newspapers, and the smell of old books told my little brain, "It's time to study." When I was there, studying was easy. No motivation required.
I tried studying in other places, like the kitchen table in my tiny apartment. But I couldn't focus. In retrospect, it was a terrible place to study. Why? Because it's where I ate frozen burritos, read legal thrillers, played chess with neighbors, and had stupid debates with roommates. My brain associated the kitchen with eating, recreation, and arguing—not studying.
The library's 4th floor was my spot for studying.
Take action: Choose a specific spot for studying
You need a place to study—somewhere you don't do anything else. If you have access to a university campus, experiment with different places. (My wife majored in Math Education but studied in the Law Library because it was deathly quiet.)
If you're stuck at home, this is harder, but it can be done. Maybe it's a particular seat at the kitchen table facing the window. Maybe it's sitting on the floor next to the couch with your study blanket. It just needs to be moderately comfortable and a place only for studying. (So, no beds, no couches.)
Having a specific study location tells our brain, "It's time to study." And this lowers the friction of getting started.
Read more on How to Stop Procrastinating.
Thanks to Brynn Stewart and Thomas Weigel for reading a draft of this!