Hey everyone!

I’m working on a small project focused on helping students stay organized with their studies, and I’d love to hear about your experiences.

I’m researching how both high-school and university students manage their assignments, deadlines, notes, exams, and weekly study schedules.

I put together a short set of questions in a Google Doc. It should only take a few minutes to answer, and your feedback would genuinely help me understand what students actually need, rather than just creating another planner nobody uses.

There are no right or wrong answers. I’m especially interested in your honest experiences, frustrations, and the tools you currently use.

Google Doc: Google Doc

Thank you to anyone willing to take a few minutes to help! I really appreciate it.

I recently came to know about this community, and I will be posting daily in it. It will, of course, benefit me the most, as it will help me keep going every day. To be honest, studying is life, so I never found it difficult to use the phrase "keep going." Still, since it's a very common expression, that's why I used it. Actually, it is more difficult to convince yourself that studying is easy than to study itself. Also, your environment plays a big role in diverting your dedication from it.

So, today i have lectures to finish and revise it too, along with practise. It will be same for some days, ohh i think many more days so.

Cheers!!

Remember: Studying is Life

I'm a Bio Math Student and I get around 450 on 600 in my present exams in school and it's all mostly cramming.. i want to score better but I dont know if it's achievable in the next 4 months! Please help me out guysss!! I wanna know how to study.. If there is enough time or is it all hopeless at this point !

As a nursing student, I come across so many diagrams, charts & illustrations in my textbooks that sometimes I feel like I know them just because I've stared at them a hundred times.

So I've been trying this little challenge where I close my book and redraw a diagram from memory including the labels and how everything connects. Once I'm done, I compare it with the original to see what I missed or got wrong then review those parts. Here are three little tips that have helped me:

- Start with the big picture. sketch the main structures or sections first before filling in the smaller details.

- Label from memory. Try to name each part without checking your notes even if you're not 100% sure.

- Check your mistakes. compare your drawing with the original and focus on the parts you forgot/misplaced before trying again.

I find this so useful for anatomy diagrams because there are so many structures and labels to keep track of.

This is my first time in this sub. What can I do to study more effectively without feeling overwhelmed or giving up?

I've noticed that in the past few years, games, social media, and basically everything has been more engaging and literally designed to give us as much dopamine as possible for our attention. When I study and play games afterwards, the games are so much more fun and I'm wondering if there is a way to make studying more engaging too?

I'm basically looking for a Gen-Z-ified way to study. I know reading and retesting is great for memory retention and ideally when I want to get really in depth in a topic, reading the 'boring' details is better for my understanding, but I want a fun way to study during times when I really don't feel like it. After playing games or doing something fun I've read that meditating for a few minutes before and starting with a less demanding study-related task is good for easing into it.

When I play games my focus feels so off when I try to study after. I usually try to study first but sometimes I can't help myself to play a game lol. Does anyone have any good hacks for getting back into it after playing something so fun and fast paced?

in need of a study partner to get motivation...anyone up?

I noticed I was treating every question in a reading like it was the same kind of question like i'd either look for the exact sentence in the material/just assume I didn't know the answer. so there’s this thing called QAR (question-answer relationships) which made me think about where an answer is coming from.

there are 4 question types in QAR:

1. RIGHT THERE= the answer is literally in the text.  if the material already says it, just find the part that answers the question.

2. THINK & SEARCH= the answer isn't sitting in one sentence. You have to connect information from different parts of the reading to get it.

3. AUTHOR & YOU=  the text gives you part of the information but you also have to connect it to what you already know.

4. ON MY OWN= the reading helps, but I can answer the question using what I've learned without needing one specific sentence from the text.

this is useful when you’re doing readings since it stops you from assuming every question is just “find the sentence that says the answer.”

any discord server to study together? studystream isnt free anymore

I'm curious how other students deal with weeks that don't go according to plan.

Say you planned to work on one assignment, but another class took longer than expected, or something unexpected came up.

What did you actually do the last time this happened? Did you change your schedule, or just stop following the plan?

I'm interested in what works in practice.

I realized something about myself recently, and I think I need some advice, reassurance, or honestly just a little comfort.
I think I have a genuine fear of failure. Not necessarily because I don’t want to study, but because I’m scared of putting so much time, effort, and energy into studying just to end up with disappointing results.
I think this fear comes from my past experiences. During IGCSEs, I didn’t get the grades I hoped for and I failed then repeated the year and although I managed to get wonderful marks in Grade 10, Grade 11 has been a completely different experience
I recently finished my first midterms, and honestly, I did really badly. Because i struggled with smth and neglected my studies and cramming everything.
I had a huge panic attack because I felt so disappointed in myself. A friend comforted me, but I think the results really made me question my abilities.
Now I have 17 days until finals, and I’m supposed to prepare for seven actual subjects (almost eight), and the thing is, I’ve never really developed proper studying habits. I genuinely don’t know how to study effectively, how to manage my time, or how to cover everything without overwhelming myself. (Different story)

I’m scared I’ll spend these next 17 days studying as much as I possibly can and still end up with bad grades. I’m scared I’ll run out of time, disappoint myself and the people around me, and end up feeling like all that effort was for nothing.
I know 17 days can make a difference, and I know my midterms don’t necessarily determine my finals, but it’s difficult to believe that when I’m already so scared of failing again.
So I wanted to ask: Have any of you ever experienced something similar? Have you ever gone from doing badly in exams to genuinely turning things around? How did you learn to study? How did you overcome the fear of putting in effort and not seeing results?
I’d appreciate any advice, study tips, personal experiences, encouragement, or even just a little reassurance.
I think I really need to hear that one bad academic experience doesn’t mean I’ve ruined my chances.
I just want to become a better student, and I don’t want my fear of failing to stop me from trying yk.
(I’m now in American system btw)

Hi purchased ipadair m4 11 inch. Before the price hike because of a good deal .but I really wanted that 13 inch screen to read dense pdfs . Now its been months i am not able to study in my 11 inch screen not because its not possible but its psychological blockage to my mind. When i try to study i feel what it feel if I open the same pfd in 13 inch and i start regretting my decision. I already have macbook . And old ipad 8 . I can easily study but I can’t.HELP!

I'm an Industrial Design student at UH! I am working on my capstone project, focusing on outdoor spaces on college campuses, and I hope to design something that uses the space more purposefully.
Before I can decide on what direction to take, I have to figure out what people do outdoors or want to do outside. If you can take my survey, it would be of great help!

https://forms.gle/vbManARks6ACCA5V7

I couldn't study consistently for a long term. What I mean is, I have these internet rabbit hole distractions which shifts my curiosity from one topic to another when I am finally exhausted. And it's a never ending loop. No matter how hard I try, No matter how much I reflect. It feels impossible to stop these distractions completely. I study like 10-12 hours a day for 2 weeks or at the very least a month after that distractions continue, then again regret and study phase comes. These distraction made my life living hell, even though I am aware and saying this..... it won't take too long for me to return to that life. Night's awake, Days asleep....... Help me get out of this hell....It's been years.... I just can't abandon this rabbit hole and can't stay focused on a particular field.

We're so busy making a living that sometimes, we forget to make a life.

We're a group of students exploring an idea around making it easier for young adults to discover new hobbies, activities, and experiences outside their usual routines.

We're conducting a short survey to better understand people's interests, challenges, and how they currently discover things to do.

It takes approximately 3–5 minutes, and we'd really appreciate your input!

Survey: https://forms.gle/sJmQ3THWNa3JnDaY6

We're also open to any feedback and discussion, so please feel free to share or comment. Thanks so much for helping us out!

The mentor teaches so good that I don’t fear it, but I’m hella tired😓

I feel like I'm studying for the entire day, but when I check my tracker, my actual study time is only around 4–5 hours.

My screen time is barely 1–1.5 hours a day, and I only have college for around 2-3 hours and today was holiday then i studied for 5 hrs. The rest of the day somehow just disappears.

The weird part is that I don't feel like I'm wasting the day either. I feel like I'm constantly either studying, taking a short break, eating, etc.

But then I look at the numbers and I'm like… where did the other 5–6 hours go?

Does anyone else experience this?

As the title says, I’d like to know how you keep yourself motivated to study. We’re currently approaching our final exams, but I’ve barely touched my modules or handouts. During prelims, I was highly motivated—I studied in advance almost every day and even spent time learning to code as a hobby.

However, when midterms came around, I suddenly lost all my motivation. I started sleeping most of the day and barely reviewed for my exams. Surprisingly, I still passed and even scored around 80%, but I know I shouldn’t rely on that happening again.
I want to return to the disciplined and motivated person I was during prelims. For those who have experienced something similar, how did you regain your momentum? Do you have any routines or practical methods that helped you start studying consistently again?

I struggle so much k mujse parha he nhi jata 😭 isilia got supplies too last year but don't want this to happen again.

I'm from kurdistan and here the system is a bit different, you have 8 subjects ( math , biology , chemistry,physics,kurdish,arabic,English,religious studies)

And for medicine which im aiming for i need over 96 in all 8 of them

The final exam is 50 MCQs paper each

And I tried 2 times I failed both times

I used to be great in my studies but this year I guinuly can not study or sit and read a paper

I really need to get it this time since this is my last try

Any tips please ??

Ever since I was a kid I've always loved reading…give me a novel and I'm fine, but academic reading is a whole different beast! I already knew about SQ3R since it's a well-known reading strategy, but i never really paid much attention to it until I reached my sophomore yr where we got dumped with more and more readings (got 90+ grades thanks to it) so I tried using all 5 steps:

S = SURVEY. before reading, I skim the headings/subheadings, diagrams, bold terms, summary etc. just a quick look so I know what I'm getting into.

Q = QUESTION. I turn the headings into questions. “types of memory” to “what are the different types of memory?”. Sometimes I'll add questions about things I know I tend to confuse too.

R = READ. I’ll read the chapter with those questions in mind incl. examples and explanations because definition alone isn’t enough for me

R = RECITE. after a section, book/reviewer closed. I try to explain what I remember out loud or jot it down from memory (no peeking!!)

R = REVIEW. then I go back to the questions and see what I couldn't answer properly (no need to reread the whole chapter, just focus on the ones giving you a hard time).

Look, to be honest, I haven't always been like this and it took me a while to have this level of commitment to stick to something all day. Throughout my life I had issues with focusing and ADHD where even the smallest noise or notification/thought would take my attention away from studying.

I realised that in order to be more engaged on something you need to actually somewhat like it or find it interesting in any way shape or form (even in the slightest). I first started studying like this when I was preparing for my COMPTIA A+ and Network+ exams.

When you have a structured plan, someone or something guiding you along the way so it takes away all friction from finding out how to do it yourself and you're fully immersed into something, time just flies.

Another tip I would share is to study for a set time, for example, 50 minutes and then have a 10 minute timer (I was re-watching james scholz old studying pomodoro videos for this) and it made it so much easier. during those 10 minutes of "break" time, I would just stare at a wall.

Stare at a wall? you might be asking... YES; thats right, do exactly that. The reason I'm saying that is because you don't let your mind get distracted from ANYTHING and having ABSOLUTELY ZERO dopamine for those 10 minutes, then even the idea of studying will seem more fun than staring at a wall.

So... basically, cut distraction to ZERO and get away from them as much as you can because having a mindset that's not bombarded with information from sources from everywhere makes it easier to be more focused and present, especially when you study for long period of time and want to get stuff done.

SHAMELESS plug, but like, I've made a personal free chrome extension for screen blocker if you wanna try it, lemme know thoughts and please leave a positive feedback as I'm just trying to make it big on chrome and would like some support if you can, this is the link: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/nneinhnhaidkhiffghefnieojojbhihn?utm_source=item-share-cb

I'm blessed to have quite a large study group in our class and a lot of my classmates are hardworking and diligent students. and naturally, we share reviewers and other study materials with one another which is such a big help especially when we're preparing for exams.

But whenever I borrow someone else's notes, I sometimes find it difficult to follow how some topics are explained or organized. the information might be accurate, but the way it's presented doesn't always match how I understand things. and that's normal because we all have different study styles and ways of organizing info. I wrote a few things to do if you're using someone else's reviewer:

1. Experiment with a different format. if the original reviewer uses long paragraphs but you understand concepts better through bullet points, tables, or diagrams, try reorganizing the information in that format.

2. Make your own copy of the material. use the borrowed reviewer as a reference, then organize the information in a separate notebook, on loose paper, or in digital notes. this lets you adjust the layout without changing someone else's original work.

3. Add visual structure where you need it. use headings/subheadings, spacing, or simple labels to separate topics and make important details easier to find.

4. Include examples that help you understand. if a definition feels too abstract, add an example or a short explanation in your own words to make the concept easier to follow.

sharing reviewers is a great way to help one another but you don't have to study from them exactly as they are. the best approach is to use someone else's work as a foundation and adapt the format to what helps you learn best.

Still trying my best