No matter how much you love to learn, it’s likely that you’ll come across subjects that you find dry or boring. Everyone has unique interests, but as a college student, you have to take a range of courses and maintain a high level of academic performance.
So, what can you do if your course in a particular subject puts you to sleep? You could just try to push through completing it, but you gain more from your academic experience if you learn to like your courses. Here are some tips to ignite your interest in a boring subject.
Find a Seed of Motivation
The first step to building passion for a subject you don’t like is to find a connection between the subject and your reason for learning it. For example, this course may be a prerequisite for the course you really want to take, but it’s a hurdle you need to overcome.
Think about where you are – possibly a new student early in your degree program – and where you want to be when you’re finished with your degree. It may seem a long way off, but you have to think of it as a journey. Otherwise, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and defeated.
Focus Intently with the Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is an effective time-management tool that can help you stay focused, become more productive, and most importantly with a boring class, avoid procrastination. The concept behind the Pomodoro Technique is dividing larger, more time-consuming tasks into smaller, more manageable efforts.
To use the Pomodoro Technique, you simply set a timer and complete focused, high-effort work for 25 minutes. Once that time is up, take a five-minute break. You repeat this process for three cycles before taking a 20-minute break. These short blocks of maximum effort with short breaks in between may decrease the friction of getting started and can help you sustain high levels of focus over long periods.
Minimize Distractions
Have you ever watched a show or movie and found yourself scrolling on your phone or having your mind wander? The same thing can happen when you’re studying, especially if you aren’t interested in the subject.
It’s easy to get distracted, and you may even be subconsciously looking for something else to capture your attention as an “excuse” to stop studying. Turn off your phone’s notifications, including your email and social media notifications, and commit to uninterrupted studying for that time. Everything can wait until you take a break.
Pair Up with Someone Passionate About the Topic
Your course may be boring to you, but it may not be to someone else. Everyone has their own passions, some that may include the subjects that others find painfully boring or dry, and they’re the ones you want to talk to.
Pairing up with classmates or discussing the topic with someone who’s passionate about it can not only deepen your understanding, but they may offer a new perspective that sparks your interest in the subject. And even if you don’t come out of the course with a newfound passion, you may drum up enough interest to excel come finals.
Gamify Your Learning
Video games, online games, and game apps are popular for a reason. The way they’re designed using challenges and rewards creates an engaging experience that motivates people to win – and that same concept can work for your classes.
The gamification of learning applies some of these concepts to your studies, including milestones, rewards, and leaderboards that make studying more fun – no matter how bored you are with the subject.
Here are some ways to add gamification to your studies:
- Create instant feedback: Use practice quizzes or flashcards to reward yourself points when you get answers right.
- Make it an actual game: Play your favorite board game but replace the game questions or cards with course-related questions. You have to get them right to advance in the game.
- Team up with peers: Get together in a group and act out scenarios to get a real-world perspective. For example, you and your peers can take on the personas of different philosophers and discuss each other’s views as your chosen persona.
- Wager on knowledge: Whether on your own or with peers, place bets on correct answers and turn studying into some lighthearted competition.
- Connect lessons to real-world problems: Games use quests and puzzles to encourage gameplay. Consider your assigned reading, practice quizzes, and written assignments a series of missions that you want to complete. If you don’t get it right the first time, you have more “lives.”
Seek Out Supplemental Learning
Sometimes, courses are boring because of how the information is presented, not the information itself. There are plenty of additional resources that you can use to enhance your learning on a particular subject, such as documentaries and video series on YouTube.
Be sure to explore a few different options. You never know if someone else’s teaching style will jive better with the way you learn. For example, many students struggle with the dry, abstract nature of math, but there are numerous YouTube mathematicians that amassed a following by making math fun and easily digestible.
Choose a Focus That Does Interest You
Subject areas can be diverse and multifaceted. Just because you don’t like one course focus doesn’t mean you’ll be bored by the entire subject. For example, maybe you don’t like the humanities, but Critical Thinking or Introduction to Ethics can spark your interest.
Similarly, some students find business courses boring, but a course in Personal Finance has a lot of practical information you can use in real life and gets you closer to your required courses. The same can be true of English and communication courses, which might be more interesting if you take a course like Visual Communications to learn about design.
Develop Your Intellectual Curiosity
No matter how much you love to learn, it’s likely that you’ll come across courses that you find dry or boring. Everyone has unique interests, but as a college student, you have to take a range of courses and maintain a high level of academic performance.
Get Excited About New Topics
In school and in life, not everything can be exciting all the time. You’ll come across subjects and courses that don’t hold your interest, work with projects or clients you don’t enjoy in your job, and deal with mundane day-to-day tasks. But becoming a better learner will help you not just with boring subjects, but gaining the ability to develop new skills and passions that will serve you in your career.
Ready to get started on your educational journey? Start your free trial at Sophia and explore our courses!
