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Forcing myself to study...
Xeno
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Ok guys, I need help. It looks like I pretty much have no self-control.
I'm going to University and I am not studying. The first week was amazing. Studied like hell, took notes, the whole thing. It's not the middle of October and the last time I opened a book was probably a week ago. Now, I just cram for a test the day before a test.
Like next week I have 3 mid-terms, and instead of studying right now, I'm on the fucking computer, pretty much doing nothing. I find excuses not to study, even if they are the most asinine. I'll come home from school, eat, watch some tv, play some games, then I'll crack open a book. Then I think to myself "I wonder whats happening on the forums" then I'll go, waste more fucking time, and by the time I go to bed, I am hating myself for not doing anything. I always think to myself "Today is the day, gonna study like shit", but I never follow through. Any little thing will distract me. Like, if there is no computer or tv, I would probably just start organizing my room instead. Anything not to study. I'm sure I don't have ADD, it's jsut I am really lazy.
This has bitten me in the ass before aswell. I failed out of college because of this, but apparently have not learned my fucking lesson. I'm one of those "out of sight, out of mind" kind of guys, always thinking "ohh, I have 2 months left of school, I'll be ok", but it never is. Like I already know whats going to happen today when I go home.
I come home, eat, watch Dexter, turn the computer on and check all my favourite sites even though I jsut checked them an hour ago, then play some Portal or TF2, check sites again, then thats it.
Any advice guys?
I'm going to University and I am not studying. The first week was amazing. Studied like hell, took notes, the whole thing. It's not the middle of October and the last time I opened a book was probably a week ago. Now, I just cram for a test the day before a test.
Like next week I have 3 mid-terms, and instead of studying right now, I'm on the fucking computer, pretty much doing nothing. I find excuses not to study, even if they are the most asinine. I'll come home from school, eat, watch some tv, play some games, then I'll crack open a book. Then I think to myself "I wonder whats happening on the forums" then I'll go, waste more fucking time, and by the time I go to bed, I am hating myself for not doing anything. I always think to myself "Today is the day, gonna study like shit", but I never follow through. Any little thing will distract me. Like, if there is no computer or tv, I would probably just start organizing my room instead. Anything not to study. I'm sure I don't have ADD, it's jsut I am really lazy.
This has bitten me in the ass before aswell. I failed out of college because of this, but apparently have not learned my fucking lesson. I'm one of those "out of sight, out of mind" kind of guys, always thinking "ohh, I have 2 months left of school, I'll be ok", but it never is. Like I already know whats going to happen today when I go home.
I come home, eat, watch Dexter, turn the computer on and check all my favourite sites even though I jsut checked them an hour ago, then play some Portal or TF2, check sites again, then thats it.
Any advice guys?
Xeno on
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I agree. Go to your school's library and study there, preferably without a computer. If you have to use a computer, try to use the ones there instead of your own, which is likely loaded with video games. Not only will this take you away from most sources of temptation, it will also help you to associate that place with studying, and make it much easier to get into "study mode" while you're there.
As for getting studying done in advance, it's largely a matter of getting yourself interested in the material, or at least forcing yourself to get your work done first and then have fun during the remaining time, not the other way around. When you go to school each day, don't go home right after your last class. Go to the library for an hour first and get all of your readings and homework for the day done, or at least enough to have them completed by the due date. Going to the library every day will help to put you in "study mode," and if you can force yourself to do it long enough, eventually it will become a habit.
Never let yourself procrastinate. Always start something as soon as possible unless you really need to do something more important first. The problem with putting work off till "later" is that there is always a "later." It's too easy to get into the habit of doing everything "later" when it can and should be done NOW.
Yes. I'm the same way.
Furthermore, if I really want to be productive, I don't take my laptop with me. When it's just me and the books, I'm incredibly productive.
Ditto
That's the hard part
Once you get yourself to the library or something, then it's all good
I turn off the internet, and realize I only have 4 hours of juice and I need to make the most of it.
Bam, 4 straight hours of note taking and studying.
I was never able to study in my dorm room.
I'm pretty sure most college students don't study until the day before. Here's how to make cramming more effective (I used this a ton and I did pretty well for myself):
1. Actually go to class and take notes. Especially if the professor has a reputation as a guy who derives tests from his lectures.
2. If the class has homework, do it, even if it's not a huge portion of the final grade. Professors love taking test material from homework.
3. A day or two before the test, hunker down at the library at a desk that's not on a computer. If you need resources that are online or some such, print them out. Then, pretend that you're allowed to bring a single piece of 8.5"x11" paper with you to the test, a "cheat sheet" if you will. Fill it out with everything you need to know. Again, going to class is critical - many profs will give an outline of things you should probably study for the test. Sometimes, this might be multiple pages for me, Whatever. The point is to condense everything you need to know for the exam into 1-4 pages worth of easily carried around material. Then, you focus on looking at that right up until the test. (Obviously, don't have it out during the test.)
If nothing else, the process of writing this stuff down will help you remember it.
doesn't that put some undue pressure on you though?
It sounds like you are unable to stop yourself from being tempted, you need to get a routine. If you are unable to do this yourself, your uni's Student Services might well be able to help you.
It is if you apply yourself.
I would be seriously surprised if you are working more than 35 hour weeks.
a) He's talking about college
b) He already flunked out once, so yeah, I think he's probably in trouble.
a) College isn't necessarily that difficult. I had some friends that went to good highschools and found that their college classes were easier and filled with idiots.
b) I didn't know that. So yeah, I guess studying would be good for him.
But it does dramatically alter the learning environment and the support structures around him. It's important to make the distinction.
Depends what subject you are doing.
*stares blankly at "Human Physiology - third edition" on his desk*
It's about actually working for those 35 hours, not mooching around, chatting over coffee or pissing about on the Interweb or anything else. 35 hours a week is plenty.
I did most of my work at night, but that's because I'd wake up late, fritter away the day with long lunches and coffee breaks and not really do any work on campus.
I would like to give you a big finger over that I was doing at least 30 hours of lab work in my final year plus classes plus study plus working 22 hours a week as well. I mean hell in first year I had 25 contact hours a week.
Anyway one of the more extreme methods (that I haven't personally done but it seems ridiculously effective) is go to the library with a bottle of water and some notes. Pour that water on your lap, you are now stuck in that chair for the next several hours unless you want to look like some twat that just we themselves.
But really you younguns do you really need to bring your laptop everywhere you go? Back in my day we used pen and paper and the only way we could get distracted was with a rousing game of connect 4.
The other option is to join a study group.
Satans..... hints.....
Of course it does, but that's half the point.
Usually if I just have access to the internet, I'll just browse forums and news sites for hours, just sit back listen to music and NEVER get my work done. By setting a certain time limit on myself, I feel the need to make most out of the time I have, and feel discouraged from wasting it.
Also (this is kinda risky) but if you have a good bunch of friends who want to study as well it is amazing. When you are all together you feel kinda like a retard goofing off if they are working. Additionally if you dont understand something, or they dont, there is always someone who has a better grasp and you guys can help each other out. The risk is though that all of you will just screw around and get nothing done.
I pretty much use a combination of both and alternate back and forth.
I also cant study worth shit in the early afternoon so I take that off of possible. I then cram in the evening when the buildings are nice and quiet anyways.
This is horrible advice.
There are lots of people like you man, (Im one of them) who just have trouble hunkering down and DOING your work. The internet is far too much of a distraction. I find the best thing to do is just to get the hell out of the dorm, go find a library, and try and do as much of your work without your computer.
Not having Instant Messaging and Facebook really helps me get stuff down.
I will add to the location location location sentiments. You wont get much done in a place that you associate with fun and relaxation.
i should try that
Reading on the couch for me is the effective equivalent of going to the library or a coffee house, so the result of being more focussed is the same, I've just added the task completion/reward factor.
The other thing to think about, since you've already failed once before, is why you're in school in the first place. Is there a job or raise waiting if you pass/ succeed/ get the degree? Is it going to be something awesome for your resume that will allow you to do other things (example: professional certification that will allow you to more easily get a work visa out of country)? Do you just really love the field you're majoring in, and to hell with work, you want to get that fine arts degree?
If you don't know why you're in school, or why you're studying what you're studying, you might want to figure it out or find a different path. College is insanely expensive, and it doesn't make sense to pay the money or rack up the debt if it's not something you have the will to apply yourself to.
I thought it was going to suck, but I found it was the perfect time for forcing myself to sit down and do the work. Plus, it almost becomes like a habit sometimes.
Now, I have an hour break after Calc II everyday, so I use that to sit down and do the homework. That way, by the time I get home, I don't have to worry about things distracting me.
https://medium.com/@alascii
some people say that for every class i have in a day, i should study 2 hours for each class that day. i have 3classes on monday, wednesday, and friday, 2 on tuesday, and non on thursday, so that's 22 hours a week, so i guess i don't have my hands that full, but there's rarely a time when i stick to that schedule, plus, there are group projects, etc. and sometimes, some classes just don't require 2 hours every time i have that class, and sometimes, they require much more. i never really tried studying at a cafe, and studying at like a barnes and noble would be hell on me. study groups are all right, but i tend to usually go there to ask about something that i don't understand, have them ask me something, and then i just leave.
also, i find that the less time i have in the day, the more i spend it wisely. on days that i go work out after class, i spend like 2-3 hours at the recreation center lifting weights and playing sports, then when i come back home, i shower, make dinner, do the dishes, have a quick chat with friends, and that already leaves me at around 7 pm, so i study for about 3 hours, and at around 10, Korean exchange students come to my apartment (i'm Korean, and was born in the US, and am proficient at both Korean and English), and i tutor them in English, and in return, they take me out for dinner on the weekends and buy me beer. now it's midnight already, i finish up studying (usually only about an hour), and then i have an hour to myself where i can surf the web or play team fortress 2, and it's ok if i sleep at around 2 in the morning because my classes start at 11.30 in the morning, and i wake up at 10.
Both this week and last week, I've done 45+ hours of work; it definitely depends on what course you're doing and where you are doing it.
I'd start reading. After the midterm, make sure you keep up with it.
Breaking it up helps: reading 20 pages, then throwing my laundry in the washer, reading 30 more pages while it cycles, changing it to the dryer, etc. Chopping up my studying time into manageable bits, with short breaks that involve doing something else, helps a lot. I can get 200 pages read in a night if I do this, where if I try to do it all in one sitting i'm lucky to get through 100. It's especially effective if I already have to do my laundry, or do dishes, or some other household chore. The worst thing I can do is take breaks and do something fun, because then I don't want to go back to reading.
You're dooming yourself to eventual boredom if you don't try to approach studying in chunks, unless you're some kind of android. People grow tired of doing the same thing for an extended period, but once you get into a rhythm of doing one thing, then another, and you're actually getting something accomplished in the process it becomes a lot easier to manage.
Consider this, when you have the choice between wasting time and doing something you're supposed to, your choices aren't
A. Play Team Fortress
B. Play Portal
C. Have a snack
D. Go to the movies
E. Study
Your choices are
A. Study
B. Be a bitch your whole life
It also greatly helps when what you read is more interesting than playing videogames, maybe not the textbook (leave it to scientists to write the most useless texts about potentially interesting subjects), but maybe there's a fun wiki about it, or a fun anecdote out there. I study Human Geography, there's a lot of names in my books with normally not more than 2 or 3 lines about them, there's Russian princes, anarchists, soldiers, rebels and geniuses among them, but it doesn't mean much to me until I look up their wiki and see that they're actually awesome.
Oh and in case English isn't your primary language (whomever's idea it was to only have English books for Dutch studies needs to diaf) it helps when you write down the words you don't know and look them up after you've read the whole paragraph/chapter, unless it's really important to the text if you know what it means. Being able to just read the text instead of having to read it word for word really helps.
This is what I do. I work at the library, try to get in early and leave late, etc. etc. However, to stop my brain turning to mush from too many straight hours of study (especially when it's Latin or ancient Greek translation) I tend to have a 5-10 minute break every hour and a half or so, with 30-45 mins for Lunch at least four hours after I start studying. It seems to work for me. Might work for you too.
Too bad reading 1500 pages in a weekend, when it's stuff like the Bible and City of God and Plato is almost physically impossible...
At least without neglecting everything else in life, including my other 2 midterms.
This class is impossible. I don't have time to do 100 pages of reading a night.
And see if you can find some example questions to have a bit of an idea what they're going to ask.