Studying during the summer is nobody’s cup of tea. I am a homeschooler and right now, these hot summer days, I feel a lack of enthusiasm to learn. The subjects are boring and the amazing warm weather captures with various outdoor entertainments. When facing a lack of motivation, I realize that simply pushing myself to do something and learn doesn’t work. No matter how hard I try, there is no point in my efforts and pains, because when I’m not engaged in the process, I cannot focus and therefore attention shreds away and memory doesn’t work. What really helps me is a pack of websites and online tools that make the summer learning process more enjoyable and interesting.
So in this post, I would like to share some strategies and tools that help me improve my focus and stay motivated to study even when the siren’s call of summer fun attracts me in the worst way.
Keep Me Out
The first thing I do to focus on studying is preventing myself from being distracted. I use Keep Me Out to block and stay away from Facebook, where my friends are constantly posting their selfies, photos of ice cream, photos as they ride bicycles, roller skates and other summer holidays stuff (yes, they are not homeschoolers, unlike me!). Moreover, some of them think that if I am studying at home, it means that I am not studying at all and they won’t stop sending messages and inviting me to hang out. Sometimes, I feel that I just need to stay away from this stuff because two times of the ten they still succeed in pulling me out of a house. If you don’t want to risk either – use Keep Me Out to block distracting websites.
Serious Science
This one is a website I usually use when I need to have a small break from studying. Yes, I continue studying when I’m taking a break from studying and I think that it is the best strategy to stay tuned and motivated. Serious Science enables me to learn some interesting facts about different topics from history to astronomy. I don’t really like popular scientific articles and prefer more sophisticated materials, so I choose Serious Science because it is actually serious. This website provides insights into how scientists work and think along with a detailed explanatory system. I regularly read and watch news, videos, articles, and other materials they publish whenever I have free time. This is what I do to avoid feeling guilty for procrastination!
Student Share
Sometimes nothing motivates me more than good job done by someone else. I start thinking: if they can do that then I can do that, too! So I have found Student Share, a website that publishes academic papers done by other students, to read those pieces and get fresh ideas and inspiration. When I’m having hard times with writing assignments and have no original ideas – I read papers done by others, think over their ideas and come up with something original and my own. By the way, you can download a couple of papers out there for free per day, but if you need more – just share your own work and get an unlimited access. It is called Student Share for a reason.
OpenStudy
I feel more motivated when I have a study buddy to support me and to be a part of my studying process. The truth is that I need a company to have someone who watches me from the sidelines. This makes me feel more responsible and therefore – more motivated. As a have already written, my friends are not homeschoolers and when they have sessions at schools and colleges, we can cooperate for collective studying. However, in summer they are having holidays and there is no way they can bear me a company for learning. I use Open Study to find other students who search for company. We can talk, motivate each other, share thoughts, vaunt of success and give advice. In fact, we have already built a small student community of summer students there and it’s a great fun.
TED Talks
My last secret of being motivated when studying is watching some really amazing thinkers, scientists and researchers to get inspired and learn from their example. TED Talks is a platform where you can ‘meet’ a lot of creative people who just share their best ideas. I love watching their presentations and lectures, because they save me from the monotonous learning, bring me something new and useful and inspire me to move forward. In a word, TED Talks serves me as an enjoyable and inspiring website that also widens my knowledge.
I find these websites helpful and use them any time I need an energy boost. Hopefully, you will find them effective and they will help you dismiss procrastination!