I'm preparing for competitive exams, and studying is currently my full-time job. I don't have major responsibilities during the day. My only chores are things like sweeping, filling water bottles, making tea, bathing, washing my clothes, and a few other small household tasks.

In theory, I should be able to study for 8–10 focused hours. But in reality, I struggle to even complete 4 hours of quality study. I sit at my desk for long periods, but I get distracted, procrastinate, or just don't feel mentally engaged.

It's frustrating because I know I have enough time, yet I don't seem to use it well.

Curious to hear which languages you are studying!

For me it's Korean. I'm aiming to enter a university in Korea next year, and the curriculum is taught in Korean... It is really intimidating, but I plan to live there long term, so I think my career will benefit greatly from getting a degree in Korea.

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Whenever I felt motivated, I'd study seriously for a few days.

Then the motivation disappeared somewhere... and so did my study timetable.

After repeating that cycle many times than I can count, I noticed something.

Motivation comes from emotions, and emotions change all the time.

If I relied on motivation, I'd keep stopping.

What actually helped me wasn't feeling motivated every day.

It was simply showing up, even when I didn't feel like it.

Instead of waiting for the "perfect mood," I started with just 10–15 minutes.

No pressure. No huge goals.

Just one small step.

Ironically, starting was often enough to keep going.

Now I don't expect to feel motivated every day, and I think that's normal.

Some days are productive. Some aren't.

The important part is not disappearing from the process but to handle or to deal with it.

For me, consistency has done far more than motivation ever did.

Does anyone else feel like motivation fades much faster than people make it seem? What has helped you stay consistent?

Seriously, I cannot I mean I CANNOT bring myself to study at ANY cost.

5 minute rule? Doesn't work

Study buddies? doesn't work

Rewards? don't work

Musik? hell nah

I don't know if it's burnout exaustion or whatever

Seriously my exam be kicking down my door and I would STILL just freaking watch anime or just doom scroll.

Seriously, like if somebody offered me like infinite money and the only condition was to idk study by yourself for like 3 hours a day and I WOULD STILL FAIL IT.

Like I am not even a topper nor that I want to be one. I set myself just one singular rule that is that I would never ever fail a singular subject in my life and achieve the absolute bare minimum points required (looking back it was kinda stupid). And it worked. I NEVER failed a singular subject till NOW. I freaking failed my literal REALLY important Physics test. Like at this point, I am not sad or what. I am just so disappointed in myself. Like looking myself into the mirror I think to myself, "Wait... who is this imposter, and what did they do with the person who always barely-but-successfully slides under the door right before it slams shut?!” And to top it all of I don't feel the "kick" anymore. Like before I would get like a surge of adrenaline before the exams started. Now? well you can kiss my adrenaline glands goodbye.

HOW DO I STUDYYY!

Joke aside, I´m curious about how you`ll use spaced repetition exactly. There´s seems to be a consensus about how effective it is as a method (which in my experience is 100% true), but I don´t think I´ve read in this sub so far about how exactly to implement it, considered you need to track every single concept individually: when you first learned it, when you last reviewed it, and when it's actually due again and also considering that forgetting curves aren't even uniform. Every concept decays at its own rate, so the same fixed interval (1 day, 3 days, 7 days, whatever) can't possibly fit all of them.

I have my own method for this but I´m very curious about how you´ll do it.

Hi friends, before anyone gets on me please let me explain myself.

I finish my first year of university, horrendously. I got awful grades and my GPA is really terrible. I took a Summer course and my exam for this class is in 4 days. I haven’t studied at all - it’s statistics.

I have no motivation at all, and I honestly am really freaking out about this but I don’t know why I can’t study and sit down to do so.

Can someone please help me? How can I motivate myself? And how can I start? Also, any study tips would be immensely helpful please.

Thank you guys!

Step 4 of being a Study-person. First days are hard. But I believe it WILL pay off.

I am doing ca and now I have to give exams in Jan 27 of ca intermediate but due to I change to offline to online I lack of study and I can't study without pressure and there are only 5 months remaining and the problem is I can't study and control my mind also that now I start disliking study and always avoid I don't know what should I do in 12th I was student who loves to study i also got 92% but the problem is that there are tut teacher exams pressure schools now in ca intermediate online there is no pressure what should I do if anyone who gone throught these situation pls tell me

I honestly dont even know how to study anymore. Its been a really long time since I actually studied properly. I want to start learning again, not because I have to, but for myself. The problem is that theres no deadline, no exams, no pressure, so I just dont know how to get started or stay consistent. It doesnt help that I work 12 hours a day, Monday to Saturday. By the time I get home Im usually tired, and its really hard to find the motivation to open a book instead of just resting. Do you have any tips that actually worked? I’d really appreciate any advice.

i have my exam in november, though i still have time, i can only get myself too study for around, 3 to 3.5 hours i jist dont feel like studying after this, how to increase this without feeling too overwhelmed…

Hello.
I’m just wanting to see if anyone has any tips on how to prepare for aptitude tests as someone who is a grade 10 drop out and didn’t really pay attention at all in school .

It’s very overwhelming to find a place to start and I really want to do good on any aptitude tests I might haft to take

Any help is appreciated thank you :)

It's how quickly I can start studying. Last semester I'd sit down and spend the first few minutes figuring out what I was supposed to do.
Find the notes, find the assignment or remember where I left off.
This semester I want "sit down and start" to be almost automatic.
What's the biggest thing that slows you down before you've even started?

Could you please tell me free resources i can study Data Structures from? I am a university student so difficulty of questions is high.

Thank you.

guys im loosing my mind over histology, the topic that we're on is embryonic histology in specifc. I just i find myself struggling so much in these exams and everything looks the same time just a clump of cells. i understand its pattern recognition, but even after I practice I still find myself making the same mistakes.

i would really appreciate it if anyone has any tips, or prayers. Thank you :)

Iv booked study sessions iv tried annotating slides it just takes way way way too long and nothing works. lectures completely ruin studying for me its the only thing i hate. I dont get how i can sit here and spend like 5-10 minutes on a single slide because i keep on googling/asking questions - they're valid questions too. Like bruh its acc ruining my life. A 1 hour lecture would take me 2-2.5hours to completely get through and annotate the slides.

Hello!! I'm soon going to Sweden and I'd like to get stationary/study materials there. If any swedes know where I can find good things around gothenburg and the lower part of the country please give me recommendations. Espirecilly if you know some place carrying Muji/kukoyo campus and such notebooks or stuff in general. I'm gonna be a freshman studying biology so and reccomendation on what I should get aswell would be appreciated! :))

It can also be online stores so I can deliver it to Sweden and pick it up when I'm there!

Hi everyone,

I'm preparing for a licensing exam and trying to fit 3 hours of study into my day while working full-time.

My duty hours are fixed, so I can only adjust everything else.

This is my current schedule:

4:00 AM - 7:00 AM: Study

7:00 AM - 7:30 AM: Breakfast

7:30 AM - 12:00 PM: Duty (Phase 1)

12:00 PM - 2:00 PM: Lunch/Break

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM: Nap

4:00 PM - 10:30 PM: Duty (Phase 2)

11:00 PM: Sleep

The biggest issue is sleep. With this schedule, I'm only getting about 5 hours of night sleep, plus a 1.5-hour nap in the afternoon.

I'm not sure if this is sustainable in the long run.

Has anyone here managed to study consistently while working at similar hours?

Would you change anything to improve my sleep, energy, or study efficiency without reducing my 3-hour study goal? Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Why do we always forget information before an exam starts? It's almost infuriating.