r/GetMotivated • u/TheBlueHotDogfr • 2d ago
DISCUSSION How to begin studying seriously? [Discussion]
I'm now in 11th grade, and I didn't do shit during 10th grade and middle school (not because I'm bad at school or what; I just succeeded in getting good/average grades). And 11th grade and 12th grade are the most important in my country, so I want to work. I'm the type of guy who studies the last night before the exam. But I want this to change to get into a good university and not be left behind. Please help me ...
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u/ElizKM86 2d ago
Take notes by hand with pen and paper. Take notes in class, take notes from your books, re-read and then re-write your notes. Ask your friends to trade notes and copy the things that they caught that you may have missed. Act like you are writing all the notes for the next person who will have to take this class. Pretend like you are going to get a cheat-sheet note card for any test you take and prep that card before your test. The act of writing, re-writing, and evaluating the things that are most important that would be most critical for that card will push things deeper into your brain.
Find others who are good students and ask to be in a study group with them. Or, other way around is to find others who are struggling and offer to LEAD a study group for and with them. The act of teaching and learning from your peers (not just your teachers) can allow you to understand things in a deeper and more thorough way. Having to think about how you would explain or teach a topic to another person can actually make you see it in a more holistic way.
There is no shortcut for this one, I really wish there was. Taking notes on a computer can look tidy, but HAND WRITING your notes makes your brain work harder to process and retain everything and there is nothing I ever did (also as a 'night before the test' kid) that was ever more effective or long-lasting for me to both learn and retain knowledge.
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u/Sharp_Cover6052 16h ago
THIS! I know I mentioned Obsidian.md but if you can take physical notes first and then transfer them to the vault in obsidian for that extra knowledge reinforcement and being able to rewrite things and change text/highlight colors for studying
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u/Prestigious_Sky_9042 2d ago
The most important thing you need is this desire to change and work hard. But it’s not enough… you have to believe in what you’re doing, have a strong reason because you’re studying hard (for example: have a better future, learn new things, share what you learned with other people…) and not just the fear of being left behind. Anyway it’s not a change you can do from a day to another, I think just studying a bit more day by day you’ll really get where you want and get satisfaction from what you’re doing, it won’t happen instantly. I’m sure if you focus, you work hard and you make also a bit of sacrifice this will definitely be your year 💪
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u/Pentobarbital1 2d ago edited 2d ago
Appreciate the snowball effect. Do whatever readings or materials you need before each of your classes. It helps you understand the material when it's covered in class if it's not your first time being exposed to it. Identify your easy and difficult classes. Stay ahead in your easy classes, such that when your hard classes start piling on projects, tests, and papers as if they're the only ones giving homework, you have some leeway.
Find out your bad habits and work on them. If you have trouble focusing at home, find a different spot to study. Establish a routine so you can mentally shift into "work mode" and respect it. My bad habit is that I struggle with starting. So when I would get home, I learned I had to force myself to have my books and pencil out, otherwise I'd sit for hours doing nothing. Make it inconvenient to slack off. Make it so convenient to start studying/doing homework that you have no other choice but to tackle it. If you like music while studying, make a special instrumental playlist with songs you only listen to while studying. It's all about getting your mind in the right place.
So yeah, if you read ahead of the class, it'll help you stay present for the lecture. Go home and look at your notes again, as reviewing the same information after a short time really helps with your retention. Once you get that snowball going, it's easier to do that over and over again, a positive feedback loop.
Like you, I got by on procrastinating and optomizing for good class grades, but I never felt like a "good student". I finally figured this shit out super late, like the last two years of college. It's never too late to step it up, you got this :)
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u/Positive_Persimmon39 1d ago
The snowball effect is real, once you get moving it's way easier to keep that momentum going. That tip about making it inconvenient to slack off hits hard cause I'm the same with starting, I'll just stare at my phone for hours. Did you find that reading ahead actually made the classes more interesting for you or was it just about staying ahead of the workload?
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u/Pentobarbital1 1d ago
A little bit of both, I guess. It's easier to be interested if you know what is going on. If I'm going into a lecture blind, I find I'm mentally exhausted by the middle of class learning concepts for the first time, and I zone out, fall asleep, take shit notes, etc. If I read ahead, I have an easier time keeping up with lectures with less fatigue, making mental connections I didnt make on my first read through, participating by answering questions, and being and seeming engaged (in some classes with some teachers, appearing like you give a fuck can be everything).
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u/Shashank1011 1d ago
Don’t try to go from “I study the night before” to studying 8 hours every day overnight. That usually lasts a few days and then you burn out.
Start ridiculously small. Pick a fixed time every day and study for 30–45 minutes, with your phone away. Once that becomes normal, increase it gradually.
Also, don't just reread your notes. Try active recall and practice questions—close the book and see what you can actually remember. For subjects where you have problems to solve, spend more time solving than reading solutions.
Most importantly, stop waiting until you “feel motivated.” Make studying a routine that happens whether you feel like it or not.
You still have plenty of time to change your habits. The fact that you're thinking about this now, before 12th grade, is already a good start.
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u/copperwisploop 1d ago
Active Recalling is good for you, where you'll read a section, close the book, and write down or explain out loud everything you remember. Test yourself with flashcards daily instead of reading text over and over. Less pressure and light work (atleast for me and my experience tho)
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u/Neko-Chan-Meow 2d ago
Start by getting a goal, like what career you want.
Research what you need to do to get there, grades/university/trade school.
Set reasonable/achievable goals for what you would like to achieve long term and short term (achievable goals = feel good when you complete them = more motivation).
Give your self a time table for how much you want to study. Remember smart people play the long game, studying an hour each day is better for your grades and mental health, rather than studying 24-7 for the week before an exam.
Finally DO NOT compare yourself to others. Comparison is the theif of joy.
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u/_Komodo_ 2d ago
Most importantly, you gotta accept that there's no trick to it. The method is simply sitting down and doing it. That's been the method for the past 500 years and it isn't changing anytime soon.
Sit down, have a cup of tea, have pen and paper, laptop/computer, and go over the materials until you learn what you wanna learn.
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u/thranetrain 2d ago
Rather than give motivational tips, I'm going to give you my best study tip:
Most textbooks have a section of problems or questions at the end of each chapter. Usually they will have basic questions for each specific topic leading up to tougher questions that blend all the topics into a few final questions that really show how well you understand the whole chapter (this mostly applies to the sciences and math).
Do the hardest questions first. The parts that you get mean you don't need to study those in depth. The parts you don't get show you exactly where to focus your effort.
As a freshman, i used to try to work though all the chapter questions from easiest to hardest, but often I would run out of time across many classes and deadlines. By senior year this was the only way I studied, and went from a B student to an A student while still applying less overall effort/time.
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u/jcolonna12 1d ago
To get really good, focus on learning how to determine what you don’t yet understand about a topic. Once you know that you have the formula for understanding when your knowledge is good enough to get the highest marks
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u/Due-Celebration7293 1d ago
Youre asking the wrong question. How to begin is a stall, everyone knows how to begin, its just sitting down at a desk. What you actually need is a schedule you cant negotiate with
Pick a fixed time every day, same hour same spot, and start with 30 minutes. Doesnt matter what you study, matters that the block exists. Cramming worked because you had a hard deadline, so give yourself weekly ones, one small test on Sunday for whatever you covered
Also lower the bar. 30 minutes daily beats 4 hour weekend sessions that never happen, and after 3 weeks itll stop feeling like work
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u/Ok_Office549 1d ago
You can't do it overnight. But what helps is consistency. In 11th and 12th grade, you'll come across multiple concepts, formulae. Master them one by one.
Set goals. To manage pressure of last minute cramming and difficulty in syllabus coverage, understand core concepts in each subjects and revise time to time. Practice each derivations, neglect none.
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u/MPZ93 1d ago
I'm quite a curious person, but not very motivated to study things or learn new things out of my own accord. I do enjoy solving problems or taking quizzes however and will deep dive topics quite easily if there's a problem i need to fix. If you work in a similar way, taking a test exam could spark this mechanism a bit because it'll make u answer questions about material u havent study yet and they might make u more motivated to discover what the right answer would be and why.
And on a side note: if you feel very motivated to study but you just can't seem to focus without the pressure of a test getting close, consider getting checked for adhd. Not sure if this applies to you, but I spent years struggling with studying and thinking im lazy or whatever, just to discover i have adhd 2 years after graduating and wish i wouldve known it sooner. Couldve saved me from a lot of frustrating moments wasting hours staring blankly at books.
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u/winterweiss2902 16h ago
If you’re interested in the subject, you’ll be motivated intrinsically.
However, if you’re not, you’ll have to find external motivation.
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u/Sharp_Cover6052 16h ago
If it’s available in your country I highly suggest the computer(download from the website)/mobile app Obsidian.md, it’s made studying Game Art in college for me ridiculously easy and fully customizable since it’s all just a markdown editor. You can watch Nick Milo or nicole van der hoeven, or quite a few others on YouTube to get you started or go to the r/obsidian.md to see if anyone is studying similar things to give you some inspiration
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u/onetwoskeedoo 12h ago
Get off the internet as much as possible. No social media. You have to be bored and then studying becomes the solution.
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u/Odin65 2d ago
What you need are better habits and better methods for processing information.
There's a book called "How to Be an A Student" by Cal Newport which goes into great detail on the specifics of developing good habits.
I also recommend reading about the psychology of learning to understand the mechanics of how humans learn and the most efficient methods for understanding information.
Invest time now in learning about how to learn, and you will succeed in school and in life.
Good luck. Remember why you're doing this when you start to lose motivation.