When you have study fatigue your brain is tired and you feel you just don’t have the capacity to read, memorize or understand one more thing. Maybe you’re stuck on a topic or have a huge syllabus to cover, your interest, energy, attention and cognitive function seem to be in a buffering mode.
First and foremost- get your sleep, have a good healthy meal, get some walk, relax your mind with meditation, breathing exercises, walking, music, painting, doodling, or whatever you like. Once you realize your mind is not mindlessly pacing with thoughts that give you anxiety now you can start.
· Make a list of all the topics and number of days/weeks/months that you have for preparation or you can put topics on your calendar. Focus on completing the topic of the day and don’t worry about the whole syllabus. Keep this list in front of you and always track your progress.
· Identify when you are most productive- which time works for you morning or night and cover the most complex topics around this time.
· Make your own notes, after completing a topic ask yourself questions, make flash cards, and after some days (if you have) take up an exercise, MCQ of topic to test your knowledge, or discuss with co-fellows, or teach that topic to someone. Try adding elements of fun while discussing, create some good inside funny jokes of difficult topics.
· Try to create mnemonics.
· Stay disciplined throughout, and reward yourself at the end of the day for following your own rules.
· If you’re stuck on a topic, then break that topic under very small sub headings. Cover each topic by understanding through different platforms (Websites, you-tube lectures, help from seniors).
*Create your own positive affirmation like, if you feel you might never get this topic, then find along which timeline it was discovered or invented. Generally scientific development is a slow process, and new things take up decades to reach textbooks, therefore you can say to yourself “ If this thing was found by someone in the last century, and I am a student of 2025, I can at least understand this now”.
Try this if your thoughts are simply out of control- loosen your shoulders, close your eyes, sit comfortably but try to keeping your back straight now observe you breath, feel it and watch it, repeat until you feel now your mind is not racing anymore.
Never punish yourself. If you create a situation where studying feels like a punishment you will always have an aversion to it. No matter what is going on in your physical world you have ultimate power in what is going on in your mind, your mind feels fatigued by intrusive thoughts and thoughts are created by you, so think positive.
These are some tactics, but only you can choose what works for you in your specific circumstance. Would you mind sharing your strategies for overcoming study fatigue?
MBH/PS