1. Targets
Set small, achievable targets:
learn 10 new English words or phrases every day, Mondays to Fridays (repeat on Saturdays, relax on Sundays)
unlearn one typical mistake before the next test
read the lyrics of an English song every week and try to understand its main content
read and try to understand one short English text every week
Reaching your target step by step is much better than setting a huge target that you cannot achieve. Easy does it … and keeps your motivation up.
2. Motivation is half the Work
“Boring!” Well, that's definitely not the way it works.
Try to find a positive aspect to studying. Why not watch your favourite film in English and write down some useful words or phrases that you want to remember. You could also read the lyrics of Top 10 songs and try to understand what they are about. Or check out celebrity sites and learn more about famous actors, bands and other stars. This sure is good for your vocabulary and on top of that – it's lots of fun.
Always look on the bright side of life.
Studying 15 minutes per day is more effective than studying 2 hours once every week.
For a whole week, try studying 15 minutes each day. Not less. And definitively not more than that (even if you could).
You will see that the following day, studying is much more fun, simply because you didn't push it to the limit the day before.
Know when to stop before you start.
4. Treat yourself to something good
Everbody notices what you failed to do. But nobody appreciates what you succeeded to do. That's rather frustrating, isn't it?
Appreciation is always a good motivation. And if nobody else appreciates your efforts, you'll have to do it yourself. Set a target for the day, the week or the term and do also set a reward for yourself that you can look forward to:
If I achieve the target, I will treat myself to
an adventurous monster killing game on my computer
a visit to the cinema at the weekend
…
If it's a long-time target, write your reward down on a piece of paper and hang it up in a place where it catches your eye. This sure will be a good motivation.