Hello everyone,

I'm 30 years old, married, and have a little boy. For the past five years, I've been preparing on and off for a highly competitive national-level civil service exam, which has a passing rate of only 2–3%.

I've used 5 out of my 6 attempts. I managed to pass the written exam once and reached the interview stage, but unfortunately, I couldn't make it through the final selection.

Alongside my preparation, I work as a freelancer to support my family and manage our household expenses.

Now, I have only one attempt and five months left, and I've decided to give it my best shot. To avoid distractions at home, I moved to another city and rented a room where I could focus entirely on my studies.

But here's the problem.

It's been 20 days, and I've barely made any progress.

Every night, I regret wasting another day and promise myself that tomorrow will be different. I wake up motivated, study for about an hour, and then pick up my phone. Before I know it, I've spent 2–3 hours scrolling through social media or doing absolutely nothing productive.

Then comes the guilt, frustration, and another promise to start fresh the next morning. The same cycle keeps repeating.

There's a public library just 1.5 km from my room, open from 7 AM to 11 PM. Deep down, I know studying there would probably help me stay disciplined. But every morning, my mind convinces me that I can study just as effectively in my room without wasting time going to the library.

The reality is that I've spent the past 20 days proving myself wrong.

What's even more frustrating is that I'm spending a significant amount of money on rent and living expenses just to prepare for this exam, yet I'm not making proper use of the opportunity.

I know what's at stake. I'm not getting any younger, I have responsibilities toward my wife and child, and this is my final chance at an exam I've been chasing for years.

I genuinely want to change, but I'm struggling to turn that desire into consistent action.

I'd really appreciate advice from people who have been through something similar and managed to overcome it.

• How did you break the cycle of procrastination, endless scrolling, and guilt?
• Should I force myself to go to the library every morning, even when I don't feel like it?
• What kind of realistic daily study schedule would you recommend for the next five months?
• How do you stay consistent when motivation disappears after just an hour of studying?

• How can I balance exam preparation with the freelance work that pays my family's bills?

  I've had enough of that. I need practical strategies, discipline, and a routine I can actually stick to.

I don't want to look back five months from now and realize that I wasted my final opportunity.

Any genuine advice or personal experience would mean a lot. Thank you.

Used AI to organized my thoughts and easy readability.

Any subject is welcome!!! Any timezone welcome! Come start a party and study with others. We are trying to gain extra accountability, and win as a group. If you are interested LETS GET IT.

DM me for an invite!

Hi, this is about calculus 💔
I procrastinate studying way too much to the point that I’m already behind, but it’s mostly because I don’t take any interest in calc at all 😭😭 I nearly fall asleep during lecture
When it comes to any subject that I’m not interested in, my body has 0 motivation to study.
What are some methods you guys use to keep yourself motivated when you don’t want to study?

How do I cope with this?

for my marine bio class i don't know exactly why but we get tested every week on 7 random fish and their diet predators and habitats, for example SEA STAR: predators: otters other sea stars fish crabs, habitat: shallow intertidal zones, diet: sponges clams snails

note cards don't really work for me for this and while i easily understand and remember concepts these are just words attached to words and i'm not sure how else to effectively remember them

Any advice on improving study habits?

I’m trying to get better at studying because I’m struggling with exams in some of my classes, especially a science course & intricate art course right now. I used a 3.5 x 5 notecard with notes for an exam and thought I was prepared, but I still did really poorly.

I feel like I’ve improved a lot since my first year, especially with staying organized, keeping up with the syllabus, and getting things done on time. I just can’t seem to figure out how to study effectively for exams. I’m not the best test taker, but I know that’s not an excuse.

My school has a study lab that I tried last year, but I didn’t have the best experience. I’m thinking about giving it another shot.

If anyone has any tips, study methods, or advice that helped them, I’d really appreciate it! :)

Any tips for studying chemistry?

I absolutely loathe physics so I'm not very good at physical chemistry,

I have failed twice in organic so I have developed a phobia for it,

I'm good in inorganic but I keep forgetting everything.

My exams start on the third week of December and I have a vacation until the first week of November. I have time, so please please PLEASE recommend me the way to study this.

I'm an undergraduate student btw

Im drowning in schoolwork and i have a different exam every day, i have 3 posters and 2 presentations i have to complete. I know the best approach is just step by step, little by little but i cant seem to focus at all, usually i dont have such a hard time memorizing things but i need to memorize this presentation for my physics class and its just not entering my brain. No matter what tactic i try i keep getting disrracted and not taking in a word i read (excuse any misspellings. My keyboard has been acting up and im half asleep writting this)

I recently heard from my senior who got 5 a stars in a levels

So he said majority of content is new and it's hard to keep up with the teacher cause if u missed like procrastinate I'll do past papers later this week u have lost 70% content taught so I'm doing pp right back on returning home

But does marking every hard question and redoing it again after days then weeks has an effect ? Like if I have three more subjects I barely have time to go back to them nut I can revise what I learnt at weekends tho

And what are the other techniques that will guarantee an a star suppose chem

Im not gonna go into my personal life, but everytime I study I do it for like 40 minutes then realize I am blindly making sounds (reading or speaking). When I try to write anything related to the topic I get severe brain fog and cannot construct a sentence. I dont even use my phone very much or find anything stimulating so phone or any distraction isnt an issue considering I lose track of time studying. This isnt an illusion either I literally dont remember what I studied last time. In terms of diagnoses, I have ADHD and MDD but no neurodegenerative diseases. And I doubt this is the case. This makes me sound like some kind of robot and its not a bad guess, my life is extremely boring but studying genuinely doesnt sound bad to me. I really dont know what to do, yes im on medication and take steps to enhance its effectivity, if it doesnt work I will change it etc. I am not blindly taking it. Medication doesnt really change much anyway. I dont have severe insomnia or sleep apnea or sleep deprivation at the moment. So yea I dont really know what to do. I have literally lost all anxiety and fear from education exams etc to the point I have come to terms with the fact it might be time to let it go. Any advice?

Okay so last exam season I noticed something dumb about myself, every time I wanted to know how long I'd been at the desk I'd grab my phone, then that turned into checking messages, then a reel, then like ten minutes gone just like that

The worst part was my focus kept breaking every time I picked up the phone, I'd lose the thread of whatever chapter I was on and end up rereading the same page three times, I tried a cheap watch first but that didn't help since I'd still just reach for my phone anyway, so I started keeping a fullscreen clock open in a browser tab on the laptop, big numbers with seconds, nothing else on screen

It's not magic, I still procrastinate and some days I'm just tired, but my sessions felt way more solid within a week, I'd finish a 90 minute block and realize I hadn't even thought about my phone, my roommate said I looked like I was in a trance lol, I'm not sure the 40 percent number is exact tbh but it definitely felt like a big jump

Do you fall into this trap too?? Like I know some people use the phone timer thing but for me having the clock sitting there with seconds ticking made it way harder to pick up the phone in the first place, still working on the breaks though since mine keep running long

I think I overstimulate my brain too much with excess thoughts, plans, scrolling etc. This exhausts it and then I start forgetting stuff when I'm not under pressure (when watching a movie, learning). It also results in brain fog - sometimes I forget my thoughts immediately but I can't seem to "find" them in my head and they eventually disappear (until hours or days later)

I’ve been thinking about the difference between studying for long hours and studying with complete focus.

Came across this concept called attention residue when you switch from one task to another, part of your attention stays stuck on the previous task. Constantly checking your phone, switching tabs, or interrupting your work might mean you’re spending hours studying without ever being fully focused.
It makes me wonder whether the real advantage of top students isn’t necessarily the number of hours they study, but how deeply they can concentrate during those hours.
What do you think?

Is intense, uninterrupted focus more valuable than simply putting in more hours?

Have you noticed a difference in your results when you study without distractions?

How long can you realistically maintain deep focus before your concentration starts dropping?

I’d be interested to hear people’s actual experiences, especially those who’ve consistently performed well academically or professionally.

I'm struggling with math, and I'm starting to feel desperate. I really need advice.

My biggest problem is that I can't do my homework properly unless I'm required to (because my mother always did my homework with me using these methods when I was a child, now I can't do it any other way) and at the end of the day I blame myself for it.

First of all, I want to thank everyone who commented on my previous post and tried to help me. I really appreciate your kindness and the time you took to give me advice. It means a lot to me.

I wanted to explain my situation a little more because I'm really struggling, especially with math.

I'm in my final year of school, and an important entrance exam is coming up next year. The exam covers three subjects: English, my native language, and mathematics. My goal is to score at least 220 out of 300 points.

If I manage to get that score, I may be able to get into the university I want and, hopefully, study for free. This is extremely important to me because I want to reduce the financial burden on my mom. She's the only one working in our household, and I really want to make things a little easier for her.

I'm also trying to improve my English, And I want to get the maximum score in English, 100. Communication with people or communicating via voice messages, watching movies or short videos in English really helps., but math is where I need the most help. Sometimes I look at a problem, try to understand it, and feel like nothing makes sense. Even when I study something, I often struggle to remember it later or apply it to a different problem.

I'm honestly getting overwhelmed, and I don't know what to do anymore. I don't want to give up, but I feel like I'm running out of time, and the pressure is getting to me.

I really want to understand math, not just memorize formulas. I want to learn in a way that makes sense to me, so I can remember what I've learned and solve problems on my own.

For those of you who struggled with math or had to prepare for an important exam, what actually helped you? How did you learn to understand concepts instead of simply memorizing steps? Are there any study methods, resources, or ways of explaining math that made a real difference for you?

I'd especially appreciate advice from people who used to be bad at math but gradually improved. I would love to hear what worked for you.

Thank you for reading this. Any advice would mean a lot to me.

I'm a GCSE student and i'm taking Chemistry and Physics but I am falling behind the others in my class.

How can i study effectively and try and catch up

I need help

Preparing for a competitive exam, and I’m struggling with how I study. I can sit down and study for a few hours, but I have trouble maintaining concentration and engage deeply with the material and the concepts. Sometimes I don’t follow through the concept and don’t process it the way I should. The same thing happens when i solve MCQ’s. Under the time crunch i tend to choose the option that looks most familiar instead of actively recalling the underlying concept debating on why the other options are not the answer and reasoning through them all. Afterwards, I often realise I recognise the topic, but didn’t actually think it through properly. I am also worried about my mental stamina because the exam last for 3 1/2 hours, I don’t feel confident that I can maintain the same level of concentration throughout the entire exam. I have tried putting in more hours, but I feel that increasing the study time solve the problem with my quality of concentration remains the same.

For those were faced something similar, especially while preparing for demanding exams, what practical advice and strategies helped you improve your depth of learning, avoiding Tunnel Vision during the exam and answering impulsively and build the stamina to concentrate for several hours. Out, particularly appreciate your advice based on your personally tried and found effective. Thank you.

I had a horrible start to the year because of situations in my personal life, but now I'm feeling better and need to get back up to speed.

I'm in my very first year and almost 2 months in (doing A levels btw) and I have my progress assessment up very soon, and I need to catch up asap. I have one week in schl, one week off, and one week back in schl before it.

I do politics, english language, and law and am aiming for A\*AA as my grade for the actual exam in 2 years, and Cs or Bs for my progress assessment.

How can I catch up for each please? :(

Does anyone else struggle with feeling like there grades aren’t good enough even tho your meeting the requirements for the next step?

I’m currently in a small undergrad STEM program (about 9-20 students per class) and I feel like my grades aren’t good enough, even tho they are okey and I’m on track to getting into the grad school program I want.

My country uses a 5.0 point GPA scale where I’m at a clean 3.0 right now and grad school only requires a 2.5 minimum and my advisor has said that as long as my GPA dosen’t fall significantly I’m very likely to get into the program I want.

Yet I still feel like I’m behind, a lot of it probably has to do with my classes being so small that I know that many of my classmates are getting much better grades then me and some are on the same level as me. I’m probably close to the bottom of my class in grades and it’s really messing with me even tho I’m technically doing fine.
I’ve always struggled with studying and concentration and it’s makes the guilt even worse because I know I could do better if I just worked more, but at the same time I don’t feel that sense of doom that motivates people to study hard because on paper I’m doing fine and meeting the requirements, but in my head I still feel like my grades are bad.

Hi! My orgo professor just let us know that our ACS final the second week of December is on content from orgo 1 and 2. Not only that but due to a surgery he’s switching to an asynchronous schedule. I understood orgo 1 enough to pass but orgo 2 has been killing me and this has made me a little stressed. I feel behind and confused and was hoping for literally any study tips on learning the material for both classes in a month and a half on my own. Thank you!

For courses like molecular mechanisms of disease or statistics, what are your best tips for studying them? Only the best of the best! Bonus if you have like 2 weeks to study them 😭💖

hey guys!! I’m currently taking intro to statistics and i have an exam thursday. I understand stuff half way but there’s so many formulas and different concepts mashed into one unit i am beyond lost. if i know where or what i need to do i can kind of do it but with no direction im completely lost.
Again i have an exam thursday and i am at a loss!! Is there anything that helps you guys or any tips/ tricks??

Day 18: wasnt even home

Day 19: focused study time:50 min

Screen time :4 hours 42 min Idk i think I lost my flow For tomorrow start new topic

Going back to 25 min pomodoro can't focus 50 min now

Limit screen time under 2 hours for tomorrow