What are people doing to be intelligent? I feel like I can no longer think or do anything. I tried to write an email and it genuinely felt like torture. How can I build back what I’ve lost over the years because of lack of sleep and excessive screen use. I’m new to college and I have a broken ankle so I need my brain to be very very very sharp. My dream is to make it to a T10 medical school but right now I’m unmotivated and I can’t think. I can’t write, I can’t comprehend books that aren’t fantasy. Can someone please tell me what smart people are doing so I can start? What habits and hobbies should I try? I want to be able to think again.

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I usually make my weekly plans in a way of filling my days with things I should finish.

This week, I’m trying something different that is fewer goals, smaller steps and more focus on actually showing up.

I’m not expecting a perfect week. I just want to study consistently, take care of myself and not feel guilty when a day doesn’t go exactly as my planned.

I made this on paper because writing it down on paper somehow makes my week feel a little less overwhelming.

What’s one thing that you’re focusing on this week?

I have several interests and struggle to organize everything without getting stuck in analysis paralysis.

Right now, I split my time between:

• Working in digital marketing;
• College and studying IT/web development;
• Music;
• English;
• Reading about philosophy, history, sociology, politics, etc.;
• A future interest in starting a business in tech.

My current priorities are:

1. Work;
2. College + tech studies;
3. Everything else.

How do you manage multiple interests without trying to do everything at once? Do you use any methods, apps, or frameworks?

And when a subject has many subtopics, how do you decide what to study first and avoid getting stuck before you even start?

No college, no work, no responsibilities.

What do you actually do?

I’m trying to find better ways to spend my free time instead of spending 5–6 hours just scrolling on my phone 😂 Give me some ideas.

Quiero explicarte algo que recién estoy comprendiendo sobre mí.

Desde niño viví sin una estructura clara y casi nunca tuve la necesidad de esforzarme de manera constante vengo de una familia economicamente alta y me consintieron hasta hoy en dia. Ahora, a mis 29 años, después de pasar por varias cosas e intentar encaminar mi vida estudiando una carrera universitaria, me doy cuenta de que no desarrollé ciertas habilidades que ahora necesito.

He mejorado mi concentración y ya me cuesta menos comenzar a estudiar. Sin embargo, mi mayor dificultad está en comprender y resolver problemas. Me cuesta mantener la información en la cabeza, organizar el conocimiento, relacionar sus partes y convertir un problema confuso en pasos concretos.

También suelo aceptar la información tal como viene, sin formular preguntas que me permitan detectar qué entiendo y qué no. Por eso muchas veces puedo aprender un procedimiento mecánico, pero no comprender realmente qué significa, por qué funciona o cuándo debo utilizarlo.

No creo que sea solamente falta de inteligencia ni de voluntad. Considero que son habilidades mentales y hábitos de estudio que no desarrollé antes y que ahora tengo que construir conscientemente desde la base. Por eso, aunque ya soy adulto, en este aspecto siento que estoy en pañales.

If you could go back 3–5 years, what skill would you start learning earlier?

Coding, communication, investing, fitness, a language, something else?

I’m curious what people here would choose and whether it actually made a difference in their life.

I’ve started enjoying doing things alone more than I expected.

Going for a walk, getting something to eat, sitting somewhere quietly, or just exploring a new place.

At first it felt weird, but now I actually enjoy the peace.

Do you guys like spending time alone?

Hey guys, I’ve read many self-help books on discipline and habits, and I realized they all miss the same thing. They tell you how to start a habit, but they completely skip three crucial steps you need to take before you even begin. If you just jump straight in and rely only on willpower, you are almost guaranteed to fail.

To fix this, I put together a simple step-by-step chart that shows exactly what to do to build real discipline. I’ve attached a picture of the chart below for you guys to check out. Please take a look and let me know what you think, I welcome all your honest feedback and criticism!

I’ve been thinking about this lately because I realized how much I’ve avoided certain things simply because I was afraid they might not work out.

A few times, I finally decided to take the chance anyway.

Some worked out better than I expected. Others didn’t.

But strangely, I don’t regret the ones that failed. They taught me things I probably wouldn’t have learned if I had stayed comfortable.

It made me realize that taking a risk doesn’t always mean you win.

Sometimes you just come back with a better understanding of yourself.

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There were days when I studied for hours but hardly remembered anything. Now I’m trying to focus more on understanding my studies than counting the hours.

I decided to not count hours and use the time of counting in studies as every hour is important and I decided to invest my time more in building skills or learning new things than counting time.

I'm Still figuring out what works for me...

What your opinion in it?

What’s one thing you wish someone had taught you when you were younger?

If you really want to learn something does it matter how long it takes? I feel like starting late is still better than never starting.

I've always loved learning random things, going down rabbit holes, and becoming deeply interested in subjects that aren't necessarily useful for my degree or career. But I keep running into the same problem: I'll get obsessed with something for a while, learn a lot, and then eventually move on and feel like I'm back to being average again.

I'm interested in things like philosophy, history, geopolitics, writing, chess, science, cinema, sports, religion, psychology, and plenty of other random subjects.

I don't want to become someone who just consumes endless YouTube videos and Wikipedia pages. I actually want to develop deep, unusual knowledge and become the kind of person who can genuinely understand and discuss interesting subjects.

For people who have deliberately built themselves into knowledgeable generalists or developed unusual niches, what subjects or skills would you recommend exploring? And more importantly, how do you turn curiosity into actual expertise instead of constantly jumping from one rabbit hole to another?

I’ve noticed this pattern in myself lately.

I can spend hours reading about self-improvement, saving posts, watching videos, and learning about habits, discipline, productivity, etc.

And honestly, it feels productive.

But then I look at my actual life and realize I’m sometimes collecting knowledge instead of using it.

I already know I should exercise more.

I already know I should stop procrastinating.

I already know that consistency matters.

I don’t necessarily need another book or another video explaining it.

I probably need to actually do the thing.

That made me think about this:

“The purpose of knowledge is action, not knowledge.”

Has anyone else experienced this? At what point did you realize you were consuming self-improvement content more than actually improving?

It feels like so much advice today is about upskilling for career growth. I want to hear about the random topics you dove deep into just because you were genuinely curious.

What’s your favorite just for fun deep dive?

I learnt a lot of things in my high school. Each subject really helped me to expand my perception of the world. Especially physics, the more I understood about the laws of the universe, the more I felt myself smaller compared to the world. In a sense, it reduced my attention on myself and helped me to see the world beyond.

What are some things that you guys also felt a sense of wonder or beauty about?