How to be motivated?

Hi all,

How do you guys stay motivated all throughout the GRE journey?..I am finding it pretty hard to keep my focus. It’s so straining and mentally taxing!

Regards,
K

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Okay. Should rephrase then. How to be disciplined, now that I am having a hard time fighting with myself :woman_shrugging:t5::woman_facepalming:t5: to focus on preparation?

How to be disciplined? Answer: I don’t know.

Just buckle up. Start with a dedicated series, maybe with a dedicated reading or dedicated CR or dedicated data. Don’t just watch videos, start with pen, pencils, and papers. Solve problems, do the homeworks, read good articles, go to reddit and forum and help someone with GRE problems. Get shit done. Look, you don’t really need motivation. You need to just start and keep you occupied.

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Thanks man :heart:

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Stay hydrated, stick to a routine and walk at least a couple of thousand steps if exercise is not your game.

My friend once told me: Be impatient with yourself, be patient with the results. (I’m still trying to follow this but of course it’s not possible to stay motivated all day, everyday)

Take a break if you feel burned out. They’re important!

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I think I am missing out on the exercise… Its imperative I believe. This GRE is messing with my sleep cycles. Walking would do some good I suppose. Thanks :heart:

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To stay motivated, I stick to a routine in my studying, however, I understand that others may not have the same hours I have every day. One way to stay motivated is to always remind yourself that the work you are doing right now is important. You are actively working towards your goals, and that is amazing! Maybe make sticky-note reminders around your study space to remind you. Finally, I think complaining is super under-utilized! You should not expect yourself to want to study all the time, and complaining about the exam or the things you study helps you clear your mind.
Sorry this is long - hope it helps!

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I prefer answers if they are detailed. Clears all incumbent qualms. Thanks.

One big tip that works for me just starts doing it. Starting is the hard part, but you can always find ways that make it easier.

For the past 2 months, I always left my browser open at gregmat study plan, not just the homepage, but the exact content I’m going to do tomorrow. I have BigBook/Manhattan/ETS PDF easily accessible on desktop, also open to the page that I’m going to study When I wake up and come to my desk these are the first things that will pop up on my computer and it has made a big difference.

If I’m really in no mood to study, then I just put on one of Greg Quant’s videos since that’s something on the lighter side for me, and I do them exercise while reading Reddit or slacking off on youtube. Eventually, after a few puzzles, I’m either intrigue by the coolness of the problem, or I’m flustered by how convoluted it’s worded and I can’t figure it out half-heartedly either way that puts me into the mood for studying.

For Vocab I use Anki, I really hate doing vocab but there is a psychology trick of counting down from 5 to zero and you just do it. It is said that this eliminates overthinking and sparks the urgency part of your brain. That’s what I do I count then just forced myself to click open one of the vocab sets I have set up. After that is done, I just slogged through it without much trouble.

I don’t think the key is discipline, discipline means you have to endure the hardship, even if it’s hard you have to be harder, just writing about it feels dull already. I prefer to think of it as how to come up with a cunning strategy that helps your-future-self lol. Everybody is lazy it’s how we are wired.

Amazing amazing solution. Of late I watched Dead Poets Society and it really motivated me towards my goal. Also, I am trying to do two days of the one month program in a day, (I try to) because I have quit my job so I have the time…ultimately end up doing 1.5 days material and I always feel satiated after it…When I posted this, I was feeling clueless actually. Hoping, these tactics will help me soon. Whenever, I feel demotivated, watching Greg videos have helped me. Ultimately I end up watching 4-6 videos a day. My GRE is on 14th Sep.