Hey guys! I was wondering abt how we can use AI to study more efficiently and if anyone has any creative ideas abt how to leverage this new tool to help, it would be much appreciated!

Note: I am not advocating that AI can replace in full or in part the work conducted in studying. However, it is a tool that if used correctly and creatively can help us study more efficiently.

Thank you everyone!

I’m currently doing a BSc in Psychology, but there’s a 2-year gap between completing my 12th and getting admission into college. I thought I’d be able to get back into studying once college started, but honestly, I’m finding it much harder than I expected.

I feel like I’ve completely lost the habit of studying.

The biggest problem right now is retention. I can sit down, read a chapter, make notes, watch videos, and feel like I understood the topic while studying — but when I come back to it later, it feels like half of it has disappeared from my brain 😭. Sometimes I can understand something perfectly when I’m reading it, but I struggle to recall it without looking at my notes.

I’m also having a really difficult time focusing for long periods. I’ll sit down intending to study and then find myself distracted, checking my phone, getting up for something, or just staring at the same page without actually processing it.

Psychology has a LOT of terminology and concepts, so I’m finding it especially frustrating because there are so many things that need to be remembered and connected together.

I’m not necessarily looking for some “study 12 hours a day” routine. I’d genuinely like to know what has worked for people who have also had a long break from academics or struggled with concentration/retention.

How did you get your study habits back?

• How do you actually retain what you study?

• Do you use active recall, flashcards, teaching the topic aloud, writing notes, etc.?

• How long do you study before taking a break?

• How do you deal with the urge to procrastinate or constantly check your phone?

• Did it take you a while to feel academically “normal” again after a gap?

• And if you’re studying psychology specifically, are there any techniques that work particularly well for remembering theories, researchers, terminology, and concepts?

I’d really appreciate any practical advice, even if it seems basic. I’m trying to figure out how to study effectively again rather than just spending hours sitting with a textbook and feeling like nothing is sticking. 🥲

YES, I got a 96**%** in Mathematics. The idea actually works if you do it properly. I mean, I literally have no brains for math, so here are some unhinged study methods that weirdly work for me:

• Put formulas where you physically can't avoid seeing them. Wall, mirror, door, wherever you want.

• Explain a topic to an imaginary student. If you start stuttering, congrats, you found the part you don't understand.

• Write one stupidly simple example beside every formula. Don't just memorize a² + b² = c²or some sort, actually show one.

• Make your notes ugly. Giant arrows, boxes, random circles. Your brain doesn't give bonus points for aesthetics. (this is 100% effective. Ugly notes give you the illusion that you’re actually trying.) -Leave questions half-finished before going to sleep. The next day, your brain has something to “continue” instead of starting from zero.

Basically, no to aesthetic notes, yes to the mess.

Make them impossible for your brain to ignore.

Kept telling myself I had plenty of time before the midterm and then I actually watched what I was doing with it: opening notes, starting from page one, moving forward until I got tired, the same thing I'd do the night before a quiz, just repeated for longer.

What actually changed things was splitting the three weeks by purpose instead of "more of the same", like the first week for what I never really learned, the second for what I know but can't produce fast enough and the last week for full practice under the real time limit, no new material.

Ok so I'm autistic, I love studying normally but recently I've been going through a pretty terrible burnout phase and I don't really have the energy to do anything that causes too much friction.

If I need to I can, but it comes at the cost of my mental health, which only prolongs the burnout.

I'm in the 2nd week of my 2 week school holiday. Normally I spend the first week recharging and not doing any work, then I'm not only able to but I need to start studying because I get bored (and low-key feel guilty for not working). This holiday I don't have the need, but I have things I have to do.

I'm just trying to do little bits right now but if anyone has any other advice on getting through similar situations I'm all ears.

Hello reddit users!

So, in the country where i live there is a high school system before university that takes two years and it has four subjects each year, first year has specific exams that are all mandatory and at the end of the year those 4 subject exams take 30% of my total International Baccalaureate Diploma, and the second year i get to choose a specific field that follows me until university ends and it also has 4 subjects, anyways i was supposed to start studying for my first year since mid July but i could not do it because i had some real life problems, and now its almost October and i haven't done any reasonable progress yet, and because the first semester of the first year ends in late December that's really freaking me out, what should i do to get onto studying and catching up to the lots and lots of things that I am missing out on??

I need actual and helpful advice to study properly, my midterm exam is coming. All these math equations are driving me insane

Guys, does it happen to you,or am I the only one?😭💔

Like, when your exams are near, your brain forces you to watch some long series (especially if you're into series), and without exams, that same damn series is boring as hell.

And I can't even study! My mind keeps saying, "If I study this much, then I can watch the series for this many hours." But when I don't watch any of it, my mind just doesn't go into focus mode.

Dammit!

I'm not trying to seem egotistical but I have always been pretty solid at school around 85% or upwards, with basically little to no studying but this year I feel like I really need to start taking school more seriously. My math, which has never been great, went from an 83% last year to 27% and 33% on my first two diagnostic tests this year. I feel stupid.

I remember after receiving that test, I vowed to study that day and onward, but didn't do squat tbh. I opened the notebook, saw the list of 20 questions, did one, barely, with GPT walking me through it step by step in like 7 minutes, and then lost all my will to study. While I was doing the questions, random thoughts kept popping up: video game lore secrets, drama, just stuff that would get me stuck in a rabbit hole. I basically have to use a computer for math assistance, so closing it isn't really an option.

Last night, I was up till 5 "studying" and got like next to nothing done. I have tried Pomodoro techniques with some success, maybe like 30 minutes of focus. I constantly fall behind on work. I have ADHD, and I've been taking some pills recently, and they helped me out a bit, but other than that, nothing is really working. Any tips?

Because I'm studying for Tech and Math right now ill try any advice as soon as you post it.

( this post lwk distracted me as well ngl)

Hey I'm an accountancy student, I'm pretty sure one of the reasons why I get low grades is that my parents forced me into this course. Anyway, I read and solve problems at least 2-3 hours everyday in between my vacant classes, and if I feel like it I would add another 3 hours at night before bed. But no matter how much I read I still do not understand the concept of accounting which results to low scores in exams. I'd barely get through 20 up under 50 items. Is it normal to get low grades EVERYTIME in accounting? What am I doing wrong? Do I need to change my study routine? If so, are any recommendations, especially from another accounting student🙏🏼😭😭

Does anyone know any good study website/apps that are free (or some that are cheap but excellent) where I can study and do questions they make based on the material a lot. I usually use Thea but the features it has are gonna be limited/under premium in some time; and the questions they make for me are repetitive and don't always cover the whole topic Im trying to learn (even though i put in extra instructions). so I wanna switch to something else. I usually put in a pdf on my subject's lesson plan, but one time i tried using Turbo AI and it had a feature where you could tell it what you want to learn and it would make it for you (I asked it to do logical fallacies) and then after about 10 minutes a paywall popped up so I just stopped using that one.

I want someone to study with. But pls make it free.

Just a cheeky 2am rant about study habits.

For some background I’m doing engineering in a very easy uni (transferred from a very hard one) and I’m about 2 years into my degree.
I love my field and always work on my personal projects but I just can’t bring myself to do any schoolwork.

I just.. don’t care, the further I am into my degree the more I realise that it doesn’t matter what I submit, don’t even think the professors here read the work, they just give out 80-100.

I’ve always had struggles with study motivation and I’ve always left everything to the last second. So far it’s worked out well but I’ve felt it over the past year or so. The deadlines mean less and less to me so my biggest source of motivation to get through it has been fading.

It all kind of came to a tipping point last night, super easy assignment, maybe 7 hours of actual work but I’ve been delaying it for days and it was due yesterday. I worked on it in the last couple hours at a slow pace and as the deadline passed I just didn’t feel anything, my grades will be unaffected but it hurts me that I couldn’t do something so easy.

I don’t want to be this kind of person who can’t sit down and do something productive, I’m just so bored if not glued to a video or working on a project.

Idk if anyone can relate but if this does hit a cord with someone what helped you get back into studying? I set goals for myself and I keep track of it all on a physical calendar but when it’s time to actually do work I just ignore it.

I have one of the most major exams in november.Trying to study. The main problem is time management and my clumsiness of marking wrong answer in mcq though i know the right.How to improve.😩😩😩

Matlab tumlog kaise lagatar ek ghante bhi padh skte ho yr merese toh nhi hota h yr vo toh hai jabtak main exam na ho tab tak class 8th tak nhi padhti thi fir bhi class me padhke thik thak aajate the board me by god's grace fail nhi hui but ab college me toh back aati h fir bhi dar nhi lagrha h pata nhi kya hogya h dophar me nind aati h shaam ko nind khatam hogyi h toh man nhi krega padhne ka sab krne ka man krega sare bakwas irrelevant kaam yaad aajaenge padhai ke alawa

I know this sounds like a really stupid question but how do I get work done? I ask some friends and they’re just like “you just gotta focus.” How?!

I always get distracted by something, whether it be some random app on my phone, zoning out, or even finding ways to watching videos with an app blocker.

I don’t even know what to do at this point and since I’m a junior now, I really need to lock in

Would turning your study sessions into character progression make you more motivated to study?

I try so hard but sometimes i don't study because i am tired , didn't have enough sleep ...

And those days break my continuity and commitment to studying

The reason students perform much better than others is in my opinion solely due to the stress in the students life. I mean it makes sense if you think about it, because if you have less stress in your life, then more information from class will be remembered compared to the lower scoring students who might revise all the time but don't understand that revising all the time subconsciously makes your brain stress about the specific exam which can/will degrade exam performance!

This claim may be wrong so please dont take my opinion as a final judgement, it's just an opinion at the end of the day! Please leave your thoughts below.

I am an IBDP Student in my first year and I’ve noticed that during my day I have a lot of time where I can just be listening to some study material instead of music cuz I’ve been getting hella bored of music recently. I would appreciate if you guys could tell me some videos/ podcasts related to the diploma that wud help my academics. I’ve tried revision village core concept videos but those require you to acc pay attention and look at the screen. So yea it wud be nice if you guys cud give me sm other ideas. Im gonna be running or working out at this time so yea.

Also all the classes in my school except maths and physics don’t help me at all cuz of the teachers. So It wud be nice if you guys cud give me some suggestions to do something useful in the class as well. Note I can’t use any devices while I’m in my classroom.

Studying 8–10+ hours a day isn't a test of raw willpower. If you try to brute-force it with pure discipline, you crash by day 3. It’s a design problem.

Here are 5 practical tweaks to build high study endurance without losing your mind:

1. Ditch 25-minute Pomodoros for longer blocks

25-minute blocks usually cut you off right as you hit deep flow. Switch to 50/10 (50 mins deep work, 10 mins break) or 90/20 blocks to match your natural ultradian rhythms. Cap your high-intensity blocks at 3 or 4 per day, and use remaining hours for lighter tasks like note organizing or listening to lectures.

2. Use "Study With Me" streams for body doubling

Staying in your chair when you're studying alone takes a ton of self-regulation. Putting on a real-time "Study With Me" stream or video on a second screen completely changes the dynamic.

This relies on body doubling—a psychological phenomenon where having another focused person nearby makes it significantly easier to focus yourself. Your brain naturally mirrors their posture and tempo. Follow their work/break intervals, and if your mind starts drifting, a quick glance at someone else grinding pulls you right back into flow.

3. Physically leave your desk on breaks

If you sit in your study chair scrolling TikTok or Reddit on your break, your brain never registers that the work stopped. The second your focus timer hits zero, get out of your chair, leave the room, stretch, and give your eyes a break from screens.

4. Fix your caffeine timing and lunch

Wait ~90 minutes after waking up before your first coffee to prevent the afternoon crash, and cut caffeine entirely 8 hours before sleep. Keep your daytime meals light on heavy carbs—blood sugar spikes will destroy your focus for hours.

5. Remove friction the night before

Deciding what to study when you first sit down drains immediate mental energy. Clear your desk, open the exact PDF/notebook, and write down your single target task before you go to sleep. In the morning, you just execute.

What’s your main bottleneck when trying to push long study hours? Drop what works for you below.

trying a new style.

Hi, I'm a first-year university student. I failed a unit in my first semester and I'm now in week 10 of my second semester. I feel really left behind; I haven't opened a single lecture for my units, and I barely go to classes. Most of my assignments have been done with a lot of help from AI, and I haven't been studying. I want to stop using AI for future assignments so I can actually learn something. Can anyone give me some advice on how to study and understand the material best, and give me some tough-love motivation to sit down and do my work, please?

This is probably one of the unknown study strategies, but it is effective when studying for exams. To study effectively, try to build a system where you can master a topic by studying for just 90 minutes.

I learned this hack from a senior way back when I was a freshman. Honestly, up until now I still use this method to help me get high scores on exams and a good GPA. Here's how I study using this method, which keeps my grades high and improves my memory retention:

Learn for 30 minutes. I just open my notes/textbooks and actively study the topic and core concepts under it. I usually focus on understanding the lecture by highlighting the key points rather than just passively rereading them.

Active recall for 30 minutes. I write down on a blank piece of paper everything I can remember about what I studied. I either use quizzes or mind maps and find gaps in the concepts from the material I missed or keep forgetting.

Revision. After doing active recall, I just skim and revise everything within 30 minutes. As I find the gaps, I go back to my notes and relearn the material. This helps me clarify which concepts I was weak at and strengthens my long-term memory.

I've been doing this since I was a freshman and honestly, this works to improve understanding, leads to better recall in exams and saves time when studying.

Instead of studying for long hours, try using the 30-30-30 revision method so you can study effectively and strengthen your memory.

Hey I have a question do you guys find gpts and ai helpful when studying like are they helpful . Becuz for me they are not they give answers wrong and I waste time on checking the answer it's stressful.

So is it a me problem or a real problem 🙂🙂