No matter how productive studying can be, investing in a good three-hour session is not without its challenges, and even if you break up your day as best you can, study slumps are a common occurrence no matter where you find yourself. As a result, you end up retaining less knowledge, feel demotivated to put any new concepts learned into action, and can’t help but go over the same pages, articles, and videos to reassure you remembered things correctly.
However, just because they happen so often and are treated as normal in both academic fields or learning new skills for your career, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should struggle with them every single time. And before you jump back into your seat and stuff your head into the textbook, it’s time you learn how to overcome the associated struggles first if you want to make some real progress with your time investment.
Break the Tension and Try Something Different
When dealing with study slumps, there’s always a tension pulling you apart from the inside. Whether that’s in the temple of your head or at the back of your neck, it’s an excruciatingly annoying feeling that you can’t shrug off. So, if you want to overcome the study slump, you should focus on breaking the tension and trying something different to introduce a change of pace.
- Squeeze in Some Time to Unwind: We love taking our fair share of breaks, but it seems like not too many people find it appealing nowadays, unconsciously labeling them as an inefficient use of time or an excuse to be lazy. However, rest is just as important once you account for the fact that the mind and body need some time to recuperate and internalize any new knowledge gained. So, don’t shy away from thirty minutes of Netflix or a quick snack.
- Be Active and Get the Body Moving: If you prefer exerting force instead of unwinding, staying active and getting the body to move around is just as effective at breaking the tension and stress. For example, a quick visit to your local dance studio to break a sweat and bust out some new moves is perfect for destressing and working away all those study jitters. Plus, the extra workout time is an added benefit.
- Switch to Another Task on the List: Now, we understand that there are people who can’t help but stick to their productivity metrics, or else they’ll feel like they’re lagging. So, instead of forcing yourself to finish the same task you’ve been stuck with for the past hour, we recommend switching to another item on your to-do list to get the ball rolling. As a result, you’ll feel a lot more accomplished and relaxed when revisiting your unfinished study session.
For Next Time, Make Some Extra Preparations
Likewise, when it comes to striking at the root cause of study slumps, the only real, effective solution available is making prior preparations to get you into the zone. At the end of the day, studying and investing time to learn a new skill demands zero distractions, full focus, and everything you could need at an arm’s reach. So, don’t just jump into everything willy-nilly but discern what different aspects could help you achieve more.
- Find a Quiet and Productive Environment: Firstly, there’s no denying that a quiet and productive environment remains a top priority because your surroundings can contribute to procrastination. And while a bit of white noise and background music can help soothe the nerves and bring things to the full picture, you wouldn’t want a move blasting on the TV with your pets distracting you 24/7. So, find somewhere quiet where you won’t be disturbed for the next couple of hours to study.
- Try Joining Study Groups: Secondly, since two heads will work better than one, why not consider joining study groups to promote collaboration and quizzing each other? It can help you accomplish so much more and in less time if you have someone to review with and attest to your newly-gained knowledge, and that’s not mentioning the social factor. Moreover, virtual study hubs are becoming increasingly popular and accessible, so there’s no excuse not to try at least once!
Don’t Let Study Slumps Hold You Back
Overall, we firmly believe that study slumps shouldn’t be holding you back because there are more ways than one to work around some of the challenges and find a meaningful solution that works for you. And if you think that everything still manages to fall apart, you might want to evaluate your scheduling practice and see what time management errors might be present in your current study strategy.
