Contrary to what many study/memory books recommends, i study better (faster & retention) if i study uninterrupted for periods longer than 2 hours. I even feel that my efficiency decreases for first 30m but later have an ever-growing acceleration. Much like the Marginal Cost Curve in economics.
But 3-4 hours seems to be my limit, i just cant study beyond that. So i want to know if anyone manage to stay longer than that? And how do you do it?
The main barrier for me is food, after 3 hours i feel the need for food. If i have a tea with honey i usually manage to clam 30-60 min more. But after that not only do i lose concentration i also lose motivation. Even after having a 1 hour break with a balanced lunch, i feel very unfocused and unmotivated to continue my studies. I am lucky if i get 2 hours of study after lunch. If i do, those 2 hours are not even close at being as effective as my first hour, before the lunch.
Another problem is comfort, i feel strains in my back when i have sit still for longer than 4 hours per day.
Tired eyes as well.
My goal is being able to study 8 hours a day (even days i train), preferably 4h morning, 4h day. But i don’t see how it is possible to have 4h of good study after lunch. Both, motivation and focus are lost as well as back strains and tired eyes. Usually i just end up procrastinating, going from website to website, strolling around in the apartment, talk to gf etc.
I exercise (football, and gym) for 2h after lunch every each day. Those days i cannot even get 1h of study after exercise. This leaves me at 3.5h of study the days i train and 5.5h the days i rest.
Ps. when i mean study i mean effective study. I can “study” after lunch or exercise, reading etc, but i have to reread a paragraph many times before i understand it.
Maybe you exhausted your motivation before lunch and you need more time to recover? I can relate to that at least! I try to take a break when motivation reaches a certain threshold. There’s been a few times where I kept pushing and ended up having to let that particular subject rest for a week or more because I was so sick of it.
For me, it really depends on what I’m studying. If I study something I enjoy (programming / creative problem solving) time tends to fly by. If I study something I have little interest in (like chemistry) I usually can’t do more than an hour before needing a break.
I keep a journal of how long I’ve been studying and how much of that time I consider effective studying. E.g. I studied from 11:30 to 12:45 today, but only considered 55 minutes of that time effective (a phone call and a few lapses in concentration).
Generally I take short breaks whenever convenient (when a particular task is finished) and it’s usually after 45-60 minutes of effective study. I don’t really think about how long each session is, but try to do a certain amount of effective study every day.
Are you a student? And how many effective hours do you study in average per week?
Probably i do exhaust my motivation, but i want to overcome it somehow :P… What you say about programming is true for me as well. Time can fly by while i program, but only when i “do” programing not if i “study” programming. I.e. reading something new, WPF for example. The same is true for other subjects as well, “doing” is easier than studying.
Haha, i keep a journal as well. And i am very strict that i am only counting effective study time, i always pause my timer before toilet breaks and getting water etc. I used to keep weekly tracks and this is how i know exactly how much i am studying.
Yeah, I study Computer Science. I think the weekly average is somewhere between 30 and 35 hours these last three months. That is of course using strict timing! Trying to improve by shortening breaks and improving the (effective study time / study time) ratio.
You are right, time flies by when coding, not necessarily when reading / learning new things Same is true for other subjects, although time flies much faster when coding compared to when solving math problems
Thats a good average since everything is efficient! My school suggests that we students should spend about that much 35h (like a full time job) on our studies. In the beginning, before taking notes, i only average 15h a week. How much do you feel that your fellow class mates are studying?
I just read an article that talks about motivation or willpower as a finite resource. So what you said in your first post that i exhausted my motivation in the mornings seems to be the case.
15 hours of efficient study is great, especially when you exercise 2 hours a day I probably wouldn’t have the energy to study at all if I did that!
I feel like I study more than the others (e.g. I often get asked for help the evening an assignment is due). BUT, a lot of people don’t have any particular goals in regard to education and what to do after school – which is totally fine, they don’t need to study as hard.
But i am required to study 35 from university :(, however, i dont think their number is efficient study time. I could never count watching a 2h lecture as efficient, maybe if i speed the lecture 1.5x.
I guess some people in university still dont see it. And this is why i often meet so many people who studied a subject for 5 year but have almost nothing to show for it.
Lol, my thoughts exactly! Lectures are soo slow. Luckily, I can watch my lectures at home at increased speed and rewind if I need to
True. I have a cousin that tells me he is studying 38 hours every week. I know he’s studying hard, but it’s not 38 efficient hours. Commute, socializing at school and study breaks are included in that time At the risk of sounding cocky/arrogant, I think there are relatively few people who study/work 35+ efficient hours a week
i can study for 18 hours continuously but it depends on what i study.i am passionate about it.i wanna break the guineess world record for studying non-stop without a pause
I can relate to that at least! I try to take a break when motivation reaches a certain threshold. There’s been a few times where I kept pushing and ended up having to let that particular subject rest for a week or more because I was so sick of it.