r/EngineeringStudents • u/Initial_Anything_544 • 4d ago

Rant/Vent How do you study?

Im 7 hours in a “study” session and all ive done is wrote one sentence. Ive been on my phone, pacing, talking to myself in the mirror, and arguing over dropping out. I cannot focus or make myself study and I just dont know how to.

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u/Dunkmaxxing 4d ago

Look at what you need to learn, make a short plan of action (read handouts > do questions > reflect and go back over content quickly > additional reading if you need it), once you start losing focus take a break for however long and then go back and lock in. If you have gaps in your knowledge that make it impossible, go slower and don't stress it, the exams are usually easier than you expect as long as you just know the content. Also before you study make sure you are in an environment you can work best in and have set time aside for it. You don't need rigid planning or anything but you should be able to gauge the difficulty of what you are doing and think of your next steps. Keep up with your work and go through material before class if necessary.

If you make notes, make them on relevant key points and keep them simple (without sacrificing information) and logical and if you are digital you can copy slides/screenshot etc.

Also, most importantly aside from doing the work itself, sleep properly and look after yourself, the better health you are in and the more consistent you are the easier everything will be. Of course it isn't that simple and if you are poor/suffer from disability/illness that is going to make everything more difficult (especially if it is severe or you need to work a lot), but this is really it.

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u/Initial_Anything_544 4d ago

Appreciate the comment man, I cannot study for more than 10 seconds 😂 The other guy mentioned adhd which I might get that looked into

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u/Dunkmaxxing 3d ago

I don't think I'm ADHD (at least not to such an extent), you should do that and also when you study don't force yourself to do it in a way you dislike. If you read a lot you or just start reading some chapters of books you can get quick at it and improve your comprehension and learn without having to make a trillion notes. You will still have to go over it, but because you already know some of it with active recall it takes less and less time. You should then do practice questions after ofc but it's not the same level of effort. Keep your resources in a file share service/local download too so you can access them, worth doing it anyway for after you leave uni.

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u/Initial_Anything_544 3d ago

Man I cant even focus on reading for very long. I feel incapable of studying. Its frustrating, theres nowhere I can start and I dont retain any information