[dukedante1138]

Hello Everyone,

I am a student studying independently. I am preparing for an exam due next year. Earlier i was in school but now i am done with it and i am studying by myself so that i may join a college.

I wanted to tell that i was never in the "habit" of studying.
I was not a very good student.
I have difficulty starting to study. It's not that the topics are difficult, i just have difficulty getting down to study. I just feel lazy as if i don't care. Whenever i begin, i get bored after 5 minutes or so. Even if i am studying an easy or an intriguing topic, i get easily distracted. I feel the urge to get up, move out or eat something. I think i have become lazy, but i am really stressed about it. I want to drive away this unwillingnes.

I am unable to follow my goals. I can't afford any tutor. I am alone right now and i don't have any friend to help me. I don't want to waste any more time.

Please help. :-(

[dukedante1138]

Sorry, by mistake i have posted two threads.
I am using a not-so-smart phone and the connection got interrupted as soon as i clicked to post.
I typed the whole thing again and reposted, only to find a duplicate.

Please do not post here but at the original thread.
Thank you.

[Miswimmy1]

I am totally like this. unless i am intrigued by the topic at hand, i can't study or read to save my life. I have ADHD. I know totally how you feel...

Everyone says that studying is a learned habit and that it takes practice, but I am in the same boat as you... I don't know it would be possible to just do it.

[Nymph]

Well Dukedante1138, since Miswimmy1 already posted a reply here (and not your other thread) I guess I will too. From your post it seems your study problems revolve around getting the motivation to study and then continuing to study. First, its good to set aside a time, even if not the same time, everyday or other day, etc., to study. If you do this then you'll get in the HABIT of studying, and a habit is hard to break.

Next, study in increments, meaning study for 15 min, then take a break, then study for 15 more min and so forth. That way you can concentrate then be distracted then concentrate again. Also, reward yourself after you study, like with ice cream, or a movie (Despicable Me II is coming out!!), or whatever you like.

Also, try studying in a place conducive to studying like a library, where it is quiet and others are studying. And you can also pick a comfy study place of your own where you can concentrate and they're not many distractions, aka not a coffee shop or Barnes and Noble. Also, do not study on your bed- you will fall asleep. And some people find listening to music like on an Ipod or mp3 device at a low volume helps them to concentrate while studying. It could help you too.

Lastly, I'm not sure if you're a girl or boy, but I find that buying cute school supplies, like notebooks and binders and pens helps motivate me to study because I want to use those cute school supplies- yeah I'm that vain
So report back if these suggestions help... And if not I'll come up with more, I promise
Good luck, scholar!

[dukedante1138]

Originally Posted by Nymph

Well Dukedante1138, since Miswimmy1 already posted a reply here (and not your other thread) I guess I will too. From your post it seems your study problems revolve around getting the motivation to study and then continuing to study. First, its good to set aside a time, even if not the same time, everyday or other day, etc., to study. If you do this then you'll get in the HABIT of studying, and a habit is hard to break.

Next, study in increments, meaning study for 15 min, then take a break, then study for 15 more min and so forth. That way you can concentrate then be distracted then concentrate again. Also, reward yourself after you study, like with ice cream, or a movie (Despicable Me II is coming out!!), or whatever you like.

Also, try studying in a place conducive to studying like a library, where it is quiet and others are studying. And you can also pick a comfy study place of your own where you can concentrate and they're not many distractions, aka not a coffee shop or Barnes and Noble. Also, do not study on your bed- you will fall asleep. And some people find listening to music like on an Ipod or mp3 device at a low volume helps them to concentrate while studying. It could help you too.

Lastly, I'm not sure if you're a girl or boy, but I find that buying cute school supplies, like notebooks and binders and pens helps motivate me to study because I want to use those cute school supplies- yeah I'm that vain
So report back if these suggestions help... And if not I'll come up with more, I promise
Good luck, scholar!

Thanks Nymph,

The hardest part is in getting down to study and you're probably right about me lacking motivation.
I think i percieve study as a burden. When i was a kid, my parents were too much strict about studies, i did not like the fact that i had to sacrifice play time for studying. I was a good student back then. But i think due to all of these i have slowly started seeing studies as a big load, so the unmotivatedness has been carried along from the past.

How should i bring a change in myself to stop viewing studies as a "burden" ?

By the way i'm dukedante1138, if i were a girl it would have been duchess ! :-) :-)

[dukedante1138]

Originally Posted by dukedante1138

Sorry, by mistake i have posted two threads.
I am using a not-so-smart phone and the connection got interrupted as soon as i clicked to post.
I typed the whole thing again and reposted, only to find a duplicate.

Please do not post here but at the original thread.
Thank you.

Please ignore my post, the one i've quoted. Everyone has started posting here so i've decided to continue this thread. I've flagged the other duplicate thread and it will get deleted by the admins in a couple of hours.

[Perna]

Originally Posted by dukedante1138

Even if i am studying an easy or an intriguing topic, i get easily distracted. I feel the urge to get up, move out or eat something. I think i have become lazy, but i am really stressed about it. I want to drive away this unwillingnes.

Hi, dukedante1138. It sounds to me like you are more anxious than lazy. I get the urge to get up and move or eat something, etc. sometimes when I am reading serious books or studying something I want to. It is scary thoughts that I am not even conscious I am having sometimes.

"This subject is so big and I have a lot to study/long way to go"
"I am not sure I can do this"
"How will I get into school"
"How can I do this alone", thoughts like that.

Before you sit down to study, see if you can make it something you want to do. Not just want to study, in general, but connect what you will be studying with your larger life, with how it will help you in life or how it will become part of your life. Make it a challenge, if you like challenges, or a word problem if you are good at word problems (maths, accounting, writing a paper, poem or story, something where you have to create a structure and fill it in with words) or study it so it answers a question(s) that you have asked (rather than the course/book/material itself), something you want to know.

When you get the urge to get up, ask yourself why, what were you thinking, and see if you can identify scary thoughts that you can then debate. Have a specific plan so you know the steps to what you are doing so you can remind yourself you are not on #5 you are only on #2 and don't worry about step #5 yet. Keep yourself from worrying about the future, just work on "now" and what you want to do right now and make it for yourself, not for anything/any one else.

[dukedante1138]

Originally Posted by Perna

Hi, dukedante1138. It sounds to me like you are more anxious than lazy. I get the urge to get up and move or eat something, etc. sometimes when I am reading serious books or studying something I want to. It is scary thoughts that I am not even conscious I am having sometimes.

"This subject is so big and I have a lot to study/long way to go"
"I am not sure I can do this"
"How will I get into school"
"How can I do this alone", thoughts like that.

Before you sit down to study, see if you can make it something you want to do. Not just want to study, in general, but connect what you will be studying with your larger life, with how it will help you in life or how it will become part of your life. Make it a challenge, if you like challenges, or a word problem if you are good at word problems (maths, accounting, writing a paper, poem or story, something where you have to create a structure and fill it in with words) or study it so it answers a question(s) that you have asked (rather than the course/book/material itself), something you want to know.

When you get the urge to get up, ask yourself why, what were you thinking, and see if you can identify scary thoughts that you can then debate. Have a specific plan so you know the steps to what you are doing so you can remind yourself you are not on #5 you are only on #2 and don't worry about step #5 yet. Keep yourself from worrying about the future, just work on "now" and what you want to do right now and make it for yourself, not for anything/any one else.

Thank you so much Perna.
Actually i am new here and i was never able to discuss these problems with anyone. My family is very strict about such things. That's why i joined here.
It will take time to get back on track but now i feel confident about it. Thank you so much. :-)