Are you overwhelmed with what you need to learn for your CT exam? With so much information to absorb, it’s easy to lose hope and motivation.
The good news is that about 88% of people who sit for the ARRT exams pass on the first try.
That’s encouraging, but is it enough to keep you motivated?
Keep reading to learn how to keep your motivation up when you’re studying for your CT exam.
Plan Your Study Schedule
The first thing you should do to maintain your motivation throughout the study process is to set a schedule. Plan to use a time period that is at the beginning of your day when you are fresh and not at the end. Make studying for the ARRT CT Registry Examination the priority for the next 4 to 6 weeks. That’s it and you will be done and successful.
Set aside time in your calendar just like you would for any other important meeting or appointment.
This will force you to do a couple of things: make a commitment to yourself to study and keep that commitment. Remember to schedule your study time at the beginning of your day when you are fresh.
That’s much easier said than done.
To stay motivated and focused, you can use a productivity hack like the Pomodoro Method, where you’re hyper-focused for 25 minutes, then take a break for 5.
Set Up a Study Space
One way to get yourself motivated to study is to have your own space where you study. This could be at the library, at the office, or a dedicated room in your home.
By having a dedicated study space, you have a way to stay sharp, focused and minimize distractions.
Put Away Distractions
The time that you set up for yourself needs to be focused time. That’s your time to study.
It’s also a great time to step away from distractions like your phone, social media, and the TV.
The more distracted you are, the longer it takes for you to study and understand complex concepts.
The longer it takes for you to understand these concepts, the more motivation you’ll lose.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to put away the distractions for a short while and get back to them when you take a break.
Get a Study Buddy
A study buddy is one of the most valuable things you can have to motivate you. After all, they’re studying for the CT exam, too.
They know exactly what you’re going through.
They can be a source of support when you’re stuck.
Take One Step at a Time
With such a massive exam like the CT exam, it’s very easy to look ahead at all the material you have to work through.
It might seem like you’ll never be ready for exam day. That’s enough to demotivate you and walk away from studying.
The best thing you can do is to take each of the major concepts and break them up into smaller chunks.
Use Different Study Tools
A great way to keep yourself motivated for your CT exam is to use different tools to study.
Relying on just books can bore you and take the motivation out of you.
You can use interactive study tools, have study sessions with your study buddy or take quizzes to track your progress.
Discipline & Motivation
The biggest mistake that people make when it comes to motivation is that they wait for the motivation to show up before they do something.
They want to feel motivated. That’s just the thing. Motivation is a feeling. If everyone did things only when they felt like it, very little would be accomplished.
Let’s face it.
There will be days when you just don’t feel like studying. There will be days when you’d rather go out and do something else.
You can make that choice, nothing is stopping you.
But you won’t reach your goals to pass the exam.
That’s why you need to recognize that you need to be disciplined as much as you need to be motivated, even more so.
That’s because the motivated feeling won’t always be there. If you want to know how to motivate yourself to study, you have to know about self-discipline.
With discipline, you take action regardless of what you’re feeling that day. You could be filled with fear or doubt, but you still step up and get the studying done.
If you’re having one of those days, there are a few things you can do to help you get that motivated feeling back.
Visualize passing the exam: When you lose motivation, it’s usually a sign that you’re burned out or you’re experiencing fear or doubt. This is the perfect time to remember why you’re studying for the exam to begin with. Take a few minutes to visualize passing the exam and feel the wave of relief and excitement come over you.
Reach out to your study buddy: Your study buddy can be an invaluable source of support. Take a few minutes and reach out to them. Tell them that you don’t feel like studying and you need just a little bit of support to get back into it.
Take a short break: You can take a short break from studying but missing a day because you don’t feel like it can set yourself up to skip study times later on.
Take a short break and connect with a friend you haven’t talked to in a while or go to the park.
These things will help you get out of your head and get you on the path to passing your exam.
How to Motivate Yourself to Study
As you’re prepping for your CT Exam, there will undoubtedly be days when you don’t feel like doing much studying, but if you want to pass your exam, you have to get it done.
How to motivate yourself to study comes down to knowing that there will be a lot of emotions that come up for a difficult test.
When you recognize when you’re not motivated and take a few small actions to get your mindset ready for studying, you’re on the path to a passing grade on the CT exam.
If you want to be fully prepared for your exam, take a look at The Tuffest Stuff Webinar video presentations and have the Power Point handout as you do so to follow along. As long as you can connect online you have access to all TUFFEST STUFF video presentations and Educational Materials. THE TUFFEST STUFF and all the study tools that come with it were written so that every RT can be successful on the ARRT CT Registry Exam on their first attempt.
