What do you do when your brain just won't let you study anymore?

[Aether Nexus]

If I can't study, it's usually due to an excuse to not study. And usually I can't study at home as there are too many distractions. I'll say I'll take a 5 minute break and end up eating something to not study or watch TV, play a video game, go on Shoddy, etc.

What I do is go down to the library. This way, I know I can't good off and there really is nothing in the library to distract me, unless I see somewhere there who I know and we talk. But I try to make the conversation as short as possible. Also, there is no way to "man up" when it comes to studying. If you're the procrastinating type of person, than you're going to come up with some good excuses to not study and take breaks for stupid reasons.

Good luck with your studying.

~ Aether Nexus

[Arcaseven]

Originally Posted by Fat mtr

If you're in college, I'm sure you can procure Adderall or Ritalin through various, albeit illegal, methods. Be warned, though: if you don't have ADD, that stuff has serious side effects.

That stuff has serious side effects even if you do have ADD, and if you take too much, it'll make you too jittery to study or even focus on what you're doing. I've found that a shitload of caffeine is better, at least for myself.

[Forbidden To Starve]

how is studying anything like eating or taking a shower? eating and taking a shower are biological processes whereas studying is just passing through the conveyor belt of society.

[Zach]

Often times when I can no longer focus on whatever I'm studying I just stop for a while and surf the internet or play video games.

[Eggbert]

The biggest problem is the computer, with video games, web browsing, email, pokemon etc. If I need to study, I have to turn the computer off and throw it out the window, no exceptions. Music can calm I suppose, if you just can't sit down and study (which happens to me alot)

[Little Battler]

simple. relax

fact shows that a relaxed person learns faster than a fully concentrated person.
of course, if you can relax while concentrating (which is hard), it's so much better.
so basically, when you feel like you can't study anymore, throw the damn book away and find something relaxing. do it until you feel relaxed (don't overdo it though) and return to studying. rinse and repeat.

list of relaxing things :
- simple exercise
- a cup of tea
- easy games that you can't lose and doesn't need lots of thinking
- a walk
- sleep

no caffeine, it makes things worse.

for maths / physics only : practice practice practice.

[Yamaha]

Listen to smooth relaxing music or do something in between sitings. Other than that, "just do it".

[Chou Toshio]

Smogon. PO. Art. Stare at my Aquarium. Smogon.

[Shiny_Tyranitar]

Google porn....

[popemobile]

I pretty much stop studying, do whatever the hell I want for a few hours and then come back to it. Not the best strategy but hey I haven't failed out of college yet.

[undisputed]

Usually I can only study at two times during the day which are night around 10 ish where I'm not falling asleep tired, but I'm also not up playing mons or browsing the forums. The other time is in the morning because I just feel rejuvinated and able to focus more for whatever reason. I can't for the life of me study for a big test in the afternoon because I just come here and rapidly refresh the forums looking for stuff to read about lol. and I go with my friends downtown or whatever when im not on the forums. Idk if its like that for you, but just throwing that out there

also, I've found that sucking on mints (like the ones at restaurants) helps me focus. I learned about it after my bio teacher last year told us they help and gave us all one during a state test. I was bored out of my mind while doing the reading portion of the test, so I decided to eat it then, and suddenly i was able to read without my eyes just jumping around the page and not taking in information. hope that helps.

[capefeather]

I'm sure that this has happened to everyone plenty of times. I agree with Vader, etc. that it's worth trying to concentrate for some more time, but if you're legitimately concentrating for a couple of hours and you're not learning anything, then that's a different story. Admittedly, it's hard sometimes to balance the two extremes and distinguish a situation where you just have to concentrate more from a situation where it's just not going to be fruitful at that time and place. There's a danger in giving up easily, but there's also a danger in just getting stuck and getting depressed and beating yourself up. Studying is an art as much as the subject itself; sometimes you have to hunker down and feel the burn, and sometimes you just have to accept that you have limits and to work around them. Maybe study at a different time, or in a different place. Maybe study something different for the time being. It's much like anything else that takes effort. Exercise in particular comes to mind... not just eating like Vader said O_O though I suppose dieting fits too.

I personally find that studying with even one other person helps immensely. The issue with me, however, is that I don't gel with most people very well at all, and in that case we just get in each other's way.

[Firestorm]

If you're anything like me or my friends, the space both around your computer and on your computer is set up to be the most distracting place on the planet. Use another space as your studying area. This is pretty hard if you require your computer to study like most of my classes, but if not, it's a move you have to take.

Other than that, every hour take a 10 min break or so.

I don't know why I'm giving advice as I don't follow any of what I just said. Instead I get distracted by IRC, forums, and whatever else then try to cram, give up, and go in to just wing the exams. Yay.

[Da Letter El]

People study?

News to me.

But to be helpful, food helps me a lot. It gives me more energy and gives me something to do. I often walk around my room after certain intervals of time to get blood moving. I feel that if I study better and am more willing to study if I have some energy in my system, so more things that achieve that end would probably work.

But this is coming from a major procrastinator who doesn't ever take his own advice unless he really needs to, so be forewarned.

[Adm. Empoleon]

It's funny that I have my mid-terms in about a week or so.

Anyway, I've found that for English and Arabic Lit., I just spend 30 minutes max reading with my metal playlist.

For Math and Physics, switch to my classical playlist and grab an unused notebook and practice each problem so that I understand it.

As for Biology, Chemistry and Geology, I just relax and read.

I only have problem with the Religion subject. xD

And to take a break, I just grab an apple or hit the drums. Surprisingly, I was able to solve a math problem while drumming.

[Myzozoa]

Take breaks and pace yourself, you can study for 30 minutes or an hour or whatever, then do something else for a while. This may sound silly, but find other people to study with, they may help to keep you focused.

[IggyBot]

This is a nice system that has worked for me doing any sort of work like studying, working on a project or practicing.

Set a timer for 25 minutes (if you don't have one that counts down just click a stopwatch and let it go). After 25 minutes of work, take a 5 minute break, and repeat. Every 4 cycles take a extended break. "Just do it" isn't always as simple as it seems, setting goals and structuring your work time may help you be more productive.

[DarthChake]

Whenever I have trouble studying it's because I'm on my comp. I usually put it down when I realize that I have mere hours left to work. I guess after reading online a bit it relaxes me so I can study for stuff I'm less interested in e.g. Comp -_-

I wrote a paper in about a hour, I have been procrastinating it since Wednesday. I do better in quiet enviroments. I usually go to the bathroom and study. Noone bothers you there...

[apologies]

like others have said, adderall works miracles and it isn't that hard to obtain if you know where to look

[ginganinja]

well I just came outta exams and I did find it hard to study. Also I lived in pretty much one room so I was a little cramped for space. Firstly I guess you need to know your study times, for me I cannot study at 8AM. 10AM-2AM is my best times where I get study out of the way. If it was just not flowing for me I would take a shower (if it was in the evening) or go for a walk. Mainly it gives your brain a break and in many cases fresh air does wonders. But yeah I also had to man up and force myself to study. I hate it but lets face it, studying is a key part of your life and you have to motivate yourself to do it.

[Calm Pokemaster]

Just close your eyes, and let your mind go BLANK. Dont think about anything. Breathe in deeply, and breath out. I find that practising Pranayama(a form of yoga involving breath control) works out great when you feel that you just cant study. Also never study for more than a n hour without a break.

If you want, google up "Pranayama". I hope this helps.

[lmitchell0012]

You know, there are a number of different plant extracts (like ginkgo for example) that are known to help with memory and concentration. I wonder if kids who take these kinds of supplements do better in school.

[icepick]

For a subject like math, after I'm mentally exhausted from studying, I like to do a bunch of the easy practice problems. It releases a lot of the heavy cognitive stress while letting me build some confidence. Yeah it's more work, but it's a different kind of work.

[Athenodoros]

If we just look at the title, surely the answer should be obvious: What to do when your brain wont let you study anymore? Don't study. If your brain wont let you, you've been doing too much, so stop and sleep, or do some sport. I play tennis, so I hit a ball against a wall we have for a bit. I've just finished my final exams for high school (Australia, we go from January to December for our school year) and the one bit of advice my chemistry teacher had over the exam period was not to do too much. Sleep a lot, read, play sport or see friends, and above all relax for your exams. You will do better if you take a break when your brain wont let you do anymore because you will never get anything done if your are that tired.

[auramaster]

I find it VERY helpful to put some headphones in and turn on some calm music. Nothing fancy, I typically use whatever video game happens to be in my DS, and it helps keep me focused on the work in front of me. Not sure why though...