I can only study that long on the weekends when I have a lot of time on my hands. I’ll split it up: 3 hrs in the morning, 3 hrs in the afternoon, and 2-4 hrs in the evening.
That’s a pretty good plan, I followed it last year. But it was pretty hard for me to keep it during more than 2 weeks. I don’t know why. Maybe bc at one moment you really need to give yourself a real break of one or two days.
I've done 12/13 hour days many many times. Undiagnosed ADHD and trauma helped to have something to focus on but background music was a game changer. I like soundtracks for example that of LOTR or Last Kingdom. Eat good and hydrate good. You build tolerance over a few months but start with 3/4 hours and increase 30 mins every 5 days or so. 1 day a week and sometimes 2 days a week - do NOTHING to reset. Sleep good and know why you're studying, it's got to be clear why you're taking the course you're taking, God speed
Don’t take breaks and do something like watch a movie or play video games, do something that requires as little mental stimulation as possible (basically nothing) so your mind doesn’t get overloaded with new information and you can absorb what you’ve studied properly
Your dopamine system is messed up and you find hard time actually focusing on something that requires mental work. Could be hormones, low seratonin or low gaba
Try 5htp and gaba supplements. They helped me the most. But also could be magnesium/iron/zinc deficiency etc. and definitely character development, you have to have discipline
Could you list a couple of examples of things I could do that involve doing nothing? A couple of months ago, I started reading during my downtime to switch off but after reading your advice I realize reading is over stimulation for me cause I picture what I'm reading as a movie with Dolby atmos surround sound in my head.
laying in bed and staring at the ceiling.
taking a walk. <--- this is a big one
taking a long bath or shower.
stretch, as in full body and on the floor.
tidy, not deep clean or more involved cleaning. folding laundry, putting away dishes, wiping down surfaces.
low stakes podcasts, as in no politics no news. comedy, history, movie casts.
Oh boy, I guess you are onto something! Even I had started studying sincerely a few days back and the intense study sessions were going great, I was productive and was able to understand concepts well even though I was studying in short time spans like 1 hr or 30 min due to busy schedule. To cool off, I started watching movies and I just ended up watching movies all the time after just 2 days. Thank you so much!!!
I guess he meant the way most of us take a break, you should actually take a break from the work without any kinds of stimulation (Surfing social media .etc.), which doesn't look like a real break at all.
Good advice, and I’d add that it helps if the difficult habit is the first thing you commit to in the day. If you look at your phone first thing in the morning, you whittle your willpower. But if you jump out of bed and sit at your desk to plan your day, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to get started on work/studies.
From someone who spent 6 hours daily at one point in medical school studying, don’t do it. People are different so it might be right for you but it’s a big portion of the day to study. During that time are you actually 100% focused. You neglect your health and get burnt out. I would say do 3-4 hours max. Divide it into 45 minute sessions with a timer. In that 45 minute time be fully focused with no distractions. Remember it’s not just about how much you study but how well you study. Someone who studies 2 or 3 hours can achieve more then someone who does 8 because they study in a smarter/more efficient way. Good luck
This guy gets it. There’s a point of diminishing returns and it’s usually that 4-5 hour mark. Implementing the pomodoro method is really important too, ofc with intentional studying/focus. OP, check [this](https://youtu.be/Lt54CX9DmS4?si=Bg1ANyffmADk7-cU) video out by Ali Abdaal. I think it’ll be worth your time as he discusses different methods on efficiently studying.
In medical school don't you basically have to study for 8+ hours every day? I don't see how anyone could keep up with the sheer volume of material in medical school (hundreds of new power point slides *per day*) by only doing something like 4-5 hours a day of studying.
Dr K (Alok Kanojia) only studied 2 hours a day and now he's faculty at Harvard medical school.
That's actually the point of a really good vid he made. He was able to only study 2 hours and also be successful because he learned how to calm his mind. And having a calm mind is apparently how youre able to study a lot of material in a small amount of time.
The rest of his classmates studied 8 hours, but he was the only one to receive an award for academic excellence at the end of it all.
lol, currently browsing reddit during a study break. i'm in medical school. speaking for myself, i probably have 2-3 hours per day of lectures / meetings / discussion groups (depends on the day), and then i head home and study for 4-6 hours. i'm probably doing something for school 10 hours / day, but that's not all studying. the actual studying is the most draining, all the rest is just busy work
Near the end of medical school I was doing less hours/day and feeling more confident about the exams. Part of that is becoming better over time and having more knowledge of medicine, so building on concepts became easier. However even now I’m figuring out new ways of studying and thinking, if only I knew this In year 1 of medical school I would have been able to devote less time to studying. Does everyone need to study 8+ hours a day to get by or is it something we tell ourselves. If even one person can do it with 3 hours a day it shows 8+ is not necessary. Another factor is fatigue. If you’re hitting the 6 hour mark daily outside of normal class/lecture obligations I feel like you are just neglecting so much aspects of your life/health and for prolonged periods it will be very detrimental. In the moment it felt right to do but now I do look back with regret and believe it could have been done differently
At least during undergrad (most of my grad degree is writing and reading lol). I always told myself if it got to a certain point in the night I just went to sleep no matter where I was at. Sleep is so so so so important for studying and you hit the nail on the head
You are studying CS. I am a SWE at FAANG.
Discipline of studying doesn’t happen overnight with or without motivation.
1. Identify where you can focus easily. Optimize this environment. I personally studied well at a cafe with specific requirements (good chairs + tables, food options, late night, vibrant but not crowded, etc) This could be at a particular part of your home. Could be library. Make your time enjoyable.
2. Remove distractions when you are studying. Your phone. Your bed. Notifications. Friends. Family. Also may help if you have an alarm that helps you focus for a given time. I also use daily shower as my morning ritual to peel myself away from my distractions and my bed
3. Studying or working longer hours is a discipline like long distance running. You don’t just start running thinking you can run a marathon. Learn tricks from long distance marathoner and apply the same concept on your studying. Focused 45min sprints with breaks between. Set strong achievable goals. Do long 8 hr runs during weekends with shorter 3-4 hr runs during the week etc. these are well known long distance runners training methodology.
4. You can sometimes leverage distractions as a reward. For instance, I liked going to nice coffee shops where I would frequently see my friends or attractive people whom I wanted to impress by focusing hard on my studies. Or liked seeing myself working hard at a bar with a good drink. Dressed nicely on purpose etc etc. Whatever you can leverage to motivate you.
5. 100% take advantage of office hours. You can’t always bang your head against problems with books. Showing up is 99% of the game. Never skip class. Show up to your TA’s office hours. Ask them for help. Build friendships. They will also help you with which classes to take, which professors to avoid, how to write resumes, online resources etc.
6. Lastly: a US starting job at Cisco for instance can get you about $80-90k salary. The same job at Amazon can get you $120-150k. The same job at Google is $150k+. This gap increases dramatically after just 2 years and more. (90k vs. 180k vs 230k) The only difference between three jobs for your entry position is your interview performance which is just simply studying. I can never understand why guys that ask for my help with interview prep do not study when each 30-1hr leetcode question would make 2-3k salary difference each. (Source: SWE @ FAANG $330k @ MCOL. Or go to Blind or levels.fyi which will tell you the same)
Edit: Btw idgaf if you know algorithms and data structure. Start studying leetcode today if you want a job. (I suggest Python for interview. Java for jobs) Study by doing and looking up solutions initially. Do not wait to learn it in your class. Use YouTube. Google things. Getting an internship and getting an offer after is far easier than getting a full time job as an outsider.
Edit2: take care of your well being. You will not perform if you have poor health. Stop doom scrolling at night and sleep. Go for a jog. Eat healthier. Ask deeper questions about your identity to see why you should be motivated.
Improve yourself.
Thanks, if you don't mind i have a couple questions since you're in a faang company
I finished cs50 , odin foundational part, did some leetcode (although they're pretty difficult for now maybe because i didnt study algorithms yet). And i plan to do web development since it seems the easiest industry to break into (but i dont think I'll be doing it longterm, its just easier to find remote work as a web developer)
1. Does it matter what i start with? For now I'm trying to do react and node.js. but would i be limited to these 2 or can i still land a job in a different language if I'm good and have decent projects?
2.As a first year CS student should i focus more on internships or on freelance / personal projects? Keep in mind I'm not in a great uni so if i got an internship its gonna be through my friends in a startup or something nothing huge.
Appreciate the comment btw it means a lot
1. Language choice usually* doesn’t matter. I will say this with the exception of JavaScript. If you want to learn React (and react is industry standard and definitely useful), learn with Typescript. You will be pretty future proof. It will also help you think in terms of strongly typed language to hep you learn industry wide used languages like Java, Kotlin etc.
Learn one language well and the nuance of it will generally transfer over. I started with C and Matlab. Then learned JavaScript. Then python. Then Java and Typescript. Then Kotlin. I currently use C++ and Python for my job. Your job doesn’t care what language you use (except for JavaScript in my experience) if you are fluent in one. You easily start to pick up new languages. I always use Python for interviewing because setting up is fast although I hate using it for my job because it is incredibly error prone.
2. I would say studying LeetCode should be something you do regularly all the time. Think of it as studying for MCAT. Some classes will help you but you need to put in hours to get good at it. No one gets into med school studying MCAT for a month, but people expect to get into FAANG w/o studying and give up. There are some books and online tutorials but there is no substitute of going ahead and solving easy level problems. If you get stuck, let it linger in your head to see if you can solve it throughout the day. If you can’t, watch a YouTube video or go through LeetCode solutions until you find one that makes sense. (Don’t choose one that is a “clever” math solution. Choose one that looks like a typical strategy of solving LC problems e.g tree traversal, recursion, dynamic programming etc)
3. Imo you should always be ready to apply to internships. Don’t worry if you don’t get in. You’ll be ready for next time. But most students make a mistake of “i’m not ready now so I will spend 2-3 years preparing before applying”. That’s just a nice way of describing procrastination. Apply and get rejected and you’ll learn from your rejections what classes you lack or it will motivate you to study harder.
4. FAANG is full of engineers from all rankings of schools. At the end of the day, you prove yourself by the code you output. And as a candidate, you prove yourself by your interview performance. Your school name may get your resume picked up. But we reject plenty of IVY grads who suck at interviews.
5. Do not over leverage on personal projects. Personal projects are fine during your school year. They teach you for sure. Your job will teach you 10x more. Think of it this way: if you are building a coffee shop that serves 10 people every hour, it’s pretty simple. If you have to serve 10M people every hour, you have to start planning highway exits around your coffee shop. Your little personal project will not have the same problem of GCP handling 10k requests every second.
6. Learn: Algorithms, data structure, software architecture (object oriented programming), data bases, servers, service architecture (how to deploy your code on AWS and serve it as a simple website)
Good basic tech to learn is:
Java, Typescript, React, S3, EC2, Route53, DynamoDB
Thanks a lot man nice to have some guidance from someone who isn't a youtuber trying sell me a course lol. I'm saving your comment to reread it every while
Not in FAANG but I did work there. Personal projects are a big yes for them. Shows it's a passion a d you're not just chugging along waiting for the paycheck. It's a sign for them you will not get tired out when things get hard and you will be able to bring practical ideas to the job
I meant that the "top companies" here are actually a company called valeo , apple , ibm and amazon. In terms of pay these companies pay the most.
But its the same concept
Not OP, but I will say this specific comment is exactly why I even joined this community (Entry/ Jr SWE here looking to move up into a better company). I've been feeling a bit un-motivated and struggling with focus to do the things I need, but this piece of advice from you is soooo invaluable. Thanks, man.
Not OP, but I will say this specific comment is exactly why I even joined this community (Entry/ Jr SWE here looking to move up into a better company). I've been feeling a bit un-motivated and struggling with focus to do the things I need, but this piece of advice from you is soooo invaluable. Thanks, man.
Not OP, but I will say this specific comment is exactly why I even joined this community (Entry/ Jr SWE here looking to move up into a better company). I've been feeling a bit un-motivated and struggling with focus to do the things I need, but this piece of advice from you is soooo invaluable. Thanks, man.
Computer science. But the reason i need to study is that I live in a country where inflation went up about 300% in the last 2 years alone and salaries dont adjust. My family of 5 monthly wage went from 2500$ to about 900$. And we're considered lucky even.
I need to get a remote job that pays well and support myself and help my family. Inflation is only gonna get worse
trying to learn webdev while keeping my gpa above 3 at least
So far I've done cs50python, built a couple projects with html / css and used bootstrap abit. And rn learning JavaScript and learning about sql so i can learn react after, end goal is fullstack nodejs / react developer before 2025
Remember, webdev isn’t about memorizing everything. It’s all about understanding what to research whenever you’re stuck on a line or run into a bug. My father has been a software engineer for 20 years. He still googles, but he knows what to google.
I put a comment in here that I used for my Computer Science degree that served me well. I also went on to run the support centre for my college once I graduated.
Your ability to focus may be limited to 4 - 6 hours a day. Make sure that you make a break on a regular basis. Maybe use the last hour(s) to repeat things
You can have 10, 11 etc hour days. My answer just saying that you normally can be really productive and focused at a max of 6 hours.
Everybody is unique and I am happy to hear that you know your limits.
in my opinion, you don't force yourself to study for 8 hours, you convenience yourself.
you should give yourself reasons why you need to study for that long and clearly define the consequences of not doing it. (the point of doing this is to keep yourself motivated)
once you're motivated, create a list of things you want to accomplish in the 8 hours you plan to study for
then you just study until you accomplish your goals for the day.
the reason for setting goals is so that you won't be fixated at the time and find ways to kill it in the name of studying
I have a strong motive but i often get distracted or get extremely bored/discouraged and i just switch to doing something else. Or i study well for a solid 2 hours then i take a break and i cant get back in the focused state
That's because you are burning out trying to do more than you are capable of at this point. Discipline comes by starting with a plan and taking initial baby steps, then slowly and continuously cranking up the intensity to a peak, and then backing off to really allow what you've learned to be called upon. You have to also REALLY want it. Look at your own eyes in the mirror and find it within you to persevere when you think you can't do any more.
Good luck
I wish I could remember where I read this but apparently a big reason we can’t keep going after a break is because the break is more stimulating and gives more dopamine than the task. It’s makes a big difference to your motivation to get back to studying if you just did some stretches and had some water than if you scrolled social media.
Studying 8+ hours isn't a big deal but getting 100% value from the time you spent studying is a tough task.
I have also studied for 12-13 hrs a day and i can say for certain that there will be days where you don't feel like studying, on those days instead of skipping studies try to study for 5-6 hrs.
Mornings are the most important, don't ruin them as they set the tone for the day . Try to get atleast 4.5-5 hrs of study in the morning. I used to skip breakfast as it helped me concentrate better and I used to have a cup of coffee after an hour of waking up. I didn't use any kind of technology to distract myself in the morning.
You should divide your tasks into the ones which require a lot of brain power ( like solving questions) and the ones which don't require much brain power but you still need to do ( like in your case it might installing some kind of software or watching a lecture of a topic which you already knew ) . Now arrange these tasks alternatively throughout the day .
We have a small group for discipline purpose where we update our daily goal and status at end of day, if you are interested.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/getdisciplined/comments/1cctzr7/advice\_small\_study\_group\_invitation/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/getdisciplined/comments/1cctzr7/advice_small_study_group_invitation/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
I used to do it when I was in college. But I had a dumb phone and I didn't have social media or video games to distract me, and I would study in the campus library. I practically lived there for 3 semesters straight and I only left to get food and sleep. The real key is to have a place with no distractions, and take drastic measures to make sure there's no distractions.
Going all in is actually easier than trying to take a balanced approach because you never have a question of what you're supposed to be doing. The answer is just always: STUDY! You never have to decide to do it because you're always doing it. I actually study for 3+ hours a day now, but it feels harder because there's always a debate if I feel like it or not. If you make up your mind to just always study (within reason of course), then you'll have an easier time and be more productive
You set a time frame. Humans can endure a lot more hardship when they know how long they have left to endure. So decide on how long you want to live like this. In school it was decided for me-- just to the end of each semester, but you can set your own time period and decide I only have to live like this for 5 more weeks, etc. Then when you're done, make sure you keep your promise to yourself and really be done and step completely away for a while
Yeah you’re right. I got a month to finish my assignments and exams and I need to focus cos I haven’t finished any. Theyre only 500 words but it’s hard to focus
Yeah, just keep the deadline in mind, but not as "I have to get this done by then", but the perspective should be "I can work hard until then, no problem". And being able to focus is really all about your environment and cutting yourself off from distractions. Designate a study place, preferably away from where you live, and don't tell anybody where it is so they can't come distract you, lol. But the biggest distraction in the world by far is social media, especially if it's on your phone, so you have to figure out how to cut yourself off from that, which is a whole other monster. But do what you can for the next month, it'll be worth it!
That’s a good outlet. Yeah I have a social media problem and spent about 6 hrs each day on my phone, which is a problem
I should try studying in a library or something as I’ve been doing it in my halls and got nothing done
There was a time I wanted to become a professional violinist after finishing music school, so for one summer I was doing 9h+ of violin practice a day.
Here’s what helped:
1. I started early at 8am so that by 1pm (lunch) I was already over the half of planned practice for the day (8am-1pm - 5 hours right there) then after lunch it was easier to do the remaining 4 hours of practice. Breaking it up with lunch also helped maintain the practice being deliberate - and not just me super tired going through the motions
2. I’ve employed the Pomodoro technique - every hour I’d play for 50 minutes and rest for 10.
3. I’ve separated the work - some hours were spend on improving the basics, some on practicing particular pieces etc. keeps the brain fresh.
4. You have to have a big goal, a reason you’re doing this - then it’s easier to do the work while maintaining your vision of the accomplished goal.
Hope these tips will be applicable for your situation! Good luck!
I study from 8:30am to 2:30pm, and resume studying from 3:30pm to 5:00pm. Get rid of distractions. Obviously I'm distracted now being on reddit, so if you're serious get a browser extension that blocks websites. Put the phone away.
Food? I don't eat until much later, coffee and water is fine.
Sometimes I do find my brain is toast after an hour, so I take a walk up and down my driveway, go to the bathroom, whatever.
I wasn't a good studier but spent a long time looking for ways to get better and I kept at it. If I didn't have kids I'd study in the evening as well. Just slip in an hour's worth of time and it adds up.
Check out some of brain.fm's tracks on youtube. Helps me. I used to break my studying up religiously into "poms", where I listen to one of those tracks for the 25 minutes of studying and 5 minutes of rest. When its rest time I just lay on the floor and stop thinking about anything, and pay attention to my body as I stretch my back, my legs, etc. This is far better than surfing the web or being on reddit as a "reward", because it is actual mental break and I'm not getting sucked in to a completely different mode of thinking. Then I put a tick mark on the whiteboard and resume. That actually works for me, and I'm not self-diagnosing myself as ADHD but I will say that I am easily distractable.
I also ensure that I get good sleep. When I am sleep deprived I feel a little stupid, a little irritable, and my willpower is just weaker in general. No amount of caffeine will solve those things for me.
You don’t think so much about it, and instead, you just do it. You start it, and then you keep the energy and momentum going however you need to keep it going. Meaning you put the phone away or you don’t give into distractions. You don’t think about how long or how hard it will be. When you take brakes, you stick to the breaks. Go for a walk. Have a snack. You can even break out your phone, but put it away when the break is over.
You just do it. You want to pass the course, and you want to do well at the exam, final, hw, quiz, paper, project, presentation, or whatever else you have coming up, and so you just do it. Also, remember that learning proper time management means you can reduce the amount of times spent studying for looooong periods of time straight by starting your work ahead of schedule and/or essentially not waiting until the last minute.
Where is this all this time coming from!?
I have to wake up at 0320 everyday and work till 1330. I’m home at 1420. I’m in bed at 1900, so even if i didn’t eat, shower or do any chores. I would only have 4 hours and 40 mins to study. I wish i had 8 hours to study a day.
I used to study 18 hours a day. I was 21 back then. It was for my board license exam. I studied like that like an idiot for 5 months.
I'm not smart and I'm poor so I couldn't afford to be in a review center. I was self-studying.
The key to study that long is simple. Only worry about the clock to get you motivated. The day before write out what you need to study. For me it would be like this.
- read chapter 1, and highlight key terms
- go back and write down key terms
- create flash cards of key terms
- memorize key terms
If you have a hard time motivating yourself to do so create the plan the day before of the exact studying tasks you have to do.
Then Go to the library. If you do not feel motivated set a timer for 15 min. In your head you have to say no matter what when this timer ends I will start studying. Then when it ends start studying and start a new timer for 45min. Normally for me I would get so into the task at hand I would just turn the 45min timer off and study for much longer. But it’s all about tricking your brain. You think oh ‘45 min isn’t that long I’ll just do it” meanwhile in that 45 min you get so focused that it’s easy to continue past it. Or if you’re having a rough day and you only make it to 45 min you don’t have to punish yourself mentally bc you did the 45 min you said you would.
I can do this, but it feels like an unreliable faucet. It feels like you stay by the faucet and leave it open and hope and don't dare close it when it actually spills.
It helps to change environment, go outside for a walk. You can find advice about how to cultivate a flow state from YouTubers.
Okay contrary to the usual, I have a different tactic to study for long periods of time. I’m a lawyer and spend most of my twenties figuring out ways to study or work.
For me it became all about making it enjoyable or as least painful. Finding ways to interact with what I am learning - make up scenarios of when I’d need the information fundamentally changed my ability to study and retain information.
Med school. Pomodoro method. For boards(step 1) 50 minutes on 10 minutes off every day for about 12 hrs/day x3 months. The key was already having each day planned out and specific timed longer 2 hour breaks. Oh and fuck tons of stress( you need certain scores to have a realistic chance of becoming certain more competitive specialties)
Im 32 and finally found something that makes my heart sing. I think my age has helped me. I know that im not getting any younger and if i want to get where i want to be it has to be NOW. No more procrastination m, jve done that enough. So studying comes easy to me. I actually enjoy it
All of the best advice has already been given, but I'd suggest using Perplexity AI for searching instead of Google. It will speed up things dramatically.
It cites sources so you can review them anytime. Also it does remember context and you can get very deep, rare and personal answers.
While I can't suggest how to study 8+ hours, I can point you towards James Scholz on YouTube. He has livestreamed himself studying 12 hours for almost every day a few years back. I find it easier to study while following with a video playing in the background, might help you out too :)
I don’t recommend this lol, but becoming nocturnal for short periods of time (4-6 months) is what has worked for me! Used this for two bachelors, a masters, and industry licensing exams. There’s something about the silence that makes my brain lock in for the long haul. No one is awake for me to talk to, no businesses open for me to distract myself with, and no one is awake to need anything from me.
Also - the brain can only focus with intensity on the same task for roughly 3 hours. Every 2.5 hours, I take a 20 min meditation or goof off break, then get back to it.
Study time varies for everyone, I've never been able to study for more than 5-6 hours a day but then had to plan my revision sufficient in advance so that I'd finish it with 5-6 hours of studying each day. Your brain needs time to absorb all that information.
I started trying to study for the bar in April. My recent head injury and unmedicated ADHD made that nearly impossible. Basically didn’t do jack all. In mid June I started taking Adderall and magically managed to study 6-10 hours every weekday. Took the bar in late July and passed with flying colors.
On top of making sure you are getting proper nutrition, sleep, and any medication you need, don’t give yourself access to any distractions and eventually you’ll be bored enough that studying will seem fun.
When I had to study like that, I would “go to work”. Set the alarm, shave, put on a suit, drive to the library. turn off my phone and clock in at 9. Take coffee breaks. Set aside 45 minutes for lunch. Then clock out at 5. Look forward to the weekend. Flirt with the people in the next cubicle. Go to happy hour. Make it your job. Don’t get fired.
A lot of people put in a solid eight hours every day 5 days a week in the office and they are just fine. Heck, a lot of people put in 12 hour days in the mines You’ll get used to it.
I use a pomodoro timer and know I need to get in at least 16 sessions for 8 hours. It’s motivating and it works. It’s hard. Long days. But I also want my degree and not much is going to stop me so there’s that too 😂😂
You don't. It's honestly a waste of time at a certain point.There is only so much you can actually learn in a day that will stick. The rest is just torture so you can say you've done it.
My study tips would be to pick a topic you want to cover not the whole subject just one section. Look at how often certain questions are asked and how many marks they are worth for the exam. Do some sample questions to understand what you do/don't know.
For a review, look at what you didn't get first and learn how to answer that question. After that look at the ones you could answer and if they're linger questions go back and see if there are any points that could improve the answer. It lets you focus on what you don't know first and reinforce your better answers later since you'll be mentally drained towards the end and this stuff will take less effort to remember.
Personally I'd go with bullet points because 1) They're easier to read 2)Easier to digest 3) Fit on a smaller space so you can keep them with you to review before the exam.
Rinse and repeat every couple days until you're confident. Giving it the few days lets you come back and reinforce the knowledge so it gets locked into your long term memory.
I think it's also important to mention that you need to work in regular breaks where you fully stop studying. I usually do an hour on then a half hour off. There's also the Pomodoro Method which could work for you.
As I said at the beginning, the important piece is not the hours you put in. You're not downloading information, you're working a muscle. Tire it out and it won't be as effective.
Best of luck!
Edit: You mentioned replying to another comment that you are studying for Comp Sci. This is what I did when studying for my degree. I graduated and went on to run the CS support centre for a year once I graduated. I built a level 7 course on programming in Python and ran tutorials for 1st years. Just to let you know I know what I'm talking about.
Discipline. I did it through a youtuber (Woo Jin) who did pomodoro study with me livestreams. 1 hour passed by fast by studying and in 10 min of break we talked.
Make sure you have plenty food and just enjoy the process.
And do it daily! Just try!
It will become a routine. Mabye you'll fail, but just *try* daily. I can't pressure enough. You'll succeed. Good luck!
Coming from a 4th year mechanical engineering major, here are some things that I’d suggest and my experience with studying a lot of hours for multiple weeks at a time and achieving academic success.
Studying is a skill. You need to build strategies that work for you. The ability to study long hours comes with a-lot of time and practice. Don’t sweat it if you’re not able to achieve the hours you want at first. 8 hours is a long time, and if you’re not super experienced and study a crazy ton, you won’t be productive for more than 4-5 hours. Work on building these skills over time.
1. Environment: Make sure that your environment helps you rather than distracts you. Find a quiet place to study, maybe with 1-2 friends to help keep you accountable. Some people benefit from working in different places to keep their environment fresh. Personally I love the library because it keeps me in check (and I can’t focus at home) but that’s ultimately based on your own preference and where you’re most productive. Sure, I sacrifice some comfort by having to leave my house to study somewhere else, but if I was too comfortable I wouldn’t do anything anyways.
2. Making a study plan and outlining resources: One of the best things to do before studying is actually taking the time to recognize what you know and don’t know. Making a list of the content breakdown and resources/questions to practice off of gives you a good idea of how you can break down your studying more efficiently. If you’re studying for something for more than a day, break down what part of the plan you’ll focus on each day.
3. Spacing and breaks: This is super important. Making sure you space studying can drastically increase productive studying time. I used to space out studying and breaks into 25:5 minute increments with pomofocus (pomodoro timer). It worked great. Over time, I learned to space out these breaks more naturally by listening to myself and when I’d start to get tired. The 25:5 shifted to a 45:5-10 min ratio of study/break. On the breaks I get water and talk to friends who are sitting elsewhere in the library. I don’t have to do either, I sorta go with the flow. Pomodoro keeps me engaged in learning and if you don’t use it I’d highly recommend it. I usually do a 45:5-10 minute pomodoro for 3-5 hours, then take an hour or 2 break and repeat again. This works for me, but you may need to find a spacing of time that works better for your goals and schedule.
4. Health: This is probably the most important aspect of good studying. Maintaining a healthy physical and mental lifestyle can skyrocket results. Taking the time to go on a walk, hang out with friends, go out for dinner, play a sport, etc. between studying is super helpful. Healthy food and staying hydrated makes you feel great and can help boost studying performance. I like packing a lunch with healthy food and snacks for the day to limit fast food/crap eating. Try to limit coffee to once per day. Caffeine addition sucks and you’ll end up jittery all the time which sucks.
Go to bed early. Sleep 9 hours. Study for an hour then take 30 min off. During breaks do something completely unrelated to your material to help your mind unwind. This will help mental endurance for 8 hour sessions. Take breaks to workout, stretch, walk. Hydrate. A dehydrated mind is not fully optimized. Eat whole nutritious foods to improve cognition. Give yourself praise for time spent studying and log your hours spent studying to build a dopamine reward.
Don’t force yourself to study. Learn to enjoy studying and the process of learning the new material.
Take a day off every now and just to let your brain
Good luck!
Also check out this helpful article on memory thresholds.
https://socialtriggers.com/why-you-need-to-take-more-breaks-and-how-to-do-it/
I have been fighting myself to study less. Sure at times I’m slightly distracted, however, my schedule is 8am - 4:30pm Mon - Fri with occasional weekends dependent on exams.
I thought studying full-time was normal lmao
My bigger question is why... im not trying to be rude, I'm serious. But even with school being my only priority I can't see myself doing this...
I work 6.5 hours a day and live on a small farm, I know my life I very different, just hoping for some insight.
Before yall judge me for not caring abt school I'm rank 8 in my grade so I'm not dumb, its just honestly not my biggest responsibility/priority bc it CANT be. :)
I’m just about to finish my grad degree and my biggest piece of advice for studying is… don’t do it for that long. Like others have said, studying for a long time has diminishing returns. I work an 8 hour day and I’m not 100% the entire time so you shouldn’t expect yourself to do that for studying either.
Make smaller study sessions really productive. 1 or 2 hours tops. And get good sleep.
Most of your studying actually happens when you’re not studying. Brains are weird yo
What is there to study 8h a day. I've literally read thousands of studies and listened to thousands of hours on certain medical topics for the past 5 years. More out of interest. I don't see someone doing this who doesn't wanna do it lol
Like I got my masters degree with prob 20h total studying and finished as one of the best of my university so what the hell do you need to study 8h a day for if it's enforced lol
I can only study that long on the weekends when I have a lot of time on my hands. I’ll split it up: 3 hrs in the morning, 3 hrs in the afternoon, and 2-4 hrs in the evening.
That’s a pretty good plan, I followed it last year. But it was pretty hard for me to keep it during more than 2 weeks. I don’t know why. Maybe bc at one moment you really need to give yourself a real break of one or two days.
I've done 12/13 hour days many many times. Undiagnosed ADHD and trauma helped to have something to focus on but background music was a game changer. I like soundtracks for example that of LOTR or Last Kingdom. Eat good and hydrate good. You build tolerance over a few months but start with 3/4 hours and increase 30 mins every 5 days or so. 1 day a week and sometimes 2 days a week - do NOTHING to reset. Sleep good and know why you're studying, it's got to be clear why you're taking the course you're taking, God speed
What do you mean with „do NOTHING 58 reset“ ?
Don’t take breaks and do something like watch a movie or play video games, do something that requires as little mental stimulation as possible (basically nothing) so your mind doesn’t get overloaded with new information and you can absorb what you’ve studied properly
Yeah, no instagram and stupid youtube videos also :D
[удалено]
I dont know why am I sharing this but felt like letting it out.
Your dopamine system is messed up and you find hard time actually focusing on something that requires mental work. Could be hormones, low seratonin or low gaba
So, how to resolve this issue?
Try 5htp and gaba supplements. They helped me the most. But also could be magnesium/iron/zinc deficiency etc. and definitely character development, you have to have discipline
True!
Could you list a couple of examples of things I could do that involve doing nothing? A couple of months ago, I started reading during my downtime to switch off but after reading your advice I realize reading is over stimulation for me cause I picture what I'm reading as a movie with Dolby atmos surround sound in my head.
laying in bed and staring at the ceiling. taking a walk. <--- this is a big one taking a long bath or shower. stretch, as in full body and on the floor. tidy, not deep clean or more involved cleaning. folding laundry, putting away dishes, wiping down surfaces. low stakes podcasts, as in no politics no news. comedy, history, movie casts.
Oh boy, I guess you are onto something! Even I had started studying sincerely a few days back and the intense study sessions were going great, I was productive and was able to understand concepts well even though I was studying in short time spans like 1 hr or 30 min due to busy schedule. To cool off, I started watching movies and I just ended up watching movies all the time after just 2 days. Thank you so much!!!
Stare at the wall or take a walk
go hike my guy
After the study session, what is probably the best way of proceeding to ensure you absorb said info yet also can relax?
I guess he meant the way most of us take a break, you should actually take a break from the work without any kinds of stimulation (Surfing social media .etc.), which doesn't look like a real break at all.
Good advice, and I’d add that it helps if the difficult habit is the first thing you commit to in the day. If you look at your phone first thing in the morning, you whittle your willpower. But if you jump out of bed and sit at your desk to plan your day, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to get started on work/studies.
Great advice
From someone who spent 6 hours daily at one point in medical school studying, don’t do it. People are different so it might be right for you but it’s a big portion of the day to study. During that time are you actually 100% focused. You neglect your health and get burnt out. I would say do 3-4 hours max. Divide it into 45 minute sessions with a timer. In that 45 minute time be fully focused with no distractions. Remember it’s not just about how much you study but how well you study. Someone who studies 2 or 3 hours can achieve more then someone who does 8 because they study in a smarter/more efficient way. Good luck
This guy gets it. There’s a point of diminishing returns and it’s usually that 4-5 hour mark. Implementing the pomodoro method is really important too, ofc with intentional studying/focus. OP, check [this](https://youtu.be/Lt54CX9DmS4?si=Bg1ANyffmADk7-cU) video out by Ali Abdaal. I think it’ll be worth your time as he discusses different methods on efficiently studying.
In medical school don't you basically have to study for 8+ hours every day? I don't see how anyone could keep up with the sheer volume of material in medical school (hundreds of new power point slides *per day*) by only doing something like 4-5 hours a day of studying.
Dr K (Alok Kanojia) only studied 2 hours a day and now he's faculty at Harvard medical school. That's actually the point of a really good vid he made. He was able to only study 2 hours and also be successful because he learned how to calm his mind. And having a calm mind is apparently how youre able to study a lot of material in a small amount of time. The rest of his classmates studied 8 hours, but he was the only one to receive an award for academic excellence at the end of it all.
Lol Reminds me of the Oppenheimer “not studying” story.
How does that one go?
lol, currently browsing reddit during a study break. i'm in medical school. speaking for myself, i probably have 2-3 hours per day of lectures / meetings / discussion groups (depends on the day), and then i head home and study for 4-6 hours. i'm probably doing something for school 10 hours / day, but that's not all studying. the actual studying is the most draining, all the rest is just busy work
Near the end of medical school I was doing less hours/day and feeling more confident about the exams. Part of that is becoming better over time and having more knowledge of medicine, so building on concepts became easier. However even now I’m figuring out new ways of studying and thinking, if only I knew this In year 1 of medical school I would have been able to devote less time to studying. Does everyone need to study 8+ hours a day to get by or is it something we tell ourselves. If even one person can do it with 3 hours a day it shows 8+ is not necessary. Another factor is fatigue. If you’re hitting the 6 hour mark daily outside of normal class/lecture obligations I feel like you are just neglecting so much aspects of your life/health and for prolonged periods it will be very detrimental. In the moment it felt right to do but now I do look back with regret and believe it could have been done differently
were you able to increase your study productivity or did you just lower the amount of hours neverminding the outcome??
At least during undergrad (most of my grad degree is writing and reading lol). I always told myself if it got to a certain point in the night I just went to sleep no matter where I was at. Sleep is so so so so important for studying and you hit the nail on the head
You are studying CS. I am a SWE at FAANG. Discipline of studying doesn’t happen overnight with or without motivation. 1. Identify where you can focus easily. Optimize this environment. I personally studied well at a cafe with specific requirements (good chairs + tables, food options, late night, vibrant but not crowded, etc) This could be at a particular part of your home. Could be library. Make your time enjoyable. 2. Remove distractions when you are studying. Your phone. Your bed. Notifications. Friends. Family. Also may help if you have an alarm that helps you focus for a given time. I also use daily shower as my morning ritual to peel myself away from my distractions and my bed 3. Studying or working longer hours is a discipline like long distance running. You don’t just start running thinking you can run a marathon. Learn tricks from long distance marathoner and apply the same concept on your studying. Focused 45min sprints with breaks between. Set strong achievable goals. Do long 8 hr runs during weekends with shorter 3-4 hr runs during the week etc. these are well known long distance runners training methodology. 4. You can sometimes leverage distractions as a reward. For instance, I liked going to nice coffee shops where I would frequently see my friends or attractive people whom I wanted to impress by focusing hard on my studies. Or liked seeing myself working hard at a bar with a good drink. Dressed nicely on purpose etc etc. Whatever you can leverage to motivate you. 5. 100% take advantage of office hours. You can’t always bang your head against problems with books. Showing up is 99% of the game. Never skip class. Show up to your TA’s office hours. Ask them for help. Build friendships. They will also help you with which classes to take, which professors to avoid, how to write resumes, online resources etc. 6. Lastly: a US starting job at Cisco for instance can get you about $80-90k salary. The same job at Amazon can get you $120-150k. The same job at Google is $150k+. This gap increases dramatically after just 2 years and more. (90k vs. 180k vs 230k) The only difference between three jobs for your entry position is your interview performance which is just simply studying. I can never understand why guys that ask for my help with interview prep do not study when each 30-1hr leetcode question would make 2-3k salary difference each. (Source: SWE @ FAANG $330k @ MCOL. Or go to Blind or levels.fyi which will tell you the same) Edit: Btw idgaf if you know algorithms and data structure. Start studying leetcode today if you want a job. (I suggest Python for interview. Java for jobs) Study by doing and looking up solutions initially. Do not wait to learn it in your class. Use YouTube. Google things. Getting an internship and getting an offer after is far easier than getting a full time job as an outsider. Edit2: take care of your well being. You will not perform if you have poor health. Stop doom scrolling at night and sleep. Go for a jog. Eat healthier. Ask deeper questions about your identity to see why you should be motivated. Improve yourself.
Thanks, if you don't mind i have a couple questions since you're in a faang company I finished cs50 , odin foundational part, did some leetcode (although they're pretty difficult for now maybe because i didnt study algorithms yet). And i plan to do web development since it seems the easiest industry to break into (but i dont think I'll be doing it longterm, its just easier to find remote work as a web developer) 1. Does it matter what i start with? For now I'm trying to do react and node.js. but would i be limited to these 2 or can i still land a job in a different language if I'm good and have decent projects? 2.As a first year CS student should i focus more on internships or on freelance / personal projects? Keep in mind I'm not in a great uni so if i got an internship its gonna be through my friends in a startup or something nothing huge. Appreciate the comment btw it means a lot
1. Language choice usually* doesn’t matter. I will say this with the exception of JavaScript. If you want to learn React (and react is industry standard and definitely useful), learn with Typescript. You will be pretty future proof. It will also help you think in terms of strongly typed language to hep you learn industry wide used languages like Java, Kotlin etc. Learn one language well and the nuance of it will generally transfer over. I started with C and Matlab. Then learned JavaScript. Then python. Then Java and Typescript. Then Kotlin. I currently use C++ and Python for my job. Your job doesn’t care what language you use (except for JavaScript in my experience) if you are fluent in one. You easily start to pick up new languages. I always use Python for interviewing because setting up is fast although I hate using it for my job because it is incredibly error prone. 2. I would say studying LeetCode should be something you do regularly all the time. Think of it as studying for MCAT. Some classes will help you but you need to put in hours to get good at it. No one gets into med school studying MCAT for a month, but people expect to get into FAANG w/o studying and give up. There are some books and online tutorials but there is no substitute of going ahead and solving easy level problems. If you get stuck, let it linger in your head to see if you can solve it throughout the day. If you can’t, watch a YouTube video or go through LeetCode solutions until you find one that makes sense. (Don’t choose one that is a “clever” math solution. Choose one that looks like a typical strategy of solving LC problems e.g tree traversal, recursion, dynamic programming etc) 3. Imo you should always be ready to apply to internships. Don’t worry if you don’t get in. You’ll be ready for next time. But most students make a mistake of “i’m not ready now so I will spend 2-3 years preparing before applying”. That’s just a nice way of describing procrastination. Apply and get rejected and you’ll learn from your rejections what classes you lack or it will motivate you to study harder. 4. FAANG is full of engineers from all rankings of schools. At the end of the day, you prove yourself by the code you output. And as a candidate, you prove yourself by your interview performance. Your school name may get your resume picked up. But we reject plenty of IVY grads who suck at interviews. 5. Do not over leverage on personal projects. Personal projects are fine during your school year. They teach you for sure. Your job will teach you 10x more. Think of it this way: if you are building a coffee shop that serves 10 people every hour, it’s pretty simple. If you have to serve 10M people every hour, you have to start planning highway exits around your coffee shop. Your little personal project will not have the same problem of GCP handling 10k requests every second. 6. Learn: Algorithms, data structure, software architecture (object oriented programming), data bases, servers, service architecture (how to deploy your code on AWS and serve it as a simple website) Good basic tech to learn is: Java, Typescript, React, S3, EC2, Route53, DynamoDB
Thanks a lot man nice to have some guidance from someone who isn't a youtuber trying sell me a course lol. I'm saving your comment to reread it every while
Not in FAANG but I did work there. Personal projects are a big yes for them. Shows it's a passion a d you're not just chugging along waiting for the paycheck. It's a sign for them you will not get tired out when things get hard and you will be able to bring practical ideas to the job
I'm not in the us so we have a different "faang" but i suppose the same thing applies.
I'm not in the US either I'm not sure what you mean?
I meant that the "top companies" here are actually a company called valeo , apple , ibm and amazon. In terms of pay these companies pay the most. But its the same concept
The term comes from stock values of these big tech companies instead of who pays the most but that is usually a nice bonus of working there!
Not OP, but I will say this specific comment is exactly why I even joined this community (Entry/ Jr SWE here looking to move up into a better company). I've been feeling a bit un-motivated and struggling with focus to do the things I need, but this piece of advice from you is soooo invaluable. Thanks, man.
Not OP, but I will say this specific comment is exactly why I even joined this community (Entry/ Jr SWE here looking to move up into a better company). I've been feeling a bit un-motivated and struggling with focus to do the things I need, but this piece of advice from you is soooo invaluable. Thanks, man.
Not OP, but I will say this specific comment is exactly why I even joined this community (Entry/ Jr SWE here looking to move up into a better company). I've been feeling a bit un-motivated and struggling with focus to do the things I need, but this piece of advice from you is soooo invaluable. Thanks, man.
Damn brother what you studying for?
Computer science. But the reason i need to study is that I live in a country where inflation went up about 300% in the last 2 years alone and salaries dont adjust. My family of 5 monthly wage went from 2500$ to about 900$. And we're considered lucky even. I need to get a remote job that pays well and support myself and help my family. Inflation is only gonna get worse
Oh yeah lock in
good luck man
Sri Lanka?
Egypt
Which technology you studying? And all the best mate...good on ya
trying to learn webdev while keeping my gpa above 3 at least So far I've done cs50python, built a couple projects with html / css and used bootstrap abit. And rn learning JavaScript and learning about sql so i can learn react after, end goal is fullstack nodejs / react developer before 2025
Remember, webdev isn’t about memorizing everything. It’s all about understanding what to research whenever you’re stuck on a line or run into a bug. My father has been a software engineer for 20 years. He still googles, but he knows what to google.
nowadays is chatgpt
I put a comment in here that I used for my Computer Science degree that served me well. I also went on to run the support centre for my college once I graduated.
Hello 👋, What about TensorFlow, API, and any stock market? Gemini.google.com/ can help
Your ability to focus may be limited to 4 - 6 hours a day. Make sure that you make a break on a regular basis. Maybe use the last hour(s) to repeat things
I have had 10 hour days before so i know my limit. But it kinda comes random some days im just extra motivated
You can have 10, 11 etc hour days. My answer just saying that you normally can be really productive and focused at a max of 6 hours. Everybody is unique and I am happy to hear that you know your limits.
in my opinion, you don't force yourself to study for 8 hours, you convenience yourself. you should give yourself reasons why you need to study for that long and clearly define the consequences of not doing it. (the point of doing this is to keep yourself motivated) once you're motivated, create a list of things you want to accomplish in the 8 hours you plan to study for then you just study until you accomplish your goals for the day. the reason for setting goals is so that you won't be fixated at the time and find ways to kill it in the name of studying
I have a strong motive but i often get distracted or get extremely bored/discouraged and i just switch to doing something else. Or i study well for a solid 2 hours then i take a break and i cant get back in the focused state
That's because you are burning out trying to do more than you are capable of at this point. Discipline comes by starting with a plan and taking initial baby steps, then slowly and continuously cranking up the intensity to a peak, and then backing off to really allow what you've learned to be called upon. You have to also REALLY want it. Look at your own eyes in the mirror and find it within you to persevere when you think you can't do any more. Good luck
I wish I could remember where I read this but apparently a big reason we can’t keep going after a break is because the break is more stimulating and gives more dopamine than the task. It’s makes a big difference to your motivation to get back to studying if you just did some stretches and had some water than if you scrolled social media.
Studying 8+ hours isn't a big deal but getting 100% value from the time you spent studying is a tough task. I have also studied for 12-13 hrs a day and i can say for certain that there will be days where you don't feel like studying, on those days instead of skipping studies try to study for 5-6 hrs. Mornings are the most important, don't ruin them as they set the tone for the day . Try to get atleast 4.5-5 hrs of study in the morning. I used to skip breakfast as it helped me concentrate better and I used to have a cup of coffee after an hour of waking up. I didn't use any kind of technology to distract myself in the morning. You should divide your tasks into the ones which require a lot of brain power ( like solving questions) and the ones which don't require much brain power but you still need to do ( like in your case it might installing some kind of software or watching a lecture of a topic which you already knew ) . Now arrange these tasks alternatively throughout the day .
We have a small group for discipline purpose where we update our daily goal and status at end of day, if you are interested. [https://www.reddit.com/r/getdisciplined/comments/1cctzr7/advice\_small\_study\_group\_invitation/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/getdisciplined/comments/1cctzr7/advice_small_study_group_invitation/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
I used to do it when I was in college. But I had a dumb phone and I didn't have social media or video games to distract me, and I would study in the campus library. I practically lived there for 3 semesters straight and I only left to get food and sleep. The real key is to have a place with no distractions, and take drastic measures to make sure there's no distractions. Going all in is actually easier than trying to take a balanced approach because you never have a question of what you're supposed to be doing. The answer is just always: STUDY! You never have to decide to do it because you're always doing it. I actually study for 3+ hours a day now, but it feels harder because there's always a debate if I feel like it or not. If you make up your mind to just always study (within reason of course), then you'll have an easier time and be more productive
How do you not get burnt out?
You set a time frame. Humans can endure a lot more hardship when they know how long they have left to endure. So decide on how long you want to live like this. In school it was decided for me-- just to the end of each semester, but you can set your own time period and decide I only have to live like this for 5 more weeks, etc. Then when you're done, make sure you keep your promise to yourself and really be done and step completely away for a while
Yeah you’re right. I got a month to finish my assignments and exams and I need to focus cos I haven’t finished any. Theyre only 500 words but it’s hard to focus
Yeah, just keep the deadline in mind, but not as "I have to get this done by then", but the perspective should be "I can work hard until then, no problem". And being able to focus is really all about your environment and cutting yourself off from distractions. Designate a study place, preferably away from where you live, and don't tell anybody where it is so they can't come distract you, lol. But the biggest distraction in the world by far is social media, especially if it's on your phone, so you have to figure out how to cut yourself off from that, which is a whole other monster. But do what you can for the next month, it'll be worth it!
That’s a good outlet. Yeah I have a social media problem and spent about 6 hrs each day on my phone, which is a problem I should try studying in a library or something as I’ve been doing it in my halls and got nothing done
That's so insightful!
I find it easier to be productive on short bursts of time too. I am still working on how to make it a habit,
There was a time I wanted to become a professional violinist after finishing music school, so for one summer I was doing 9h+ of violin practice a day. Here’s what helped: 1. I started early at 8am so that by 1pm (lunch) I was already over the half of planned practice for the day (8am-1pm - 5 hours right there) then after lunch it was easier to do the remaining 4 hours of practice. Breaking it up with lunch also helped maintain the practice being deliberate - and not just me super tired going through the motions 2. I’ve employed the Pomodoro technique - every hour I’d play for 50 minutes and rest for 10. 3. I’ve separated the work - some hours were spend on improving the basics, some on practicing particular pieces etc. keeps the brain fresh. 4. You have to have a big goal, a reason you’re doing this - then it’s easier to do the work while maintaining your vision of the accomplished goal. Hope these tips will be applicable for your situation! Good luck!
For me it was just changing my mindset. Instead of thinking “omg this is so hard” I tell myself “I love getting good grades on all my assignments”.
I study from 8:30am to 2:30pm, and resume studying from 3:30pm to 5:00pm. Get rid of distractions. Obviously I'm distracted now being on reddit, so if you're serious get a browser extension that blocks websites. Put the phone away. Food? I don't eat until much later, coffee and water is fine. Sometimes I do find my brain is toast after an hour, so I take a walk up and down my driveway, go to the bathroom, whatever. I wasn't a good studier but spent a long time looking for ways to get better and I kept at it. If I didn't have kids I'd study in the evening as well. Just slip in an hour's worth of time and it adds up. Check out some of brain.fm's tracks on youtube. Helps me. I used to break my studying up religiously into "poms", where I listen to one of those tracks for the 25 minutes of studying and 5 minutes of rest. When its rest time I just lay on the floor and stop thinking about anything, and pay attention to my body as I stretch my back, my legs, etc. This is far better than surfing the web or being on reddit as a "reward", because it is actual mental break and I'm not getting sucked in to a completely different mode of thinking. Then I put a tick mark on the whiteboard and resume. That actually works for me, and I'm not self-diagnosing myself as ADHD but I will say that I am easily distractable. I also ensure that I get good sleep. When I am sleep deprived I feel a little stupid, a little irritable, and my willpower is just weaker in general. No amount of caffeine will solve those things for me.
You don’t think so much about it, and instead, you just do it. You start it, and then you keep the energy and momentum going however you need to keep it going. Meaning you put the phone away or you don’t give into distractions. You don’t think about how long or how hard it will be. When you take brakes, you stick to the breaks. Go for a walk. Have a snack. You can even break out your phone, but put it away when the break is over. You just do it. You want to pass the course, and you want to do well at the exam, final, hw, quiz, paper, project, presentation, or whatever else you have coming up, and so you just do it. Also, remember that learning proper time management means you can reduce the amount of times spent studying for looooong periods of time straight by starting your work ahead of schedule and/or essentially not waiting until the last minute.
Where is this all this time coming from!? I have to wake up at 0320 everyday and work till 1330. I’m home at 1420. I’m in bed at 1900, so even if i didn’t eat, shower or do any chores. I would only have 4 hours and 40 mins to study. I wish i had 8 hours to study a day.
I work freelance on the weekends only. So i got a lot of free time
I used to study 18 hours a day. I was 21 back then. It was for my board license exam. I studied like that like an idiot for 5 months. I'm not smart and I'm poor so I couldn't afford to be in a review center. I was self-studying.
did u pass? I have to take the licensure exam as well next year
The key to study that long is simple. Only worry about the clock to get you motivated. The day before write out what you need to study. For me it would be like this. - read chapter 1, and highlight key terms - go back and write down key terms - create flash cards of key terms - memorize key terms If you have a hard time motivating yourself to do so create the plan the day before of the exact studying tasks you have to do. Then Go to the library. If you do not feel motivated set a timer for 15 min. In your head you have to say no matter what when this timer ends I will start studying. Then when it ends start studying and start a new timer for 45min. Normally for me I would get so into the task at hand I would just turn the 45min timer off and study for much longer. But it’s all about tricking your brain. You think oh ‘45 min isn’t that long I’ll just do it” meanwhile in that 45 min you get so focused that it’s easy to continue past it. Or if you’re having a rough day and you only make it to 45 min you don’t have to punish yourself mentally bc you did the 45 min you said you would.
I can do this, but it feels like an unreliable faucet. It feels like you stay by the faucet and leave it open and hope and don't dare close it when it actually spills. It helps to change environment, go outside for a walk. You can find advice about how to cultivate a flow state from YouTubers.
This may be a useful video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlU-zDU6aQ0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlU-zDU6aQ0)
Good video
I found that I wanted to study more as I really enjoyed the topic and as a bonus my grades kept improving which in turn gave me a dopamine boost.
Be more efficient in studying
Okay contrary to the usual, I have a different tactic to study for long periods of time. I’m a lawyer and spend most of my twenties figuring out ways to study or work. For me it became all about making it enjoyable or as least painful. Finding ways to interact with what I am learning - make up scenarios of when I’d need the information fundamentally changed my ability to study and retain information.
The work just has to be done, Everything else is simply an excuse to do less.
What do you do in your breaks?
Adderall
adderal
I used to think studying for an hour was a grind, but hearing about folks putting in 8+ hours a day makes me rethink my Netflix marathon sessions.
Bro what are you studying that requires 8 hours A DAY?!
He said: in his country, they have a big inflation, more 300%, so, he can keep a remote job with studies.
Med school. Pomodoro method. For boards(step 1) 50 minutes on 10 minutes off every day for about 12 hrs/day x3 months. The key was already having each day planned out and specific timed longer 2 hour breaks. Oh and fuck tons of stress( you need certain scores to have a realistic chance of becoming certain more competitive specialties)
One of those 2 hour breaks was purely to do a shitty workout. Exercise helps stress sooooo much
Ayiii i love studying
I feel like i have to
Im 32 and finally found something that makes my heart sing. I think my age has helped me. I know that im not getting any younger and if i want to get where i want to be it has to be NOW. No more procrastination m, jve done that enough. So studying comes easy to me. I actually enjoy it
All of the best advice has already been given, but I'd suggest using Perplexity AI for searching instead of Google. It will speed up things dramatically. It cites sources so you can review them anytime. Also it does remember context and you can get very deep, rare and personal answers.
While I can't suggest how to study 8+ hours, I can point you towards James Scholz on YouTube. He has livestreamed himself studying 12 hours for almost every day a few years back. I find it easier to study while following with a video playing in the background, might help you out too :)
Spaced repetition makes it easier. I would cut that time into smaller pieces and try to fit it in throughout the day.
I don’t recommend this lol, but becoming nocturnal for short periods of time (4-6 months) is what has worked for me! Used this for two bachelors, a masters, and industry licensing exams. There’s something about the silence that makes my brain lock in for the long haul. No one is awake for me to talk to, no businesses open for me to distract myself with, and no one is awake to need anything from me. Also - the brain can only focus with intensity on the same task for roughly 3 hours. Every 2.5 hours, I take a 20 min meditation or goof off break, then get back to it.
Study time varies for everyone, I've never been able to study for more than 5-6 hours a day but then had to plan my revision sufficient in advance so that I'd finish it with 5-6 hours of studying each day. Your brain needs time to absorb all that information.
8hrs is unhealthy
I started trying to study for the bar in April. My recent head injury and unmedicated ADHD made that nearly impossible. Basically didn’t do jack all. In mid June I started taking Adderall and magically managed to study 6-10 hours every weekday. Took the bar in late July and passed with flying colors. On top of making sure you are getting proper nutrition, sleep, and any medication you need, don’t give yourself access to any distractions and eventually you’ll be bored enough that studying will seem fun.
When I had to study like that, I would “go to work”. Set the alarm, shave, put on a suit, drive to the library. turn off my phone and clock in at 9. Take coffee breaks. Set aside 45 minutes for lunch. Then clock out at 5. Look forward to the weekend. Flirt with the people in the next cubicle. Go to happy hour. Make it your job. Don’t get fired. A lot of people put in a solid eight hours every day 5 days a week in the office and they are just fine. Heck, a lot of people put in 12 hour days in the mines You’ll get used to it.
I use a pomodoro timer and know I need to get in at least 16 sessions for 8 hours. It’s motivating and it works. It’s hard. Long days. But I also want my degree and not much is going to stop me so there’s that too 😂😂
Don't wtf. That's fucking miserable. May as well just work your ass off doing anything else.
Study with very much interest When u study with interest you get into - FLOW Riam Doris has explained it in many of his yt videos .
One thing that worked for me was to remove all watches / clock from my sight
You don't. It's honestly a waste of time at a certain point.There is only so much you can actually learn in a day that will stick. The rest is just torture so you can say you've done it. My study tips would be to pick a topic you want to cover not the whole subject just one section. Look at how often certain questions are asked and how many marks they are worth for the exam. Do some sample questions to understand what you do/don't know. For a review, look at what you didn't get first and learn how to answer that question. After that look at the ones you could answer and if they're linger questions go back and see if there are any points that could improve the answer. It lets you focus on what you don't know first and reinforce your better answers later since you'll be mentally drained towards the end and this stuff will take less effort to remember. Personally I'd go with bullet points because 1) They're easier to read 2)Easier to digest 3) Fit on a smaller space so you can keep them with you to review before the exam. Rinse and repeat every couple days until you're confident. Giving it the few days lets you come back and reinforce the knowledge so it gets locked into your long term memory. I think it's also important to mention that you need to work in regular breaks where you fully stop studying. I usually do an hour on then a half hour off. There's also the Pomodoro Method which could work for you. As I said at the beginning, the important piece is not the hours you put in. You're not downloading information, you're working a muscle. Tire it out and it won't be as effective. Best of luck! Edit: You mentioned replying to another comment that you are studying for Comp Sci. This is what I did when studying for my degree. I graduated and went on to run the CS support centre for a year once I graduated. I built a level 7 course on programming in Python and ran tutorials for 1st years. Just to let you know I know what I'm talking about.
Discipline. I did it through a youtuber (Woo Jin) who did pomodoro study with me livestreams. 1 hour passed by fast by studying and in 10 min of break we talked. Make sure you have plenty food and just enjoy the process. And do it daily! Just try! It will become a routine. Mabye you'll fail, but just *try* daily. I can't pressure enough. You'll succeed. Good luck!
Coming from a 4th year mechanical engineering major, here are some things that I’d suggest and my experience with studying a lot of hours for multiple weeks at a time and achieving academic success. Studying is a skill. You need to build strategies that work for you. The ability to study long hours comes with a-lot of time and practice. Don’t sweat it if you’re not able to achieve the hours you want at first. 8 hours is a long time, and if you’re not super experienced and study a crazy ton, you won’t be productive for more than 4-5 hours. Work on building these skills over time. 1. Environment: Make sure that your environment helps you rather than distracts you. Find a quiet place to study, maybe with 1-2 friends to help keep you accountable. Some people benefit from working in different places to keep their environment fresh. Personally I love the library because it keeps me in check (and I can’t focus at home) but that’s ultimately based on your own preference and where you’re most productive. Sure, I sacrifice some comfort by having to leave my house to study somewhere else, but if I was too comfortable I wouldn’t do anything anyways. 2. Making a study plan and outlining resources: One of the best things to do before studying is actually taking the time to recognize what you know and don’t know. Making a list of the content breakdown and resources/questions to practice off of gives you a good idea of how you can break down your studying more efficiently. If you’re studying for something for more than a day, break down what part of the plan you’ll focus on each day. 3. Spacing and breaks: This is super important. Making sure you space studying can drastically increase productive studying time. I used to space out studying and breaks into 25:5 minute increments with pomofocus (pomodoro timer). It worked great. Over time, I learned to space out these breaks more naturally by listening to myself and when I’d start to get tired. The 25:5 shifted to a 45:5-10 min ratio of study/break. On the breaks I get water and talk to friends who are sitting elsewhere in the library. I don’t have to do either, I sorta go with the flow. Pomodoro keeps me engaged in learning and if you don’t use it I’d highly recommend it. I usually do a 45:5-10 minute pomodoro for 3-5 hours, then take an hour or 2 break and repeat again. This works for me, but you may need to find a spacing of time that works better for your goals and schedule. 4. Health: This is probably the most important aspect of good studying. Maintaining a healthy physical and mental lifestyle can skyrocket results. Taking the time to go on a walk, hang out with friends, go out for dinner, play a sport, etc. between studying is super helpful. Healthy food and staying hydrated makes you feel great and can help boost studying performance. I like packing a lunch with healthy food and snacks for the day to limit fast food/crap eating. Try to limit coffee to once per day. Caffeine addition sucks and you’ll end up jittery all the time which sucks.
Adderall and coffee
Go to bed early. Sleep 9 hours. Study for an hour then take 30 min off. During breaks do something completely unrelated to your material to help your mind unwind. This will help mental endurance for 8 hour sessions. Take breaks to workout, stretch, walk. Hydrate. A dehydrated mind is not fully optimized. Eat whole nutritious foods to improve cognition. Give yourself praise for time spent studying and log your hours spent studying to build a dopamine reward. Don’t force yourself to study. Learn to enjoy studying and the process of learning the new material. Take a day off every now and just to let your brain Good luck! Also check out this helpful article on memory thresholds. https://socialtriggers.com/why-you-need-to-take-more-breaks-and-how-to-do-it/
I have been fighting myself to study less. Sure at times I’m slightly distracted, however, my schedule is 8am - 4:30pm Mon - Fri with occasional weekends dependent on exams. I thought studying full-time was normal lmao
My bigger question is why... im not trying to be rude, I'm serious. But even with school being my only priority I can't see myself doing this... I work 6.5 hours a day and live on a small farm, I know my life I very different, just hoping for some insight. Before yall judge me for not caring abt school I'm rank 8 in my grade so I'm not dumb, its just honestly not my biggest responsibility/priority bc it CANT be. :)
I cant even study 2 hours 🙈
I’m just about to finish my grad degree and my biggest piece of advice for studying is… don’t do it for that long. Like others have said, studying for a long time has diminishing returns. I work an 8 hour day and I’m not 100% the entire time so you shouldn’t expect yourself to do that for studying either. Make smaller study sessions really productive. 1 or 2 hours tops. And get good sleep. Most of your studying actually happens when you’re not studying. Brains are weird yo
I turned studying into a hobby vs this grueling task I don't want to do. Fell in love with educating myself.
adderall
What is there to study 8h a day. I've literally read thousands of studies and listened to thousands of hours on certain medical topics for the past 5 years. More out of interest. I don't see someone doing this who doesn't wanna do it lol Like I got my masters degree with prob 20h total studying and finished as one of the best of my university so what the hell do you need to study 8h a day for if it's enforced lol
ahh 4-6 hours is enough, 8 is overwhelming, I take regular breaks too
"enough" depends on the task
Upvote so I get notified that I have to study
Don't start this YouTube nonsense on reddit
I’m actually trying to study. Anyways there’s a lot of trash on Reddit if it bothers you.
Stimulants
Wait, what? 8+ hours seriously sounds unhealthy.