Moderated by
Stacey Kiger, LPC
Licensed Professional Counselor
My belief is that therapy is not about giving advice, but joining you on your journey
Top Rated Answers
I found that the best way to study for extended periods of time is to not so much regulate your study, but regulate every activity that could negatively impact it. It is much more productive to study at 100% mental capacity for 5 hours than a distracted or tired or underperforming 50% for 10 hours i.e. focusing on the quality rather than focusing on the quantity. It can be done by having enough amount of sleep, exercising regularly and keeping your body fit and fine, do not study same subject continuously for 5 hour block, change it quite often unless it will result in boredom and the most important having 10 minutes break after every 50 minutes of study. It will refresh your mind and improve your concentration towards studies. Take care!!
Wow, 12 hours is a long time! Listen to your body- if it's tired, have a rest. A 20 minute nap is great and does wonders for you afterwards!
Self-care is most important in times like these. Sleep well, exercise well, stay hydrated. It's very easy to burn out, especially when you know you have to study for such a long time. Learning to manage your time and breaking down large tasks into smaller ones helps to make it easier. And if you need help, ask for it! Good luck. xx
Anonymous
October 16th, 2018 12:24pm
Its good that you are planing to study 12 hours a day.but taking a short break in between study hours is necessary. Study for2 hours at a go and then take a break of 10 minutes to relax yourself and then again study. This will help you to concentrate and focus much more in your studies. Do exercise and also listen to music as it helps you to relax inspite of long study hours it keeps the mind focused.
Do plan a routine and try to work according to it it will help you to distribute time wisely between study hours and also give time to relax as well. Main point remains is that never study at a span of long hours at a go. Just distribute the time and between study hours take short breaks.
Anonymous
October 11th, 2020 6:31am
You can do anything if you set your mind to it. I myself am doing 12 hours a day right now, so I know what it entails.
Important things to keep in mind are to not wear yourself out too much. If you have been working the whole week, and one day you feel like taking an early night, do it, it is okay. Do not fight your instinct to sleep if you feel tired, because your brain won't register things efficiently then.
Staying motivated can be tricky sometimes. Write down your feelings, how you feel when you finish your target for the day, accomplish a big task. When you feel down, go back and read that. It might help in rejuvenating your energy.
Also, I noticed, that sometimes it is easy for me to do 12 hours a day for 2-3 days, but then I get tired after sometime, and start slacking. To avoid that, start easy. Baby steps. Start with 6 hours a day for a week, then gradually increase. It won't feel too much of a burden then.
Plan out your day in advance. This practice helps me a lot to stay motivated and finish my tasks early. Just before going to bed, I write down all the tasks I wish to finish the next day in my diary. Important thing is to maintain realistic expectations. Don't overschedule yourself, or you might not be able to complete everything.
Planning out a timetable might also help, though not necessary it works for everyone. Firstly write down all the time slots in your day, then start filling them with tasks, and adjust them as you go.
Plan out your priorities, what is urgent, important, both and neither. I am not saying don't use social media, or don't do fun activities. Relaxation is very necessary, but excess becomes procrastination. Try not to check your social media if you are going back to study after a 5-10 minute break. If possible, ask a parent or friend to just go through your messaging list, and notify you if anything requires immediate attention. You can answer the non-urgent messages during a longer break, because it is very easy to get caught up in our mobile screen ;). You can keep your weekends light to catch up with friends and media, and to do some fun activity which you like.
Also, try to plan your day such that you finish the big tasks early in the morning. It will keep you light for the rest of the day, giving you enough space to reschedule anything if necessary, and provides some, if not much, motivation.
You don't have to do everything by yourself too. If you are the kind of person who does well in group studies, plan a quiz session with your friend(s) or study group.
In the end, sometimes quality might win over quantity.
Also, you might want to check out the book "Eat That Frog" by Brian Tracy. You can find it in downloadable format here > https://oceanofpdf.com/authors/brian-tracy/pdf-epub-eat-that-frog-21-great-ways-to-stop-procrastinating-and-get-more-done-in-less-time-download/
It is a very nice and easy to read, which tells you how to just do it. I found it helpful over other self help books which tend to go deeper into the 'why' instead of the 'how'.
Hope it helps :)
Anonymous
November 16th, 2020 10:19pm
45 minutes of study and a 15 minute break would get you to 15 hours in total, that leaves 1 hour spare and 8 hours for sleeping. Ensure that each break is used for fresh air, water, stretching, snacks or even exercise. Your brain will slowly get into the rhythm of work and adapt to absorb as much from this style of study as possible. It's vital that each cycle of work and rest is adhered to as much as possible, thus avoiding any wasting of time or leftover minutes that could have been a part of the study periods.
Anonymous
December 4th, 2017 6:04pm
You don't. Listen to your body. Break down study time into manageable time slots, example, study for an hour and then rest for 30 minutes.
Anonymous
December 14th, 2020 12:06pm
Fisrt of all, start slow. I've been at your stage, i think i still am where i make a to do list with plenty of tasks to complete by the end of the day, target studying for 10 to 12 hours but end up not doing anything at all and sleeping guiltily. the cycle goes on and on. so try and start slow, 4 hours is more than enough to start, if oyu're doing great at it, you can increase one hour everyday till you get to 12 hour point. take plenty of rest and try out pomodoro technique or study with me videos in youtube. start early in the day and don't give yourself any time to think whether to do it or not....just jump right into it. switch off your phone or keep it somewhere out-of-reach. ALL THE BEST!
Anonymous
July 3rd, 2018 8:27am
You cannot study continuously but yes you can do one thing that is you can study one hour then take break for 5-10 minute and do things which you like in your break and study again repeat this and see you can study not only 12 but more than it
Make a time table. Identify first which subjects you find hard the most. Prioritize them since you find it hard. Make use of all the resources you have. Summarize and write down the important things. Make sure, you will still be able to eat and break for a while to avoid being exhausted. Practice having a good time management, this will surely helps you to accomplish more things. Make a time table, try to look for a effective way of studying. You could either write it on summarize, or with the whole thing in order for you to memorize it. But simply better to summarize and be more familiar with it.
It's great to know that you are committed to studying!
I would recommend that you schedule your study time in two-hour sessions, with a maximum of 2.5 hours per session. Schedule 10-15 minute breaks in between where you will take a walk, re-hydrate, or just do something unrelated to studying. This works if you stick to the plan and try to cover as much as you can without distraction within each 2-hour time frame. That means turning off your phone and other devices and finding a quiet space, limiting things in your environment that can cause you to lose focus.
It is also important that you give yourself enough time to cover your material prior to the exam date. This prevents the need to cram and thus enhances the potential for storing the info in your long-term memory. Finally, try to get some sleep before the exam so that your mind and body can recharge.
All the best.
Anonymous
January 18th, 2021 11:06am
Make sure you take breaks regularly, and whenever you feel like you need them. (I personally like the pomodoro technique, I've used it in the past and adapted the times spent studying and taking breaks to better fit me, so you can try that if you want!) 12 hours a day is a lot - there may be days when you don't manage to study as much, and that's okay. If you ever feel like you are burning yourself out, please try taking longer breaks or a day off. Sacrificing your sleep to study isn't worth it because you won't be as efficient if you're tired, so do sleep as much as you need. Remember to drink water and eat too. And to stretch, walk around, and look up from your screen from time to time if you're on a screen! Stretching can help prevent back pains if you're sitting a lot. Take care!
Anonymous
June 29th, 2021 9:46pm
You could create a study schedule where you plan how long you want to study for, at what time you will study and when you should take a short/long break from studying. Personally, I would plan out studying over a course of 3-4 days where I study 3-4 hrs per day because studying 12 hours in one day may overwhelm you. Studying over the course of a few days with breaks in between your study sessions increases your motivation to study. These are just some of my study tips and hope this is beneficial to you! Good luck studying!
It’s good that you are motivated and also have a sense of direction. 12 hours is almost half a day. It would be hard to know whether you really need to study 12 hours a day or not. That’s because some people understand things and learn fast while some are slow. Also, exams test your understanding of the subject, not the hours spent.
In such a case you feel you need to spend 12 hours a day studying, you have to work in reverse. As in, eliminate everything that would impact your studies. Also, try to spend 100% of the time in the concentrated study rather than unfocussed work.
It is a very very long time. I recommend you do 15-20 minutes breaks with the little physical activity every few hours and drink tons of water. Open some windows in your flat that you have fresh air inside. If it is cold outside open it for few minutes and close it back. Works for me.
Some other tips:
Avoid distractions.
Set a timer to complete a task.
Drink plenty of fluids.
Meditate for at least 15 minutes.
Focus on one task and then move to another.
Write a success mantra on your study table or keep a calendar/wall hanging having quotes which motivate you.
Hope it helps
The goal of studying for 12 hours a day can be done by proper time management. You can make your own timetable for study and breaks in between along with your daily routine like eating and sleeping. It is recommended that you should take a break every 1 hour for 15 minutes or about 30 minutes for every 2-4 hours of study. But most importantly focus on your health as well, by eating properly (2 hours), excercise (1 hour) and proper sleep (9 hours) out of the total 24 hours. Which means you devote 12 hours to your self care and remaining 12 hours to your study. Also focus on the quality of studying rather than the quantity. If you feel tired and can't seem to focus properly, take a break because quality study will help you retain information from your brain.
When I need to study a lot in a single day I use the Pomodoro technique. The technique involves regular breaks to help your body and mind recover and maintain focus.
You start with a 25 minute session of studying, then you take a 5 minute break. When you've done that 4 time for a total of 2 hours, you take a longer break, like 30 minutes to an hour, to let your brain relax and take in the information.
Remember to listen to your body and mind so that you know if you are pushing yourself too far! Remember to eat and drink water! The Pomodoro technique helps me because it helps me remember to take frequent breaks, but it can still be exhausting after a while!
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