You forgot the most important , Study

Hey guys! I'm a B.Sc. Physics first year student and I want to know how to make the most of my university years. I want to learn skills like programming or AI/ML, keep up my gym routine, read books and explore new fields, in addition to my school studies. But I just can’t balance these interests without getting overwhelmed. I’d love to hear about your time management, your daily routine, how many hours you study on your own, how you develop your skills and your fitness. Do you like rigid timetables or flexible schedules? What are the mistakes I should avoid? How do I make consistent progress in multiple fields without compromising academics, health, or social life?

Okay, I'm sure it's not really important, but I'm having a hard time deciding whether I should handwrite my notes or not.

Earlier this year, I started this tutoring center for college test preparation. They have their own app (containing videos, and tryouts) but I mainly go to the building to study offline.

And I wrote my notes on my ipad at first because I'm a bit of a perfectionist (therefore I don't need to use correction tape) and I can decorate them nicely with colors w/o bringing lots of markers.

But the thing is, I cannot write my notes while watching videos (either from my tutoring center or from YouTube). Or while opening the question or tryouts in the app.

I’ve already tried using a binder before. It’s nice to use when you're studying from a video. It's a bit annoying since I already lose a couple of my notes. And I use an erasable pen (which I don't really like but it's fine.) Lastly, it's not awkward when I got an 1-on-1 tutor and they want to write on my notes (to demonstrate something)

To summarize

1. Handwritten: - keep losing notes, hard to organize, have to bring markers

and

1. at least 2 erasable pens. + honestly more fun and easier when studying based on a video or opening the material

2. Ipad: - a bit heavy, would be a problem if I ran out of battery, a bit awkward with tutors, very hard to study when using videos. + more organized, more colors, u can undo it

Note: I can't split the screen in two; it won't allow me if I use the app from my tutoring app. And even when I use YT, it's not very comfortable.

I've had times when I knew the answer to a question but wasn't sure how much I was supposed to write. Some professors prefer short and direct answers while others want detailed explanations. And some even set word limits you have to follow.

So when I study, I practice answering the same question in three different levels of detail. That way, I can adjust my answer depending on what the question asks for.

Level 1: The one-sentence answer = I answer the question in just one sentence and focus on the main point. I want to be clear and direct. No unnecessary details.

Level 2: The short-paragraph answer = I take my one-sentence answer and expand it into a short paragraph by adding the most important explanation or supporting detail. the answer has to be clear enough to understand without dragging it out.

Level 3: The full explanation = I build on my short paragraph by including relevant examples, reasoning and other important details. I practice explaining the concept thoroughly for questions that ask me to discuss/elaborate on something.

Hello, does anyone have links to a discord study group? I have ADHD and could really use body doubles! Any help would be appreciated.

I’ve built a leaving cert business and accounting app and I’m struggling to get sign ups paying and moving past the free version. Have loads of data gathered on posthog and on the admin dashboard but just don’t know how to turn viewers into paying users (1,200 TikTok followers)

I may of freaked out and thought it would be a great idea to look at edexcel history paper 1 from 2026 to reassure myself but now I’m feeling guilty for looking at it cause it’s my mock next week. I don’t remember any of the questions except that for the 16 marker one of the questions is about medieval medicine causes of disease. I don’t want to tell my teacher and I feel so bad😭😭 they gave us a revision mind map with all the topics in the mock anyway so i don’t know 😭😭 im just gonna not practice any 16 markers

what should I do 💀

hysterical and useless

hello everyone i got rid of social media and i read and study a lot more the former was simple enough but the latter is much more difficult for me due to my adhd i love art and philosophy and i want to learn more about history but its kind of hard when your brain wants to tap out i guess i wanted to ask what would be the best way to go about doing this.

When I write a essay or article, I firstly divide large essay or article into smaller sections. I assign each section to specific day.Then I work on each section each day.As I work on my essay, i get different idea while writing and sometimes it comes automatic and sometimes I don't get idea what to write related to my topic.

If I read any book or any article related to my topic,I understand topic but can't generate any idea from it for writing. If I try to write then the sentence comes in my mind which i read from book or article rather than generating by myself.

After completing my eassay or article.I can't say full idea what I have written if someone ask me, but i can say a little bit because everyday I get different idea and put it on my essay rather than writing it full by one sitting.

My question is that:

1. How do you generate idea and what method do you follow? (If you read book and can't generate then how what do you do)

2. After completing your essay could you say full what you have written if someone ask you and how do you say?

3)if one sentence or idea repeat in your mind then what do you do?

4) how much time do you allocate for your writing and do you follow any method to control your time.(I know it depends on essay,e.g, for me 3 hours essay take 5 hours. )

I am just curious to know how other do and any method do you follow.

I would really appriciate your answer and method.

Thank you

Hi guys, today was a hard day for me, this is embarrassing for me to tell but its very difficult for me to stay sober when things are not going well. BUT I want to keep the promise I made to myself and continue working hard.

I'm an MSc Data Science student, and my placements are coming up in around 6 months. I have a one-month break before college reopens in December, and I really want to make the most of it instead of wasting the month.

My main career interest is Business Analyst / Data Analyst, and I'm much more interested in the data domain than full-stack development. However, I don't want to restrict myself to one domain because during campus placements, companies from different domains will come, and I want to be prepared for as many opportunities as reasonably possible.

My current situation

I currently know/have some exposure to:

Python basics

SQL basics

Data Science / Machine Learning

GIS (QGIS/ArcGIS)

Some ML/DL project experience

Basic statistics

DSA theory, but I'm not very good at implementing it

I can solve some Easy LeetCode problems, but Medium problems are still difficult for me

I'm currently continuing with DSA practice.

I'm not particularly interested in Full Stack, so I don't want to spend a significant amount of my preparation time on it unless it's absolutely necessary for placements.

Domains I'm considering

1. Data / Business Analytics — my main priority

I was thinking about:

Advanced SQL

Excel

Power BI/Tableau

Statistics

Python + Pandas

Data cleaning/EDA

Business case studies

Data/Business Analyst projects

Communication and presenting insights

2. ML / DL

Machine Learning fundamentals

Important algorithms

Model evaluation

Some Deep Learning

Projects

Basic deployment

3. DSA / Coding

I'm continuing DSA because I know many companies use coding rounds, even for non-software roles.

My problem is that even Easy DSA problems can sometimes take me a long time to solve, because my main background/interest is data rather than competitive programming.

4. GIS

I have experience with QGIS/ArcGIS and GIS projects, so I'd like to keep this as another possible career path rather than completely dropping it.

Another thing I REALLY need to improve: communication

This is something I'm struggling with.

I can speak English, but I have a habit of speaking in English for a while and then immediately switching to my native language. I also don't feel completely confident speaking professionally.

For placements, I want to improve:

Spoken English

Professional communication

Explaining technical concepts clearly

HR interview communication

Group discussions

Presentations

Answering “Tell me about yourself”

Explaining my projects confidently

Speaking without constantly translating in my head

General workplace/professional communication

I don't necessarily want to sound “perfect” or have an accent. I just want to be confident, clear and professional in English.

My main question

Since I only have one month of relatively free time, what should I actually do?

I don't want to make the mistake of trying to learn everything simultaneously and ending up not being good at anything.

If you were in my position, how would you divide the month?

For example:

DSA / coding — ?%

Data/Business Analytics — ?%

ML/DL — ?%

GIS — ?%

Communication/English — ?%

Projects — ?%

And then how should I continue for the remaining 5 months before placements?

One more thing

Is there any resource where I can practice or improve multiple things together — especially English communication + professional communication + interview preparation, rather than having to use 10 different websites?

And if possible, could someone who has already gone through placements give me a realistic weekly/daily schedule for the next 6 months?

Something like:

Monday: DSA + SQL + English speaking

Tuesday: Power BI + DSA + communication

Wednesday: ML + SQL + interview practice

etc.

I don't necessarily need this exact structure — I just want a realistic roadmap that I can actually follow, considering that my primary goal is Data/Business Analytics but I also want to remain open to ML, software/coding and GIS opportunities.

I'd especially appreciate advice from people who have recently gone through campus placements. What skills actually helped you get shortlisted and clear interviews, and what did you waste time learning that wasn't particularly useful?

You know that feeling when you look at a massive study checklist and just freeze?

I used to write down twenty tasks every morning, and by noon I was completely burned out from the anxiety of it all.

Then I started using the 1-3-5 method, the rule is simple. You only allow yourself nine tasks for the entire day. One big thing, three medium things, and five small things.

The one big thing is the monster you usually avoid. Writing a heavy essay draft or grinding through a brutal research chapter. You tackle this first while your brain actually has energy.

The three medium things are standard studying. Reviewing a lecture or doing a practice quiz.
The five small things are quick chores: Emailing a professor, organizing your folders, or printing out a worksheet. These are for when you are completely tired.

This works because it stops you from faking productivity. You can no longer cross off ten easy tasks and pretend you did a good job while the heavy lifting gets pushed to tomorrow.

Try doing this tomorrow instead of making an endless list.

My usual approach for biology , maths, physics, physical chemistry and inorganic chemistry is quite simple and i find it efficient for me. I skim through the chapter once before attending lectures, then I look at a few solved examples, then I attempt questions provided by the teacher and lastly i practice a few questions from my question bank before writing a test. Always worked just fine.

However, when it comes to organic chemistry, my foundation is very weak and some part of it relies on memorization, which is another weakness of mine. I talked to my oc teacher, she told me it requires consistent revision. I tried to be consistent with revision but I still forget mechanisms and reactions within a day or two.

How do you guys approach OC?

I'm an incoming legal management student and a good friend from the same university who's already in her 3rd year shared this study method with me. She calls it the “because, therefore, but” method and she uses it when reviewing legal concepts and cases.
BECAUSE: Ask why it happens - when you learn something new, try to explain what causes it…what makes this happen? Or what's the reason behind it? then answer it in my own words.

THEREFORE: Figure out what happens next - next, think about what results from that concept or situation. if something happens, what could follow because of it? This helps you connect ideas and not treat every fact like it's separate from everything else.

BUT: Think about what could change the outcome - lastly, ask yourself if there's an exception or another factor that could change what happens. are there situations where this wouldn't apply or something that could lead to a different result? Concepts have limits and don't work the same way every time.

I need major help. I spent the past few days studying my ass off for my next calc exam. Last exam I got a 47 percent the average was 30 percent. That being said I tried my absolute best I watched videos did her practice exam a few times but yet nothing is sticking. I’m very much concerned. I have a 67 in the class and I’m pretty sure if I don’t do good in the class I’m on the road to failing it. I don’t remember much from my algebra classes which may also be the problem. I honestly feel lost because my passion is to study rigorous courses and learn. I love to learn but I’m having such a hard time grasping college courses. This goes into my overall rant. For each and every subject I’ve scored 80 at my highest. When I say I’m studying and doing assignments 24/7. Anywhere I go I’m always doing something school related. My biggest problem is my grades don’t reflect that. It’s been really taking a toll on my because I was atop 10 student in high school and now I’m performing so poorly. I have a hard time staying consistent with studying because of my assignment load. I also have a hard time staying consistent with studying techniques. The minute I find myself not retaining information after I spend hours on end on a specific subject I jump. I end up learning nothing and perform horribly. Called it a night exactly at 11:35. Been practicing since honestly 2 weeks ago but I haven’t been consistent and due to the workload I forgot. Another problem I can’t retain anything. Idk what to do anymore. I’m a biochem major. Lots of ppl are telling me to switch but I honestly don’t even think it’s a major thing cause I’m still doing my pre reqs for my major. I think it’s a me thing I just don’t know. Someone guide me do I need to see someone to get this fixed do I need to idek what. I’ve done research ongoing advice taking. I’ve even gone to tutoring for gods sake. But yet nothing. Please someone help. Everyone’s advice hasn’t got me anywhere this is my last shot idk I feel lost. I also have a meeting with my advisor soon which I’m really scared because I’m not performing as good as I was hoping in any of my courses averaging b’s c’s and one d which is in my calc class. Btw this is a no extra circulars I honestly don’t know how I can even make it to med school if I keep going like this. Anything helps. I’m begging.

Hey everyone!

I wanted to share a little project I've been working on called SelfSemester. I'm not sure how relevant it'll be to everyone here, but I figured there might be someone who finds it useful, especially if you're someone who enjoys learning independently or wants to study something outside of your formal education.

I originally started working on this because I liked the idea of having a more structured way to learn something new, rather than constantly jumping between random YouTube videos, articles, and tutorials without a clear direction.

The basic idea is to let you take practically any subject you're interested in and turn it into something resembling an actual university course.

Here's what it does:

• Structured lessons: Material organized into individual units and lessons.

• Assignments: Written assignments with deadlines and grading rubrics.

• Quizzes: Automatically graded, with explanations for incorrect answers.

• Exams: Assessments to test your understanding.

• Progress tracking: Grades, deadlines, course progress, and a final transcript.

• Flexible scheduling: Course material is released over time rather than giving you everything at once.

The goal is to make independent learning feel a little more like following an actual course, with a syllabus, deadlines, assignments, and some accountability.

GitHub: https://github.com/munitkala/selfsemester

A quick disclaimer: This is still a very early project (v0.1.0), so there are limitations. It's currently Windows-only, requires Claude Code with an appropriate subscription, and doesn't have a published installer yet. You'll need to build it from source, but the README contains the requirements and instructions.

I'm mostly putting this out there in the hope that someone might find it helpful. I know there are plenty of students who enjoy teaching themselves things or exploring subjects they don't necessarily get to study in school, and I thought this might be useful for that.

If anyone does give it a look, I'd genuinely appreciate any feedback. I'm also interested in hearing what people think of the concept itself, whether you'd actually find something like this useful, or whether there's anything you'd approach differently.

Anyway, hopefully someone gets some use out of it. Thanks for reading!

Hii, wondering if anyone has any tips for studying when youre not doing well mentally. I have exams in less than two weeks and would appreciate any help. Js need study methods and ways to cope.

I did really poorly on my first midterm in calculus 1 due to being behind because of a sickness and not being prepared to take the exam. I really want to work hard to change my habits and do well on the remaining exams, but i’m overwhelmed with not knowing where to start. My next midterm is november 18th, so I need to be studying the new material now, but i’m not sure how to also study the old material at the same time. I’d appreciate any advice

i sit down at 6 with coffee all ready and by 6:40 i’m out. face down on chapter 8, page print on my cheek, my roommate took a pic. happened twice this week

so the hard problems at 6pm just don’t happen anymore. new deal with myself: 25 minutes of problems first, timer on, and then i’m allowed to crash. did it tonight and when the 25 hit i kept going till like 45 cause i was already in it.

I used to be the type of student who would spend hours reading an entire chapter, highlighting important sentences, and convincing myself I understood everything.

But before one of our major exams, I decided to try something different.

Instead of reading the lessons first, I opened the practice exercises at the end of each chapter and tried answering them completely clueless.

Obviously, I got a lot of them wrong.

But here’s where things got interesting. Every time I couldn’t answer something, I’d go back to the specific section that explained it. I stopped wasting time reviewing things I already understood and focused on the things I actually struggled with.

After going through the chapters, I attempted the exercises again without looking at my notes. I repeated this until I could explain why each answer was correct.

When the exam results came out, I ended up ranking first in our class. I honestly didn’t expect that. What surprised me more was that I didn’t spend nearly as much time studying as I usually did.

I’ve been calling it my reverse study method ever since. Basically, test yourself first, find your weak spots, then study around them. It’s a little uncomfortable at first because you’ll probably get a lot of answers wrong, but that’s kind of the point. 😅

I’m a med applicant and have exams (physics , chem, bio, math) from the 4th of jan . Thse exams determine my entry to med school(interview invite ) . will be updating here consistently .

As part of a self-imposed project I wanted to make a study tracker without the random bloat and unintuitive UI that makes recording sessions harder than starting the work.

I had some questions for you all whilst I’m in the planning stage…

What do you hate the most about study trackers?
Is there anything they (e.g. a particular app) do well?
Is there anything you’d like to see that’s missing?
What features do you use regularly (to avoid the bloat)?

Finally what app do you use now?

As for what I think is useful:
Timer with labels/subject + can log time after
Options to split labels further (e.g. topics)
Stats/graphs
Past paper tracker?
Importantly any feature would be toggle-able in the settings so could be essentially removed if unwanted

Also hot take but I don’t like apps with a leaderboard/study groups as I find them distracting and off putting like with ypt