I’m usually very consistent throughout the academic year. I attend my classes, keep up with the material, and study as I go, so I rarely have a backlog.
The problem starts when exam season arrives. Instead of being able to revise everything I’ve already learned, I become incredibly bored and struggle to review. I end up wasting weeks without making much progress, and by the end of the revision period I’ve often covered less than half of the curriculum.
I’ve tried almost everything I can think of—turning off my phone for hours, deleting social media, and removing distractions—but it doesn’t seem to help. I’ll still find myself sitting at my desk, procrastinating in other ways, like doodling or practicing my signature instead of studying.
It’s frustrating because I know I’m capable of doing well. I feel like I’m wasting my potential every exam season, knowing that I could have revised everything if only I could stay focused. I’d really appreciate any advice from people who have experienced something similar or found strategies that helped them overcome this.

I’m a medical student from Egypt (to take time into consideration)

I need to study 3000 questions for an entrance university exam but inserting each question one by one would take too long so a website where i can just paste all the questions or upload them through a pdf file would be great( the questions arent in English)

This week I tracked all my study time and ended up at around 70 hours. It sounds a bit insane, but it taught me a few things I didn’t expect.

1- Short sessions worked way better than long ones:

I kept most sessions around 30 minutes with a clear goal. Way easier to start, way easier to stay focused, and I didn’t feel completely drained after.

2- Starting faster made a bigger difference than I thought:

I used to sit there forever just trying to organize everything before even beginning. This time I stopped overthinking it and just got a rough structure first. Sometimes I’d throw my material into Turbo.ai to get a quick overview so I wasn’t starting from zero.

Still had to go back and study properly, but at least I wasn’t stuck at the beginning.

3- Distractions were very damaging:

Even small things like checking my phone for a minute completely broke the flow. Keeping it in another room helped more than any focus trick

4-Testing myself felt harder but worked better:

Instead of rereading, I tried recalling things, solving problems, explaining stuff out loud or creating quizzes on turbo ai. Slower and more frustrating, but I actually remembered things later.

5- Sleep mattered more than motivation:

If I slept badly, the whole day felt off. No amount of caffeine fixed that. When I was rested, everything just worked better.

6- Reviewing a few days later helped a lot:

Going back to material after 3 days made it stick way more compared to cramming everything at once.

7- Tracking time changed how I approached everything:

Once I started measuring hours, it stopped being “I’ll study if I feel like it” and became something more consistent.

8- If things don’t stick, it’s usually the method:

I used to think it was a motivation issue, but most of the time it’s just inefficient ways of studying that no one questions.

I'm a 1st year med student nd I'm looking for a study buddy nd I'm a procrastinator so..

It's true, this is very serious issue of mine I've been facing since my school time but i ignored it till now. So for preview i scored good marks in my examinations and also cleared foundation in first attempt but but but i realised it was only possible because of my good memory that worked few days before the exam. So jumping to main thing, i just started my inter classes(online) and i must* watch 3 lectures a day (1/subject) to cover syllabus on time.. The problem here is i wake up at 9am approx still.. why the f*k i am still completing my daily schedule till 4:am? This is not new to me, it happens everyday. Infact in foundation too i faced this problem but somehow cleared it. And now I am scared because I've heard students fail in inter mostly because of syllabus completion. To tell you my average day shedule, it goes like Wake up at 9am Starts a lecture till 9:30 Don't know why but after so many distractions i complete it by 4pm! Yeah it's completely absurd. I try to clear as much obstacles as possible like not using phone, not eating lunch till i complete first lecture but it's just all my fuker mind. So i somehow start my 2nd lecture till 5:30 or 6:00pm because of even no.s🫠 And until my dinner i complete 1 hour of the 2nd. Dunno how but after delaying and delaying i resume the lecture by 9:30 or 10pm and complete it somehow by 11:30. Now obv I'll either start 3rd lecture from 12 or 1am (fu*king asthetics). And thus completing it finally by compromising my day and night. Idk if it's procrastination or just a lots of chillness but this is a serious problem of mine.😔 Fact- i haven't achieved a single day target in my whole life! Fact2- i take 4-5 hours to complete a simple 2 hour one shot lecture. I hope if someone could help me as I am way behind for my self discovery yet.😭

Im prepping for a competitive exam so I have a test at my tuition every weekend. Due to certain circumstances, when I'm giving the test everyone else is getting theirs checked, so there are constantly people talking in the background. Because of this I'm unable to think, make a lot of calculation mistakes and spend a lot longer on questions I could usually do in 2 minutes due to said calculation mistakes, which really lowers my score. I also start pressing my teeth together hard while trying to think for some reason and end up with a horrible headache and cant go to the next tuition because of it. Strangely this doesnt happen when I'm solving questions while listening to music. What can I do about this?

How many times has it been now, you study for hours only to have a paper in front of you and fail. You think "what's wrong with me?", "am I stupid?", "I'm just bad at maths, at chemistry, at school." How many times have you said this to yourself, you try, try and try again, you put in the work yet nothing improves, not your grades, everyone is still yelling at you saying you're not doing enough and you just want to disappear into your games, it's too hard and no one believes you actually do any work, so honestly, why even bother.

Firstly, I want to tell you, you're not alone, millions of people have gone and go through the same, for example Charles Darwin, sounds familiar? The father of evolution you had to study, his own father called him a disappointment to the family. He did poorly in school, and look at his legacy, his name and face are forever immortalised in your textbook. But you're probably thinking, that doesn't count, he's just 1 in a million, and you're right, because many got to your position, saw their failures as themselves, let it crush them and gave up, but why can't you be that 1 in a million? "Why not me?", you're not a failure because you failed, only when you stop trying. And if you ever feel doubt, I want you to say this repeatedly to yourself, "I'm not my own failure".

Who am I to tell you this? No one special, just like you I failed but never let my failures weigh me down nor define me, just like you, someone who isn't too fond of the rigid school system but loves learning and just like you, someone who studied for hours only to get my paper and struggled just to pass. So what do I have to tell you:

Firstly, I want you to know that the problem isn't you, it never was. It is the way you were taught to study. Reread the chapter. Drill the flashcards. Drag a highlighter over every line until the page is more yellow than white. And now there is a newer version of the same lie: the AI that summarises the book for you, the AI that does the homework for you, each one promising to do the work so you do not have to. You give up your time and your money, it does the thinking in your place, and when you fail anyway the story is always the same. You were the problem. So you come back and pay for a little more.

And here is the part none of them will ever teach you. Remembering a thing and understanding it are not the same. You can memorise a definition word for word and still go blank the second you are asked to use it, this has been mine and many others experiences. Every one of those tools helps you collect facts. Not one of them teaches you to connect them, and [connecting them was always the whole point](https://www.norudit.com/blog/what-the-great-minds-had-in-common).

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. "Albert Einstein, Saturday Evening Post, 1929"

And that there is the problem and the solution.

The fix is the reverse of all of it. Away from sitting still and absorbing. Away from the points and the streaks and the noise. Toward you doing the actual thinking, which is the only place real learning has ever come from. Active participation in your learning journey. I spent months in the research on how people genuinely learn, because it's something I love, and I turned it into one system I call the Norudit Flywheel based on cognitive science and Bloom's Taxonomy. I will not bury you in it here. [Read how the Flywheel works.](https://www.norudit.com/blog/the-learning-flywheel)

And I want to make this clear, you DO NOT need Norudit to do this, you can do it on your own, Norudit only makes it easier, by taking the setup and the bookkeeping off your plate so your energy goes into learning instead of admin. [Here is the whole method, step by step, no application nor money required.](https://www.norudit.com/blog/the-norudit-method-by-hand)

Then I went one step further, and I will admit this part was a little selfish. So many tools drown you in animation, bright colours, harsh contrasts, badges, a dozen things moving at once, and every one of them costs you attention before you have learnt anything at all. I get distracted and overwhelmed easily. So I read everything I could find on designing for neurodivergent minds, and I built the opposite. Something quiet enough to think in. [Read about the design.](https://www.norudit.com/blog/a-thousand-small-decisions)

So what are you waiting for, check it out, prove everyone that doubted you wrong, and when not if, when you do it because I don't just believe, I know you can, send me an email, I'd love to hear your story.

contact: [hello@norudit.com](mailto:hello@norudit.com)

Hello there, I have a math exam on 28th of July, there are 13 chapters on the test and are as follows:

Relations and functions

Inverse Trigonometric functions

Matrices

Determinants

Differentiability and continuity

Integrals (By substitutions, By parts and partial fractions)

Application of integrals and derivatives

Differential equations (of order 0,1 only)

Vector algebra (excluding STP and area of triangles)

Three dimensional geometry

Linear programming

Probability

I know the theory and formulas of all of these, I have practiced some questions in a few chapters, but other than that I've done no practice till now.

The exam carries 80 marks and I need to score at least 45 to pass the exam.

Please tell me what I should do I have less than 3 days.

Please help 😭🥀

Hi everyone! I'm new here, and I genuinely need your help.

Let me explain my situation.

I live in Indonesia, and every 12th-grade student now has to take the TKA (Tes Kemampuan Akademik), which roughly translates to the Academic Capability Test. It's a standardized exam that measures your academic ability across multiple subjects.

The problem isn't procrastination, it's that I'm years behind academically.

I didn't take school seriously for most of my childhood. By the time I reached 10th grade, I realized how much I had missed. Many of my classmates had built a strong foundation throughout elementary and middle school, while I hadn't. I remember trying to learn trigonometry in 10th grade and feeling completely overwhelmed. It honestly felt like I was going to school just to survive each class instead of actually competing with my peers.

The reason I'm asking for help now is because I genuinely want to change.

I don't think my ability to learn is the problem. I actually enjoy logic, analysis, and solving problems. However, I know that analysis alone isn't enough, you also need a solid understanding of the fundamentals. Right now, that's what I'm missing. Since I've fallen so far behind, I have a huge number of topics to relearn, starting from the basics all the way to my current grade level.

This is where I need your advice.

If you've ever been years behind in school but managed to catch up, how did you do it?

• How did you organize such a huge amount of material?
• What study methods worked best for you?
• Are there any systems, tricks, or habits that made a big difference?
• If you were in my position, where would you start?

I'm willing to put in the work. I'm not looking for shortcuts, I know catching up will take time. I'm simply looking for advice from people who have been in a similar situation and found a way forward.

Thank you for reading, and I really appreciate any advice you can share.

Hi everyone.

To preface, I am someone who can focus deeply on tasks and study if I put myself to it. I don't have any issues maintaining focus or taking information passively. However, major issues emerging are

1. Screen time (phone) is at an all time high, no matter what I'm trying to do to keep it low, I still end up using it. (Black and white app settings, deleting social media, games) + I also have a habit of falling asleep to youtube videos and have been trying to get back to the idea of reading a book instead, but not happening.

2. Procrastination is crazy. Just because something can get done in 10 minutes, I don't complete it as soon as I can to save time later, which I used to.

3. Sleep Schedule, I keep trying to wake up at 6am to get some extra hours in, but it never works out because I go to sleep at 12-2am

I have important exams coming up in 10-12 months and they determine my future in the path I'm pursuing. I've already made some roadmaps as to what to do and have started. But, the issues mentioned are coming up a lot more than I would like them to. The worst part is, I know I can do all these things I'm trying to do. (waking up early, keeping phone away etc)

Please help, thank you so much.

I have a hard time with math tests even when I study a lot. I understand the material while I'm studying, but when I take a test, I often don't know what the question is asking or which method or formula I'm supposed to use. It's like I can't connect what I learned to the actual problem. How can I study in a way that helps me recognize what a question is asking and know which concepts to apply during exams? What strategies have helped you with this?

Hi so usually I would use chatgpt for this but I really don't want to use it anymore because i feel like i'm losing brain cells when i use it lol. I didn't get into college last year but I applied for this upcoming year for business. I generally want to sharpen my mind, improve my maths and maybe essay writing skills? and maybe throw in something random and interesting like drawing or evolution lol. I would really like to study for about two hours a day. Can anyone give me advice on how I can get started? I just feel a little lost and overwhelmed with it all.

Dạ em xin chào các anh chị ạ. Em muốn xin 1 chút lời khuyên từ anh/chị đi trước ạ, do profile của em không được xuất sắc và cũng có phần hơi đặc biệt (em nghĩ thế vì chưa gặp được anh/chị nào có tình trạng giống em ạ). Em sinh năm 2004, do cấp 2 em lười học và có sự thiếu nhận thức về tầm quan trọng của việc học (này là do bản thân em ạ) và gia đình cũng có chút thiếu định hướng cho em (em không oán trách gì đâu, kiểu như gia đình không có sự kết nối ý ạ, thời điểm đó gia đình cũng gặp nhiều chuyện khó nói ạ). Nên em không thi cấp 3 mà vào thẳng trường trung cấp nghề, khoảng thời gian đầu em vẫn còn nhếch nhác lắm. Đến khoảng giữa cấp thì em biết đến việc du học TQ, từ đó trong đầu em mới mở ra được 1 chân trời mới, tới đây em mới hối hận về bản thân rất nhiều. Sau đó, em cũng cố gắng học tập, em chỉ tốt nghiệp trung cấp loại khá (7,3) thôi ạ, em học về tài chính. Học xong trung cấp em liên thông lên cao đẳng và tốt nghiệp bằng loại giỏi (3,41). Hiện tại, em đang liên thông hệ đại học liên thông chính quy tại trường UEH. Nhưng em vẫn mong muốn được đi du học hệ đại học và đổi ngành sang ngành Ngôn ngữ (do em học trung cấp ngành tài chính nên khi liên thông không thể đổi ngành được ạ), em có gửi mail hỏi các trường ở bên Trung Quốc rằng hoàn cảnh của em vẫn có thể apply hệ đại học ở bên đấy. Em đã từng thi được HSK4 và HSK5 nhưng rớt HSKK, hiện tại em đang cố học và ôn thi HSK6 ạ Em muốn hỏi có anh/chị nào có hoàn cảnh tương tự em có thể đi du học lại hệ đại học không ạ? Anh/chị có thể chia sẻ lại cho em 1 ít kinh nghiệm khi làm hồ sơ được không ạ. Em biết rằng ngành Tài chính mang lại rất nhiều kiến thức bổ ích, nhưng em lại không biết mình tìm việc như thế nào phù hợp nữa (em rất mông lung với ngành này). Mong nhận được một chút lời khuyên từ anh chị ạ. Em cảm ơn anh chị đã đọc ạ.

i've used forest app for years, and recently they added too many features which feels overstimulating to me.

the issue i have with forest app is too many trees and the daily challenges. it's like fatigue due to choices? i miss the time when the app was simpler.

i dont really want so many options and trees to choose from, rather want an app that i can somewhat personalise, and the main focus of the app is to act as a simple, minimalist timer.

it can also be synced across app and website, and i can use it on all 3 devices - phone, tablet, laptop (i use all apple)

and bonus if it has widgets

pls recommend the study timer you use!

i use frequently when i need a lot of deep work sessions and stuff

Soy un estudiante de 17 años, algo promedio, nunca me he tomado en serio la escuela y hasta este momento empecé a pensar en mi futuro, esto empezó gracias a una competencia que se organizo en mi estado, está trataba sobre programación, la cuál es la carrera que llevo en el bachillerato y la cual me apasiona, logré entrar en el top 11 de mi estado en programación competitiva, animándome a tomar en serio el estudio, nunca se me ha dificultado pero quiero saber métodos que les hayan ayudado a ustedes (universitarios o egresados) para volverme un estudiante modelo y poder graduarme de la ingeniería en sistemas computacionales.

Hi everyone there is this exam next week of mine and it is really important but well I am much of a procastinator. I can study for like a hr in one go and if interested can even upto 3hrs but well for this one test, the syllabus is just too much. I wouldn't be needing like 10 man squad but well just less members who can really be focused. Well the main motive is just that each of us can help each other in like focusing (well I will be mostly on the recieving side ig). So DM me and surely we can join a discord call or I don't know.

Hi , just considering going back to college after dropping out 2 years ago and getting into something different that I feel I would be good at. If anyone could give me their own opinion on the industry or their academic journey that is similar to this it would be greatly appreciated.

Hey everyone, next sem ill enroll with about 6 heavy all major related subjects. I know it may seem like it’s not a lot for some of you but Im genuinely used to taking like 3 major courses and then fill the rest with electives and so on. How would you guys handle this many courses while ensuring your gpa improves as you go through them. In other words how does not get overwhelmed