How to stay motivated: what the research says
Motivation here means how much you want to do a task: your interest, engagement or confidence that you can do it, measured as the main outcome. These are the actions and rules that studies have tested, rated by how sure the research is and how much they helped.
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HelpedMotivation
Writing kindly to yourself made people more motivated to improve
318 people · Randomised · 1 tool tested
HelpedGoals
Parent brochures and a website led teens to take more maths and science.
188 people · Randomised
HelpedMotivation
Training PE teachers to give students more say may have helped their motivation.
1,158 people · Randomised
HelpedMotivation
Adding choice and progress features made an exercise game more fun to play.
160 people · Randomised · 1 tool tested
HelpedGoals
Memory games kept children with ADHD training longer and helped memory
51 people · Randomised · 1 tool tested
HelpedMotivation
A year of choice and enjoyment raised exercise and weight loss in women
239 people · Randomised · 5 tools tested
HelpedGoals
A game helped students learn computer memory better than a website
88 people · Randomised · 1 tool tested
HelpedMotivation
Writing about how science is useful helped students who expected to do poorly
262 people · Randomised · 1 tool tested
HelpedGoals
Teaching pupils ways to manage their own learning raised their school results.
8,619 people · 1 tool tested
HelpedGoals
Study skills training may help children in maths, reading and writing, and motivation.
1 tool tested
No comparisonGoals
Teaching that intelligence grows with learning halted the fall in math grades
91 people · Randomised · 1 tool tested
HelpedMotivation
Hearing that belonging doubts fade may have lifted Black students' fit and study
37 people · Randomised · 1 tool tested
HelpedMotivation
In 11 studies, reading lessons run by teachers raised children's motivation to read.
3 studies pooled
HelpedMotivation
Counselling that backed people's own choices helped more smokers be smoke-free at six months.
1,006 people · Randomised · 1 tool used
MixedMotivation
Short talks with therapists helped parents go to more sessions.
76 people · Randomised · 2 tools tested
HelpedGoals
Phone support for home exercise may have helped breast cancer survivors get more active
86 people · Randomised · 5 tools tested
HelpedMotivation
A team-based sport unit may have raised boys' enjoyment and effort in class
51 people · Trial
HelpedGoals
Learning for growth, health or community led to better grades and more activities
801 people · Randomised · 1 tool tested
HelpedMotivation
Training teachers to back students' choices may make students more involved
20 people · Randomised
HelpedGoals
A message that intelligence grows with effort may have raised Black students' grades.
79 people · Randomised · 1 tool tested
HelpedMotivation
Matched self-help materials moved more workers up a stage than standard ones
903 people · Randomised · 1 tool tested
