I need help with studies - General

Hello Facepunch, I have aproblem. I have a very big test coming in 2 to 3 weeks that I need to pass. This test determines whether or not I am eligible to further my studies and graduate, the problem I am facing right now is the massive lack of of motivation to do anything about it. I have been slacking off the entire time I'm in school, ever since primary. I have been getting terrible results which disappoint my parents and put me in low classes. I have told myself that I will address this issue, but due to me being highly unmotivated and not passionate about studying have put me in a very sticky situation. I have kept telling myself that I would do something about my problem, yet I fail to do so. I am getting increasingly worried and I haven't been able to sleep properly in the past few weeks. I need advice on how to force myself to study, today I tried opening up some exercise books and past year questions to attempt to do them. But as soon as I read the first questions, I became uninterested and instead linger on using my phone for hours on end. I have ADHD and have trouble focusing in class, I have been sleeping in all my classes, and not doing any homework that is given to me. My results are always below average with multiple F's. My parents have tried helping me by giving the best home tutors around, yet I still get below average results. I tend to forget easily what I have learned, and I easily get confused and give up almost immediately when faced with a difficult question. My recent trial results weren't stellar either, the subjects that were mandatory for me to pass I failed. In order for me to pass high school and graduate and also be accepted into colleges or universities, is to get at least credits, which are C's for all my subjects. The only subject I can ace, is English. I take 9 subjects, and I need to pass all of them. So Facepunch, I need urgent help, I'm doing everything I can at the moment to rectify this issue of mine, for the sake of my future. I'm trying to force myself to study, but it doesn't seem to work. I still get distracted and leave my books empty, as of now I am stressed out. I know that it is my fault, yet I cannot seem to find a way to fix this problem. Any tips ?

Internet off phone away unless you need to look up how to do a question. Id recommend making a music playlist to listen to, something instrumental which can help you focus. Studying isnt really fun but it is necessary. As you have said this test determines the future youve just got to buckle down and deal with it. If all else fails get someone to help you study, a parent or whatever. Give them the textbook and they can ask you the questions, or even just sit in the kitchen and do their own thing while you study to keep you on track.

[QUOTE=Rhenae;46171730]Internet off phone away unless you need to look up how to do a question. Id recommend making a music playlist to listen to, something instrumental which can help you focus. Studying isnt really fun but it is necessary. As you have said this test determines the future youve just got to buckle down and deal with it. If all else fails get someone to help you study, a parent or whatever. Give them the textbook and they can ask you the questions, or even just sit in the kitchen and do their own thing while you study to keep you on track.[/QUOTE] Thing is, I can get distracted very easily. You can lock me in a room with nothing but books and I'll still find a way to not study. This is pretty serious.

[QUOTE=AtomicDongo;46171757]Thing is, I can get distracted very easily. You can lock me in a room with nothing but books and I'll still find a way to not study. This is pretty serious.[/QUOTE] Your making excuses and allowing yourself to be distracted you either need some ADD meds or to suck it up, your only other option is to fail. That is part of why I suggest getting someone to basically sit over your shoulder and keep you on track. No one can just assimilate the information into your brain with no focus or effort, you need to be the one to put that in.

What Rhenae said, basically. Unless you have somebody to look over your shoulder and/or the right meds, you're not going to go anywhere with studying for anything. To be fair as far as I'm concerned it might already be too late unless you seriously buckle down and try to read something, and get somebody to ensure that you're staying on focus. Normally I would recommend seeing a counselor or a psychiatrist, but at the current time there probably isn't enough time for that. But if you can spare one day just for the sake of it, it might be helpful, but we won't get any permanent results out of a one day session. Staring at a book without really assimilating what you're looking at means you may as well not look at the book at all, nothing is going to go into your head. Understanding is the key to all learning, and that requires down-home hard work and proper effort. Until you understand that there's nothing else that can be done.

Alright, as a CS Major, I often have to spend several hours at the library, diligently studying. I, too, understand what it means to lack motivation. When I was in highschool I never did my work and I'm paying for it at college. I've found this works: 1. Go to a neutral place. This means the library, starbucks, etc. Somewhere where you can sort of control the environment, and by that I mean you don't have a tv at the library and you can choose whether or not to bring your phone. 2. A good soundtrack Don't listen to music you like, listen to music that would make a good soundtrack to what you're studying. As a CS major, I like to think of the future, so I listen to calm, yet future-y sounding music. I prefer the Analogue: A Hate Story soundtrack and its sequel, Hate Plus. 3. Want it You can't accomplish anything unless you want to accomplish it. You need to know exactly what you want, and then you need to want it. Too many people drop out of college before finishing because they never knew what they wanted to do in college in the first place. Warning signs of "not knowing what you want" include: Majoring in Communications, Psychology, Liberal arts, or Fine arts. If you find yourself considering these fields, consider taking a gap year to really figure out what you want to do. Then, after knowing what you want, you must want it. This, I can't help you with.

To be honest I have ADHD and it didn't help my studies one bit when I did my associates degree. I did okay in my English classes and stuff but not science like anatomy and physiology. So since I want to go to nursing school I decided I needed to take a break and study more BEFORE I go back to do my bachelors degree to be an RN. I ended up spending a couple hundred on video lectures for classes like nursing pharmacology (kissprep.com). And also purchased used copies of The Great Courses dvd's. It has been a big help so far and is making me more comfortable with the classes that I can see being a big problem for me. Just don't quit and follow your dreams even if it takes you a while to get there and don't let anyone tell you you can't do it!

[QUOTE=AtomicDongo;46171674]Hello Facepunch, I have aproblem. I have a very big test coming in 2 to 3 weeks that I need to pass. This test determines whether or not I am eligible to further my studies and graduate, the problem I am facing right now is the massive lack of of motivation to do anything about it. I have been slacking off the entire time I'm in school, ever since primary. I have been getting terrible results which disappoint my parents and put me in low classes. I have told myself that I will address this issue, but due to me being highly unmotivated and not passionate about studying have put me in a very sticky situation. I have kept telling myself that I would do something about my problem, yet I fail to do so. I am getting increasingly worried and I haven't been able to sleep properly in the past few weeks. I need advice on how to force myself to study, today I tried opening up some exercise books and past year questions to attempt to do them. But as soon as I read the first questions, I became uninterested and instead linger on using my phone for hours on end. I have ADHD and have trouble focusing in class, I have been sleeping in all my classes, and not doing any homework that is given to me. My results are always below average with multiple F's. My parents have tried helping me by giving the best home tutors around, yet I still get below average results. I tend to forget easily what I have learned, and I easily get confused and give up almost immediately when faced with a difficult question. My recent trial results weren't stellar either, the subjects that were mandatory for me to pass I failed. In order for me to pass high school and graduate and also be accepted into colleges or universities, is to get at least credits, which are C's for all my subjects. The only subject I can ace, is English. I take 9 subjects, and I need to pass all of them. So Facepunch, I need urgent help, I'm doing everything I can at the moment to rectify this issue of mine, for the sake of my future. I'm trying to force myself to study, but it doesn't seem to work. I still get distracted and leave my books empty, as of now I am stressed out. I know that it is my fault, yet I cannot seem to find a way to fix this problem. Any tips ?[/QUOTE] -One of the mods will happily give you a 2 to 3 week ban. -Download self-control apps that will block you out of whatever websites you choose for however long you set it to. -Study somewhere that isn't your house, go a library or Starbucks or something - Listen to music that doesn't have lyrics, or at least has lyrics in a language you don't know to help you focus. -Study in blocks of time. Study for 25 minutes, take a 5 minute break, rinse wash and repeat. -Read a paragraph or two and then stop and summarize it to yourself to make sure you understand what you just read. -Teach one of your classmates the material you study (one of the absolute best ways to make sure you know something is to teach it to someone else) -Think of the consequences of not studying. Idk about anyone else but I work best under pressure. When you convince yourself that failure isn't an option, all you can do is succeed. -Don't sit and think to yourself "Woe is me I have ADHD that is why I can't do my work" but rather think to yourself "How do I overcome this" -Try to come up with some sort of deal with your parents where you get some sort of reward for every A you bring home (you shouldn't have to do this, doing well for yourself should be motivation enough, but whatever works works) Best of luck, knock em dead

Ultimately, it's an intrinsic motivation thing. YOU have to decide to do it because you want the rewards of school and want to avoid the negative consequences. Easier said than done, I know, and I struggle with it myself. But the only thing that ever got me up and made me accomplish something was wanting it for myself.

[QUOTE=urbanmonkey;46176014][B]-One of the mods will happily give you a 2 to 3 week ban.[/B] -Download self-control apps that will block you out of whatever websites you choose for however long you set it to. -Study somewhere that isn't your house, go a library or Starbucks or something - Listen to music that doesn't have lyrics, or at least has lyrics in a language you don't know to help you focus. -Study in blocks of time. Study for 25 minutes, take a 5 minute break, rinse wash and repeat. -Read a paragraph or two and then stop and summarize it to yourself to make sure you understand what you just read. -Teach one of your classmates the material you study (one of the absolute best ways to make sure you know something is to teach it to someone else) -Think of the consequences of not studying. Idk about anyone else but I work best under pressure. When you convince yourself that failure isn't an option, all you can do is succeed. -Don't sit and think to yourself "Woe is me I have ADHD that is why I can't do my work" but rather think to yourself "How do I overcome this" -Try to come up with some sort of deal with your parents where you get some sort of reward for every A you bring home (you shouldn't have to do this, doing well for yourself should be motivation enough, but whatever works works) Best of luck, knock em dead[/QUOTE] no they won't. your inability to have self control is not a facepunch moderator's problem. asking for ban is 99/100 equal to a permaban

[QUOTE=LordCrypto;46178259]no they won't. your inability to have self control is not a facepunch moderator's problem. asking for ban is 99/100 equal to a permaban[/QUOTE] I don't know where you're getting that from, I've seen it before.

[QUOTE=urbanmonkey;46178888]I don't know where you're getting that from, I've seen it before.[/QUOTE] [img]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-PLu_F8h32yE/VDS8BX3cweI/AAAAAAAANOg/Ofw-rF9rzvg/s0/2014-10-07_21-22-35.png[/img]

Two words: Study buddy. A friend works great but sometimes you have to break out girls/whatever sex you're attracted to, start asking random, cute girls to study and you'll start studying a bit because now your libido is behind it too. Basically find a way to get what actually motivates you behind your studying. Often I'm worried about my social life so I turn studying into a social function on a occasion and I get a lot done because I feel more content. That part of me that wants to focus on something else immediately hones in on the other person and then streamlines right back onto the material. Naturally this'll end up with at least a half hour of the two of you dicking off but it still cements the material well. Also don't study right before the test, do practice problems. edit: Also I have ADD so I know where you're coming from. That antsy feeling? It actually isn't going nowhere. If you get up and go do something biggish, like go out on a weekend and have a lot of fun or do that thing that would lock you down for 3 hours like go to a game, fuck I don't know, but sitting down and trying not to think about it will fuck you over. Feeling chipotle? Go to chipotle and study there, the interesting thing about the urges is that it is actually satisfied once you actually fucking do something pretty enjoyable instead of giving into it in tiny spurts and blots. So try and make a natural schedule to your life for the next few weeks. You might start budgeting time so you can do the fun stuff and it'll grow into time management.

I have issues with studying aswell, but as everyone keeps stating, you need to buckle down and do it. Embrace the suck! I was never the best in Highschool but i sought to change that in college, which required lots of effort, for me atleast. I find that acting like you have to teach the material you are learning helps a bit in focusing.

[QUOTE=proboardslol;46173685]Alright, as a CS Major, I often have to spend several hours at the library, diligently studying. I, too, understand what it means to lack motivation. When I was in highschool I never did my work and I'm paying for it at college. I've found this works: 1. Go to a neutral place. This means the library, starbucks, etc. Somewhere where you can sort of control the environment, and by that I mean you don't have a tv at the library and you can choose whether or not to bring your phone.[/QUOTE] This. This is the only way I can study. I literally have to force myself out of my house to some cafe where I don't know anybody then put some earplugs in and get to work. For me, anything that's 10-15 minutes away (whatever the form of travel) is enough for me to be able to block out everything else that could be distracting from home. Personally, I suggest earplugs because then you aren't playing around with your music player to get a better track, but whatever works for you. Personally, I can't focus if there's any noise. [editline]8th October 2014[/editline] By the way guys, I'm kind of glad to see I'm not alone here in this all. It's really encouraging seeing other posts with the exact same issues.

[QUOTE=LordCrypto;46179434][img]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-PLu_F8h32yE/VDS8BX3cweI/AAAAAAAANOg/Ofw-rF9rzvg/s0/2014-10-07_21-22-35.png[/img][/QUOTE] The fuck? I swear I've seen multiple temp requested bans before. Then again I wouldn't trust what a retard like craptasket is saying anyway lol [editline]9th October 2014[/editline] What exams are you taking? [highlight](User was banned for this post ("Flaming" - AshMan55))[/highlight]

[QUOTE=FlashMarsh;46186467]The fuck? I swear I've seen multiple temp requested bans before. Then again I wouldn't trust what a retard like craptasket is saying anyway lol [editline]9th October 2014[/editline] What exams are you taking?[/QUOTE] It depended on the whim of the mod in question from what I know. Though of late most ban requests are being met with perma's in general.

[QUOTE=FlashMarsh;46186467]The fuck? I swear I've seen multiple temp requested bans before. Then again I wouldn't trust what a retard like craptasket is saying anyway lol [editline]9th October 2014[/editline] What exams are you taking?[/QUOTE] I've seen the opposite. I've never seen a requested ban that is not permanent. One option is to download a website blocking addon with an addon locking function.

have you ever seen a psychiatrist and considered the possibility of ADHD medications?

Working in a public place can help you keep focused onto your studies. A lot of people don't want to be "that guy who's been sitting there for hours" and thus are motivated to get work done(at least most of it) to get out of there.

Have you ever considered working out? - It motivates me a lot.

Actually, one suggestion that I would like to give. There should be no such thing as motivation, because motivation is a quick feeling. You should put yourself in tight control and build discipline.

[QUOTE=proboardslol;46173685]Alright, as a CS Major, I often have to spend several hours at the library, diligently studying. I, too, understand what it means to lack motivation. When I was in highschool I never did my work and I'm paying for it at college. I've found this works: 1. Go to a neutral place. This means the library, starbucks, etc. Somewhere where you can sort of control the environment, and by that I mean you don't have a tv at the library and you can choose whether or not to bring your phone. 2. A good soundtrack Don't listen to music you like, listen to music that would make a good soundtrack to what you're studying. As a CS major, I like to think of the future, so I listen to calm, yet future-y sounding music. I prefer the Analogue: A Hate Story soundtrack and its sequel, Hate Plus. 3. Want it You can't accomplish anything unless you want to accomplish it. You need to know exactly what you want, and then you need to want it. Too many people drop out of college before finishing because they never knew what they wanted to do in college in the first place. Warning signs of "not knowing what you want" include: Majoring in Communications, Psychology, Liberal arts, or Fine arts. If you find yourself considering these fields, consider taking a gap year to really figure out what you want to do. Then, after knowing what you want, you must want it. This, I can't help you with.[/QUOTE] Everything here. I've built up a discipline to work on my good computer over time, a few years ago I'd only be able to study on my craptop due to lack of entertaining material on it. I've basically got facepunch open every hour I'm awake, so five minutes of reading every half hour keeps me motivated. Soundtracks are really good. Having foreign or no lyrics allows the music to slip into the background because you aren't focused on it. I'm starting CS next year at uni, so I've always got good music going for my IT studies. The [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n61Rboyf1s8"]Steins[/URL];[URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtLkJnQa3Bk"]Gate[/URL] OST is probably my favourite for maths and IT, you're dead on for thing about calm futuristic noise.

If you have a good friend who's good at studying, ask him/her to help you. One of my friends basically knew very little about physics (and we had it on A level), but I studied with him for five days (basically nothing but solving physics problems) and he passed at the high end of the mean grade. If you got someone to keep you to the fire, it'll definitely help. If they're great at the subject, you can also basically forgo the internet connection and ask them instead.

hi

Hope you can find a solution to your issues and pass the test I could really use some of the advice written in this thread

Attend group study or tutorial sessions if you don't know any friends. They offer free food too sometimes.