r/StudyStruggle

For some context, I’m currently in my final year of high-school. I do 8 subjects (science, which is basically physics and chemistry combined at my school, biology, IT, business studies, mathematics, English, Life Orientation and an additional language). I have mid terms in less than a week. In fact, I write the following Monday from the time I’m writing this post. So far I’ve been scoring 70-80% for my tests in the previous terms

I was initially planning on studying the moment the term began however from the very first day up until now my school has been handing out assignments and there were lots of mini tests in between that I had to study for as well. As a result, I only had the weekend that recently passed and this week to prepare adequately for the next 3 weeks of exams. Initially I tried studying in intervals. Like I’d study math and science for two hours and then spend an hour on subjects like IT and business. Basically, the subjects I need to focus on most I’d invest more time into and also the ones that I’m writing first next week. Which just so happens to be math, physics and a lot of my heavy content subjects back to back.

So I tried to run a benchmark for some of my subjects: Id do a past paper that was marked by my older sister, then I would go on to looking at where I went wrong or which topics I made the most mistakes in and prioritise those ones, leaving the ones I know most on the slower end. For the past 3-4 days I’ve been studying past papers for my subjects and analysing mistakes I’ve made. I also tried to revise on some work or go over topics I need to do (especially for science since I’ve only started taking it as an additional subject around the end of last year so there’s a moderate gap in what I’m doing as well). The issue at hand is that I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to get enough done to do well during these upcoming exams: I aim for at least an average of 80%+ for all my subjects but reflecting back on what I’ve covered so far vs the time I have left I’m not feeling too confident.

Another issue is the amount of times I get to study. I get home around 7 in the evening because I have 2-4 hours of tuition for math and science. When I get home I try to revise over my work I’ve done and then study my other subjects (while trying to complete assignments in between as well since those are due in the middle of my exams). Which is why I went to bed at 3am for the past 2 days so far. I feel like I’m faltering slowly and while I was at tuition I couldn’t even write a thing without my mind blanking out for a few moments. Energy supplements don’t help anymore either. Not to mention, my home environment isn’t the best right now, which is one of the reasons as to why I’m trying to score so high in my mid terms (so that I could leave and study somewhere preferably outside my home country )

So I really am not sure what to do anymore. I’m trying to search for a suitable strategy at least or some advice as to how I could better manage what I’m doing. I know this sounds bothersome or ridiculous but if possible I’d like some feedback as to how I could develop some better study habits please. Also, sorry if this is all weirdly worded, I’m on the verge of passing out so I’m going to go take a nap for a bit. Many thanks!

Not just “tips,” but something that actually changed your academic life — a mindset shift, habit, fear, routine, quote, realization, medication, environment… anything.
I’m at the stage where I keep procrastinating until panic takes over, and I’m curious what finally worked for people who managed to break that cycle and study their ass off consistently.

i see so many posts about people burning out on active recall, and I realized it’s usually because we’re taught to use it for rote memorization. If you’re just staring at a flashcard trying to recite a definition word-for-word, you’re going to hate studying within twenty minutes. It’s exhausting and, honestly, pretty boring.

The shift that worked for me was moving away from 'what is this' to 'how does this work.' Instead of just flashcards, I started doing 'closed-book braindumps.' I’ll read a section, close everything, and try to draw a rough map of how those concepts connect on a blank sheet of paper. If I can’t explain the \*why\* behind a concept to an imaginary student, I realize I don't actually know it yet.

It feels much harder in the moment, but it’s way more efficient because you actually encode the info rather than just recognizing it. If you're tired of feeling like a human hard drive or getting frustrated with AI tools that do the thinking for you, try the 'map' method. It actually makes the process feel like solving a puzzle instead of just grinding.

After looking a bit in the Reddit I see a lot of people saying that setting goals and simply motivating themselves with words and dreams is a good starter to study. But that doesn't work for me.
It feels like nothing really works out well to make me start studying or if I do I'm only focused for a very short period of time before losing it for the whole day.
I'm at the point where my brain would rather fix a spot on the wall for hours than move on the work I have to do.
Does anyone have tricks / tips to really make me work? Deadlines don't even make the cut anymore...

I used Studley for a couple months but its too bugged and my cortisol level is spiking. For that price i cannot see pdf uploads failign the 50% of the times. Also more than once I lost all my notes out of nowhere and there was no way to recover the files. Is there any similar app for quiz generators, AI note taking, flashcards, etc etc? Thanks!

Edit: I tried to use some of the ones you suggested but for now the one that convinced me is TurboAI, I can have everything in the same app, quizzes, summaries, maps, flashcards (is also pretty viral on Ig, I saw a lot of videos)

I have been using AI for learning for about a year now. It's really quite helpful for breaking down concepts and generating flashcards and the like, though I am interested in hearing about how other people have been using it: what has worked well, what hasn't?

Hey everyone, I’m currently building a tool to help students prep for exams, and I wanted to get some real world feedback before I go too deep.

I’ve always been the type of person who just reads through my notes—it feels productive and it's how I've always done it. But lately, I keep hearing from friends that quizzing is the only way to go.

I want to make sure this project actually solves a problem for you guys.

• Do you prefer the "Read & Review" method, or are you big on Flashcards/Quizzes?
• If you use quizzes, what is the most annoying part about making them?
• If you just read, is it because quizzing feels like too much effort?

Would love to hear how you guys actually study.

So I've recently been getting not so good grades on my tests. I don't really know what happened but I can't stand it. Do you guys have any study habits/tips that can help?

I can't convince myself to study, guys. I'm a third-year medical student and most of the time I can't even start studying. I'm tired of this shit . For example, I got an Radiology exam today, and despite the ease of this Radio for me and with a lot of time to study, I couldn't get up and start. Instead, I'm sitting on the bed, scrolling on Instagram and TikTok. I went out of the exam and I'm broken. The questions were very easy. Even if I looked at the pages of the book before going, I would have gotten this excellent mark. Please, medical students, if you went through this situation, tell me how to pass it.🫩🫩

This might sound weird, but I feel like I studied better before I started getting into productivity content.
At some point I went down the rabbit hole of timers, different apps and their setups, “perfect” study routines, YouTube study-with-me videos, etc.

And instead of actually studying more, I started:
optimizing my setup instead of starting work

switching methods every few days

feeling guilty if I didn’t “study efficiently”

spending more time planning than doing

It got to a point where studying felt like a system I had to perfect, not just something I do.
Now I’m wondering if anyone else had the same experience - did productivity content actually help you, or did it just make studying more complicated?

Writing a paper on romantic love in terms of sociology

I’m really looking forward to writing this paper. However, i’m having difficulty coming up with points that would be interesting or points that don’t move away from the point. i must compare and contrast macrosociology and microsociology in terms of romantic love. any ideas?

here’s some of my ideas ( the fun/interesting route) of discussion

the romance industry
“ cuffing season” climate sociology and consumerism

also, why is coming up with a thesis so difficult?!

I can do work at school. Mostly because I'm usually given one task at the time and the teacher is in the room watching.

Now I have several tests coming up, I have homework due in a few days. I promised myself I'd study today and what have I done? Well anything but that.

I just can't make myself search info about martyrs and saints and I could not care less about understanding cricket rules and I don't give a fuck about ATP and ADP and what they do in our bodies.

What am I supposed to do?? These are all gonna be graded and I feel like I have a curse on me that stops me from actually doing anything. Help!!!!!