Studying at university may be very challenging for you. Especially at LSE, a university known for being academically rigorous, I found it a bit difficult to stay motivated to study. As the assignments started to pile up, I was juggling multiple tasks and deadlines simultaneously, and I couldn’t get myself to sit down and study efficiently.

If you’ve felt this way, then please take comfort in the fact that you’re not alone. It’s likely that every student has felt demotivated to study at some point during their studies; it becomes even more challenging when you’re living away from family and managing work on your own.

When I felt that I lacked the motivation to study, I would get some other tasks completed. I found that if I was worrying about the million other things that I had to do, then I really couldn’t focus on the work I was doing in the moment. Completing other chores, such as cleaning my room, cooking a meal, or doing my laundry, left me feeling more relaxed to study and ready to concentrate on what I was studying. Ticking things off the to-do list is a great motivator to get more work done.

Studying on LSE campus or going to a café helps me feel and stay motivated. Very early in the year, I understood that if I stayed home and tried to study, I would actually get much less done than if I was working at LSE, a café or library. The environment of work and concentration at LSE Library or the Marshall Building (MAR) really helps me motivate myself to study and work. I also don’t have my bed to tempt me in between, which is always great when you’re trying to get work done. While it might seem a bit pointless to go somewhere to sit by yourself and study, I do think the environment that you study in is very important to your motivation levels and productivity.

Studying with friends is also a great motivator for me, although it might not be effective for everyone. I find that studying in groups where everyone’s concentrating motivates me to work better. It also helps that you can take breaks together during which you can relax then get back into studying.

Small things like making yourself a daily to-do list of achievable tasks and having an organised work area are important. The tasks on your to-do list should be realistic and could include the smallest of tasks, be it reviewing notes or sending an email to a professor about a doubt. Whilst it’s difficult to constantly remain motivated, we must remember to give ourselves some grace. It’s a challenging degree, and we also have a lot of other tasks that we have to manage. Build in some systems that work for you and makes studying easier. All the best!