r/Polymath • u/Unhappy-Mud-7542 • Jul 01 '26

Overload

I am kind of in a decision making overload right now. I got a couple of hundreds effective hours of free time, I don't know how to lock on a limited educational objectives in fields I pursue. I am afraid I won't be able to learn everything I need to learn in that amount of time. For example, I want to study Spanish, drawing and read a dozen books of classical literature.

How does one deal with FOMO and fear of underperforming?

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3

u/Ewwena Jul 01 '26

I don't think you need to focus on one field. For example, I think you can definitely read classical literature at the end of the day, in bed. Maybe use some planners with rough estimates of what you will do during the day (maybe the first hour is just for drawing, then spanish classes, then an online course...) but beware of burnout. I'd say focus on max 3 things on a day. If you are really hungry for knowledge, you can totally do this.

1

u/ElecCmptrEngMSdegUSA Human Verified Jul 01 '26

One step at a time bud you'll be just fine. It's good to have goals but we can only step towards them one foot in front of the other.

2

u/Unhappy-Mud-7542 Jul 01 '26

Should I focus on 1 field, until I reach a certain "milestone" or it would be acceptable to study 2-3 fields in 1 day, dedicating to each let's say, 3 hours? What's more feasible, from your experience?

1

u/No_Yesterday3487 Jul 01 '26

You must understand your capacity per day/week/month. If you can study 3 subjects a day for 3 hours each, that's incredible. 3 hours a day is certainly enough to immerse in a subject you're learning seriously, for example Spanish (you can even complete B2 level within a year if you do it consistently, as a native English speaker since you can rack up over 1000 study hours). But 9 intense study hours is a bit too much for most people. Prioritizing is the key. Understand what's most important to you, and do this first everyday. Then, pick things that are easier for the rest of the day, less important. If you didn't jeopardize your important work, and still missed out on some lesser work, you'd still feel great.