Dealing with study issues

[Porygon-2000]

So, once again, the time for exams has come come around for this poor humble uni student.
They're about a week and a half away, and ive got a whole study plan lined up for them (they're big. Really big)

But, the thing is, I just cannot bring myself to get my learning on with all this stuff i've got to do. To avoid it, ive had a massive cleanup of my flat, i've started IV breeding in Y for a perfect Torchic. I've even taken up basic animation, for christ's sake!


I'm actually pretty chuffed I made this

Anyway, to get to the point (and stop wasting time with html tags), what do you guys do to help keep study and things like it on track? I'd honestly like to know, because I seriously don't want to fall back on old habits again.

 

[Korolev]

Panic. I panic and that helps keep me on track. I think about what it would mean to fail, I think about how my parents would react, I think about having to take the course again - and it really motivates me. They say "DON'T PANIC" - that's good for when you are in an exam. But in preparing for an exam it helps to panic.

 

[Nouw]

Turn off the distractions and just do it. I find that going to a library sometimes helps too.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I'm a huge procrastinator, but I also have an incredibly good sense of timing so I always know exactly how long something will take me to do, almost down to the minute. So because of this weird natural talent that I have I always know exactly when I need to start studying in order to get all of my studying done, and once I hit that moment my brain just switches gears and gets right the hell to work because it knows that I'm completely out of time and at the point of no return.

So essentially, I do the maximum amount of dicking around I possibly can, I just dick around until I can't dick around anymore, and then I get to work.

 

[Porygon-2000]

Panic.

That actually makes sense. Okay, I am proceeding to scare myself shitless. Wish me luck!

 

[mitchell271]

I can't work in the library at my school. The main floor is too loud and the quiet floors are eerily quiet. I can't work at home because I get distracted, either by the internet, games or guitar. Hell, even cleaning! So lately I've resorted to going to a coffee shop for an hour after every class to condense notes, do homework, work on assignments, etc. For studying, I do best in study groups. I think part of it is just having someone else there for me, as if I feel I should at least keep up the illusion of productivity.

 

[Story]

Panic. I panic and that helps keep me on track.

^
This. Usually I do it too late though. As a consquence I rarely study for tests.
And at least you OP are able to do things that are simi productive. I will do things just to distarct myself. For example, I have an art history exam today and I did nothing last night (not even sleep) except watch the Hobbit trailer over and over again. I think I have a problem.

My best advice for what its worth, is to not study in bed. In fact you shouldn't be doing anything in bed except sleep.

 

[Nazulu]

I helped myself by asking how (from teachers & parents) the stuff I need to study will be relevant later (especially if there is a certain job you want), and I also made a day to day schedule to make it clear to me what I need to do. It's easier for me this way than just jumping into it.

 

[Nickolai77]

As a student, i found guilt and fear to be major sources of motivation. Maybe it was because i was raised a Catholic?

I would procrastinate until i felt guilty enough about wasting my time to actually do work, and if that didn't work it was the fear of failure which made me stop procrastinating.

 

[Esotera]

I drink a cup of coffee for every third paper I successfully read, and if it's a spectacularly bad day, every two. I also sign out of steam, chuck my phone on the bed, and just remind myself that it will all be over soon (unless I do further study, in which case I'm fucked)

 

[Pandaman1911]

The only thing that keeps me on track is pressure. That seems to be why I procrastinate a lot. I've turned out some of my best work when I was under excessive amounts of pressure.

 

[Ushiromiya Battler]

Panic. I panic and that helps keep me on track. I think about what it would mean to fail, I think about how my parents would react, I think about having to take the course again - and it really motivates me. They say "DON'T PANIC" - that's good for when you are in an exam. But in preparing for an exam it helps to panic.

Pretty much this. Panic like crazy and when you're up/sitting there you'll be so exhausted from working and panicking everything will be like a nice breeze.
Works flawlessly!(That's a lie, I suck at studying)

I recently(before the summer) went up to 5 exams, I barely passed all of them as I didn't study enough.
They were all boring courses, so I didn't really bother.

My next exams though will be awesome.

 

[Stcb]

Some general rules for finals:

1. If you have time to be playing video games, watching TV, or hanging with friends, you probably aren't studying enough.
2. Leave your apartment. Without mobile game systems. Turn your phone off, your mom/girlfriend/whatever will understand.
3. Earplugs, always.
4. All-nighters aren't very productive, especially if you have a test the next morning.
5. In general, panicking is an awful idea. Your work's quality will likely suffer and it's just not healthy.

 

[Tanakh]

[spolier]
I'm actually pretty chuffed I made this[/spolier]

Might just be me but the bounces seem quite odd, you didn't use any kind of physics on it, did you?

 

[Elfgore]

I do the exact same thing as Dirtyhispters. I predict how much time it will take, when the time hits I stop what I am doing, put on some music, and get to work. Haven't missed a paper yet and have done alright on a majority of the test.

 

[F'Angus]

I play games. Lots of games. Then I panic on exam day...and after the exam I play more games.
It may seem like bad advice but for me it works and helps keep me stress free.

(seriously do not follow this advice unless you're a smartypants like me)

But actual advice I can give that worked for me during essay time:

1. Put headphones on and block out other sounds. The music will keep you interested and pass the time.

2. NEVER DO ALL NIGHTERS. You will get worn out and not learn much. Do not work past 10-11pm. Past that you should relax and calm down from work. Play games or sex or music or whatever you would normally do in your free time. Any work during the night probably isn't going to be worth handing in. The calm down period will do you more good that working.

 

[Artina89]

When I was at university, I was part of a study group, so we would go over to a study group member's house, and we would sit and study for an hour, eat a meal together, review what we learned and then study some more. The best thing was that if you were struggling with a certain topic, the rest of us would help walk you through it, as a result, we got quite a lot of studying done. I ended up with a 2:1 degree in Biochemistry and Chemistry by the end of it, so it definitely helped. It was a lot of fun too, because you were studying with friends, so it doesn't feel like a chore.

 

[Porygon-2000]

Snip

Nope, all hand drawn. Not bad, for half an hours work. (+ an hour setting up GIMP)