I'm 3 years into university and I can't study at all. I don't go to lectures because they are boring. I don't study because it's boring. I just can't force myself without getting super depressed. Any tips before I get kicked out? :D

6 years ago

Comment has been collapsed.

What is your favorite snack to eat while you study?

View Results
Potato Chips
French Fries

I often had the incentive to read, because I knew the consequences if I didn't. :P Still, I was doing many shorts breaks throughout the day, by playing games or going out. I was also rewarding myself when I was reading a specific amount of pages, by eating something or playing games. Just remember that a person is nothing without an education, so don't give up - others didn't even have the chance to go to a university, even though they wanted it.

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

A friend of mine used to put gummy bear on his books and then eat it as he reached the amount of lines where he put it.
He graduated.
But now is fat.

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

But I'm not. :P I wasn't eating something after every page I was reading. :P More like after multiple pages. And I don't feel like a gummy bear is a good reward.

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

...I'm rewarding myself for writing two lines and a half of my thesys by eating a whole bunch of oreos.

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Write everything that you likes, drama, movie, anime, games or even just candy, and link any of those to your learning and you will be surprised of the outcome later, but you have to think how to increase your chance of learning, like if you like candy buy them and before or after lecture you can eat them, and try to enjoy it so it becomes your habit, if lectures is about listening you listen a lot on other people talking even it's not in your interest, if lectures is about writing try to write a lot, trust me it will make a difference in your life because you have learn about two things in this world, like and dislike and try meet the middle.

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I think it's quite simple, I just leave all my electronic shit in my room, and I go down to the studyroom and not leave until I am done :D

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

It's normal.
Ask for books your teachers or check syllabus. You will able learn it all in your own comfort way if u did it. You could go to lectures, take laptop/smartphone/etc and learn improved course more effective without listening stupid empty lectures.
I'm studying on 7th year and hate I didn't use this way of study early rather than empty wasting time in past.

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Rule 1 is to not consider it optional. You need to schedule your time like a grownup, which means sitting down and looking over every course you are enrolled in, writing down all the steps you need to complete to ace it - including reading material, tests, reports, whatever it takes. All these things need to be listed so you can check them off the list as they get done - and more importantly so you can put them on the schedule for the day. Find out how much time a student is expected to spend on their studies in your country, you should be able to find a number for "hours per day" estimated of work - if not then assume it's at least 40 hours a week like a full time job and work from that.

Schedule in time to do these things. For most people the best thing to do is start it first thing in the morning, so you do nothing other than get up and eat and get ready and then you start studying. This means no opening any other sites than study related sites no going to check on giveaways, no browsing things to kill time, no flipping through websites between things. Nothing but study-related materials until you are done studying... with the exception of breaks. Set a timer for the breaks. Take at least five minutes (but never more than 15-20) every hour, and one longer break of at least 15-20 minutes (but not more than say an hour at most) every three-four hours. These breaks mean you go do something, actively move around, remove yourself from the place you study so you can switch gears and then get back to it. Don't stay at your desk and just start browsing things, that's gonna come back and bite you later because you'll forget the time and the wrong sites will be open and tempting you and so on.

Consider everything you do today instead of studying the rewards you get to do after you've finished as much as you need to do in a day. If you need to put in four hours of work in a day (that includes breaks, so really more like 3-3.5h work) then you can browse the internet and zone out or do whatever once you've done that time. Not before. Find other things you like that you can reward yourself with as well - if there's a candy you like, a drink you like, something you really enjoy, then start having it as a reward after you're done, and never before you're done for the day.

Tools that might help with this is for instance a bullet journal or bujo for the planning, the pomodoro technique for timing (there's plenty of apps to choose from that work with that, I use pomodone that integrates with todoist which I use for my todo-lists.) It's all about habit. It doesn't matter if it's boring, it's work that needs to get done. Boring is an excuse, and we as humans have the power to overcome that. You have the power to overcome that. (Although if you have serious problems I'd suggest doing the ASRS test somewhere, https://psychology-tools.com/adult-adhd-self-report-scale seems to be an online version of it but you can find others in PDF format with google. If it shows you have exceptional issues you may want to see someone about that - there are medications that will most likely help significantly in that case)

Good luck!

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

My favorite snack is actually not food but water. Whenever I feel bored I take a sip, staying hydrated and passing the time. Big advise, go to lectures, teachers remember faces and when the exam session come you start from the passing mark onward!

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Always focus on one object that have you learn and when you get good enough you can pass to other.

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Deleted

This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I've gotten a couple tips that've helped me throughout the years.

  1. Repeatedly hand-write answers. I had a habit of typing up things I needed to remember, and would end up forgetting in exams. The muscle-memory from writing by hand helped a lot more than I expected, and if there's a lot of memory-based, exact wording you need to remember, this really helps.
  2. Start with harder or easier things first. It really depends on what you struggle with. For me it was difficulty in starting to study, so doing the easier tasks first and getting that sense of accomplishment to ease into the next tasks worked. For others though, like if you find it more difficult to stay motivated while studying, then doing the harder things first might be better -- you can get those tasks you hate out of the way, and then the easier topics or things you love can serve as a reward once you get to it.
  3. Talk about it. Not your problems lol, but the subjects and topics. Not only will it make it easier to remember since your memory of what you hear is better than your visual memory, it'll also help you in subjects where you need to speak, think critically, or organise your thoughts.
  4. Procrastinate productively. My fave teacher told me that if you can't stop yourself from procrastinating, turn that time 'wasted' into time well spent. Even while doing fun things, you can focus on upping your skills > knowledge, like watching some series and picking apart the exact things that you liked or didn't like about it, maybe really analysing certain episodes or scenes. It's not tiring, and should help you if you do things like humanities, English or art subjects where opinions and explanations are important. Reading is a good not-really-studying hobby to up your vocab too. Also, maybe get some podcasts or recordings on your subjects to listen to. You can still low-key learn things just by listening and surrounding yourself in the subject with some earphones and a phone, all while doing something you actually enjoy.
  5. LAST RESORT: Don't. If actively studying stresses you out big time, or makes you start questioning self-worth or all that kinda jazz, not studying might be better come exam time to keep your morale up. Having some good sleep and a positive outlook can help more in a test than some sleepless nights spent rote learning. Depending on the subject, of course ;)
6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Two words: avoid distractions!

(facebook, twitter, reddit, steamgifts, gaming in general, ..)

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Most of your life youll do what you find boring.
You just have to do it.. So get used to it..

Anyway - for me, lectures are interesting. I study engineering and most of what we do in laboratories and even theory is interesting and Im looking forward to what Im going to learn.
I suggest just going to lectures.. Of course if your able to finish school without going to lectures - go ahead and.. well,, dont go to them
But if you cant sit through them and push yourself to study - then having a diploma could just be too much for you.. But in all seriousness - study, just study and do what you have to do.. You have to make something out of yourself in this unforgiving life. Nothing will come to you without doing something yourself..

Talking about boring stuff. As I study engineering I started internship and am now working at a rally team. I fix rally cars and travel Europe for work.. Even doing something like that most of my time I am bored out of my mind thinking I should just quit and play games all day..

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Hmm?
18 years ago, those who participated in my game activities did online games at night and dropped out of college three years.
Such people are now also celebrities.
When he fainted, he learned the importance of accomplishing it to the end, experienced the sense of accomplishment of accomplishing the goal and the regret when interrupting. It seems that it was good.
So, you should do it fun suitably.

However, when you do not put out "school expenses" yourself, "apologize" to do.

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Fake it till you make it.Yup that's pretty much it,literally cheated at every test I had.

6 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Sign in through Steam to add a comment.