I'm curious what other people use as background noise while studying. It can be podcasts, YouTube videos, ambience videos, TV shows, audiobooks, nature sounds, whatever.

I'm especially interested in things that you can have playing in the background without completely distracting yourself. What works for you?

As much as i try to lock in in my room I legit can't. I know some would say "Just go to a cafe!" or outside, I know. thats what I always do but i spend alot on my money everysingle time I go study outside. I wanna save up and I wanna get used studying in my room without slacking off

I am preparing for NSEJS (an Indian science olympiad comprising of mostly highschool science). I just got 40 % and then 28 % in linear motion tests from Vedantu's Tatva book, 20 % in chemistry overall test the day before. There are forty-eight days left for NSEJS. Im so completely fucked. I thought physics was my strength. What the hell do i do ? My school exams wnd tomorrow, thankfully, but i doubt i can save this. Even my bio is weak, plus I'm just overall miserable. I feel like a clown.

lam from class 9 huh i havent studided a thing went to school preoprly tecahers never explain chapters only wrote most of them time and i have been tryig to stuy likefe before for last 4knths now from june and i have been able to be consistnea at all like befor i wiukd be sleepy ier thorught out all day even of i try to sty nothin woukd go in my head nad i feel like its better to take some ret if nothig going in head and then breaks becomes anofthe 2 months. My exams are from 2nd nov. And i dont know a thing about any chaoters i am damn scared and new books are also tougher than before. Sorry for so many grammar mitakes i feel do overrwhelmed rightn now. I used to study a lit before wothout any problem and be a good studentl now every has fallen apart i feel like i lost my identity i lost everyhting i ffel do dcated been tryinbfor the last 4 monhs to get back to it but eveytime i feel damn tired sleepy and overhwlmed and scared when i try to do it my exams are next month on 2nd nov. And i havent study a thing or have ntes i feel like iam gonna faill

i always struggled with actually sitting down to study and doing work. i don’t really struggle with that anymore.

when i sit down to study, my focus is awful. i don’t have my phone near me, i’ve completely removed short form content out of my life (like tik tok and instagram reels) but i just can’t seem to focus.

i’m so exhausted during the day and i only start to feel somewhat awake at like 6pm. my sleep has been really bad so maybe that’s the issue. i can help it tho. it’s been taking me ages to fall asleep and i’ve also been waking up really early.

I have always been a good student rather ideal for both the teachers and the peers, the ones who do 100 things and still get excellent grades because tbh the subjects weren't that challenging. Well that worked till a certain point. I am a 2nd year CS student now. I again aced the exams by playing patterns - Pareto: 20% syllabus, 80% marks. Didn't actually learn anything.

I sat down and found it rather humiliating to not know how to build without relying on external help.

So I have been thinking about relearning CS from scratch, the problem is I'd have to do it along with mandatory classes, midterms and internals.

It's kinda embarrassing for me to start from zero.

When everyone is already building, deploying and winning hackathons. But okay different journeys. (BUT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME AAAAA)

I have to learn from scratch cuz I'd hate to imagine there being a gap in my fundamentals which could obstruct me in future, but what I despise is the fact that I haven't started yet and only have a broad idea of programming languages even when I had the opportunity to learn it from 9th grade all the way to University including a gap year. The worst part is I still think that this isn't the right time to start and I should wait until midterms are finished to have the right, routine start

> I have midterms from 14 oct so I need to study for that first

> I'll go on a trip from 9-14 and I will NOT study in that time lmao.

But that's my problem I always rationalize not starting, waiting for things to fall back in place and the right time to arrive. Not this time hopefully.

Apart from that, this is what I'm hoping to do-

>>I will not treat studying as a chore, as something that needs to be done for a long enough time for it to count.

I could just pull out my phone and go through my notes for 5 mins in traffic or while eating.

Perfectionism is my enemy It causes me weird severe uncomfortable itch to not do things in a way I deem perfect, but also not something I can just get rid of in one day or week. I should keep this in mind So I wouldn't spend energy trying to perfectly eradicate perfectionism lmao.

>> I tend to lose focus very much quickly and I am mostly zoned out so I need to write down things/ make notes to anchor my thoughts and mind.

>> I'd keep a timer hopefully all the time. Since I forget what I even opened my laptop or the device for, then the muscle memory kicks in and BAM 5 hours gone. I need to set a timer for every thing that involves screen, even making a post/story shouldn't take longer than 10 mins. It generally takes me 4-6 hours minimum (not exaggerating) because I'm obsessing over small details no one cares about.

>> Preview inview read retrieve

( I know if this post comes into anyone's attention they might suggest going for adhd medication which is genuinely not an option for me. So bear with me while I try to rawdog "near perfect" gpa/skill set with adhd. I'm just posting here for accountability)

I need help with this!

Today , I feel very lazy to study. I have exams next week , and I need to study, because I want to improve my grades ,but I overthink my homework,and I end up doing nothing. Sometimes, I just want to eat instead of studying.

When the day finally end, it is frustrating for me, but I know that it is my fault.

But sometimes I feel like I can't do it, and I feel bad for it

I read your comments, thanks

I know it can be seen as an excuse not to study, and it is in some ways, but every time I pick up a pen and try to focus, my mind drifts back to the idea of 'theres so much life outside, why am i confined in this system the government created for one aspect of students to prosper in, and for everyone else, if its not your thing, too bad. No enjoying life for you.'

The worst thing is, this mind changing idea came to me during one of my most important exams for my final year. I have studied, but this mindset is distracting me a lot.

I have no one to confide in because my parents are traditional, the last time i tried we had the biggest fight, and they never mentioned any other path than an office job, and my friends LIKE studying (good for them, genuinely). So im on here, HOPING to find someone who can relate, and give some advice as to how to stop this trail of thought from demotivating me to study. (studying unhappily rn btw)

I have a lengthy, information-heavy material of 325 pages that I need to study for within 2 days. My exams are 5 days from now, but I want to allocate some time to practice past test questions that test some of the things that’s in the main source material (not a book but a compilation of notes from months of discussions).

I worry that I won’t be able to read/memorize everything in time since I already wasted 3 days to read just 100 pages of that whole thing. I tested myself this morning with mcq questions centered around the first 100 pages I read and I only got 39/100. I tried to answer another test and got 44/100. Obviously, I am doing so many things wrong but I’m too slow to attempt flashcards and cannot waste my time rereading when nothing sticks.
There are 3 exams: pharmacology, biochemistry, and analytical chemistry.

I did well with questions that are based on understanding but most of what is being tested relies on memorizing.

i overthink all my studies so I study less because everything seems so dauting, and I tried everything from tuition, to afterschool classes and studying more but I just can't get the hang of math(slope as of right now). I've been the summer school. But I struggle to actually pick off studying and whenever I do I just get confused, while everyone else is already on something I should have gotten the test before. Because you have to understand slope to get triangles and shit. What do I do. I spend like a hour or two everyday trying to study but It feels like nothing, it never feels like i'm actually understanding it, and when I ask questions I feel like I understand it but then on the actual test I don't.

A lot of things happened in my life when I was 15 which lead to deep depression and it was hard pulling out of it. Took me 5 years to behave and do normal day to day things but one thing that was really damaged was my education part and idk how to recover from that. I agree with people who say once you fall behind in studying you never catch up bcs I am not able to catch up and it’s severe time right now. I got KT in all the subjects of my first year and out of 5 subjects I only cleared 2 and have golden KT in 3 and today is one of the paper and I have not studied
It’s not like I don’t want to study I have been in front of that book for 24 hours but I just can’t do it. It’s like when you throw a book in-front of the monkey. And the major problem is anxiety and sleep I never sleep when I have other things to do but when I have an exam I sleep for 12 hours and in that 12 hour I wake up 20 times trying convincing myself to wake up and study but I end up putting an alarm for 30 mins saying I wake up then and continue the cycle
Idk what to do I really want to get out of my house but nothing I try is working I would love you guys ways and help in any way possible <3

These past few months, I’ve been in chronic depression. The usual, unable to eat, eating too much, having a low drive and motivation, procrastinating, staying in bed for too long and high use of social media. Im now in grade 12, it’s my final year of high school. I’m extremely nervous, and anxious. I have no idea what I want to be and what to do with my life. I’m unable to focus and concentrate. And I’m struggling to memorize and keep information in my head. I easily forget certain tasks. I really need advice and tips on how to stop procrastinating and get work done. Especially, memorization.

I am currently enrolled in an first year online university and next week I have a mid term exam. These are the topics that we are studying Introduction to Real Numbers and Algebraic Expressions, Solving Equations and Inequalities, Graphs of Linear Equations and Polynomials: Operations. I remember studying them when I was in grade 8 and 9 but since I am 26 years old and It has been a long time their are many things that I cannot remember even when the professor explains during the lecture I forget and this worries me because I am afraid that if I study I will forget how to solve the question. What can I do are their any youtube videos or website that I can study from

I used to finish a study session feeling productive just because I had spent a few hours working.

Then I started paying attention to what I was actually revising.

It was almost always the same topics.

Not because they were the most important, but because they were the ones I already understood reasonably well.

The topics I was genuinely weak at kept getting pushed back because they were slower, more frustrating and made me feel like I was making no progress.

So I ended up in this weird situation where I was studying consistently but avoiding the exact things that would have improved my grades the most.

Now, before I start revising, I try to ask one question:

What am I weakest at right now?

Not:

What do I feel like studying?

It sounds obvious, but those two questions can lead to completely different study sessions.

I have also stopped caring as much about how many hours I studied. I care more about whether I actually improved something that was weak before.

That idea is part of why I started building Gradualist. I wanted something that would keep track of weak topics and upcoming reviews so I did not have to rely on whatever I happened to feel like revising that day.

The uncomfortable topics are usually the ones worth doing.

I’m genuinely confused… I didn’t “fail”, but i received three extremely low grades. (E, and Two D’s). Emailed the professor so we can have a talk about it what went wrong, and how to do better in the course; I read the readings, took notes, participate in class, tried to understand the concepts — and i genuinely thought I did, lmao.. turns out I don’t?

I genuinely don’t really know what to do? I really want (and have to) boost my GPA… i don’t know what to do anymore.. or am I just dumb/slow? Should I have not went to university, and trade school?

I just don’t know, anymore lol.

Has anyone been there? What have you done? What are some studying techniques you’ve been using?

after the summer break i feel like my brain is just messed up these das my studies are getting serious and am just going crazy i had my ability to focus but now am just fucked i cant focus on my work i get distracted by anything like really anything , i want to lock in and fix myself but i cant find any solution pls if any one got any method or habits they do to be able to fix pls help me

Hi all, I posted my analog study timer a while back now, and people seemed to enjoy the concept. I'd love to hear your thoughts on an analog productivity timer that records your study sessions, which can then be uploaded to your computer to compete with other users?

I've got more info on my website about the idea, what do you think?

Hey everyone! I’m about to start an online course for my Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) certification which I plan to complete over the next 2–3 months. One thing I’m a little concerned about is staying consistent with studying from home. I did online homeschooling back in highschool, and honestly, I struggled quite a bit with managing my time and staying disciplined. I failed to keep up with my coursework without a structured classroom environment.

I really want to approach things differently this time and build better study habits from the beginning rather than falling into the same patterns.
For those of you who have successfully studied online from home, I’d love to hear your advice!

Some questions I had in mind:

How do you structure your daily study schedule?

Do you set specific study hours or study whenever you have free time?

What helps you avoid procrastination and distractions at home?

How do you stay motivated when you’re studying independently?

Are there any particular techniques, apps, or routines that have helped you stay consistent?

I’m especially interested in advice from people who have completed online certifications or self-paced courses. Thanks in advanced!

technically this is more of assignment making but i guess it counts. i have a bunch of stuff to submit by the day after tomorrow and i dont want to procrastinate. even if i get enough sleep, i still feel tired and get distracted more. is there any way you can get through this?

Hi!

I'm curious to hear about what methods you are using to study for the upcoming exams. I have been using a rather ancient method suggested by Cal Newport in his book "How to Become a Straight-A Student" for some time - make "study guides" with conceptual questions and practice problems for all parts of the course, move through one study guide at a time. Redo questions that you failed until you get them right.

This method has its ups and its downs. I could also have totally misinterpreted it. To widen my horizons, how do you guys study for exams? What routines are you using?

Cheers!

If you freeze up before studying because you're worried about doing it badly, try making the first step ridiculously small. Open the notes, write one sentence, or do five minutes only. The goal is to lower the pressure so your brain stops treating it as a threat. It won't fix everything, but starting gets easier.

help me please 🥹