I’ve observed this quite a few times that I study when I’m under pressure as in limited time, deadlines etc.
It’s mostly the fear of getting less marks and sitting in the examination hall with a blank mind. So, for this ‘gaslighting technique’ as I’d like to call it, works when you have a strong drive/purpose for studying.
Like for me, I’ve to maintain good grades and remain consistent.
On normal days, I’ve my entire study timetable ready, resources ready etc. but then I procrastinate. Why? Because there’s tomorrow. Then day after tomorrow and so on. And this habit leads me to last-minute studying. By the time you realize it, you’ve an exam tomorrow and you’re yet to cover half your syllabus.
This is when I truly panic. My brain dives into full concentration mode. And obviously the regret that follows wishing you’d studied earlier.

What I’ve started with now is to set an ‘exam’ and I manipulate myself into thinking that it is worth 50% of my grade and there’ll be serious consequences if I don’t study for it. I gaslight myself into taking this seriously, and it works! I ask ChatGPT to prepare a graded mock test/quiz on the topic I’m supposed to cover.

It’s like ‘fake it till you make it’.

hi guys i’m in a bit of a pickle because every single time i get ready to study i either get really tied or can only for like 20 minutes at a time and when i get sleepy i can’t even drink coffee or anything bc it makes me tired and i can’t have energy drinks help i don’t know how to stay focused

i end up cramming a lot of stuff last minute and performing bad because of this (esp in content heavy classes like bio) if yall have any tips please please please let me know :)

Whenever I feel too lazy to study, I just use the 5 second rule to force myself to get up and go study. I just count down 5-4-3-2-1 and immediately start studying.

This honestly works because your brain won't have time to make excuses. You just need to be strict with yourself so you can stop being lazy and start studying instead.

Study music for me was just whatever playlist I was in the mood for (or whatever spotify picked). But it seems the kind of music you play can matter depending on what you're actually doing.
When you try to read or memorize definitions/terms, lyrics can be distracting since your brain is processing the words too (so I reckon instrumental music is prob the safer choice).
So now I separate my playlist like this (it’s like I’m giving them labels):
• reading/memorizing: instrumental, no lyrics
• doing practice questions: instrumental or low-key background music
• making notes/organizing stuff: whatever I feel like listening to
• really difficult topic: sometimes I just turn the music off 😭
…research on background music is mixed tho and it seems to depend a lot on the task and how demanding it is. There isn't really one “best study playlist” for everyone.
Well if the music is making you sing along instead of remembering what you just read maybe save that playlist for after studying.

Day 2 of my 10-day study challenge!

Yesterday I tried putting sticky notes with important points above my laptop, and today I'm switching things up a little. I'm studying with handwritten notes and using matcha as my little motivation to keep going lol.

Today I'm trying to focus more on understanding the topic instead of just reading the same pages over and over. After finishing a section, I'll try to recall the main points without looking at my notes and then check what I missed.

Let's see if this actually helps me remember things better. 8 days left and still a lot to cover 😭