Do you hate studying, but wish you didn’t?
There are students all over the world who are just like you; they hate studying, yet they know its benefits and wish they could love it. If you’re here, reading this post, then I applaud you for already making an effort to stop hating studying.
Of course, studying is not everything. You will not fail at life simply because you don’t know calculus or how to write a research paper. But today, young adults’ success seems to be defined by their education and subsequent achievement in the professional field.
So while you shouldn’t beat yourself up due to your hatred of studying, it may be worth it to try to shift your mindset and try to enjoy studying. Learning new things is often one of the most fulfilling things we can do, and enjoying the process would make it even better.
In this post, I’ll review the specific case of hating school subjects and studying for them. If you’re a current high school or college student trying to learn how to enjoy studying, you’re in the right place. Let’s begin!
Figure out why you hate studying
One of the most important steps to solving a problem is to find out what went wrong in the place. This applies to almost everything, from childhood trauma to a typo in code.
When you hate studying, try to figure out the reason behind it first. Here are a few common mentalities students have:
The subject is hard
Some students simply find the subject too difficult, which causes them to feel that it’s impossible to truly learn and understand it, because “they’re not good at this subject.”
While it’s true that some students are more gifted in certain areas than others, nothing is impossible. With the right study habits and the right resources, you can overcome this obstacle. One of the most important things here is your mentality: believe that you can do it, and you will.
The subject is uninteresting
Other students find the subject too boring, causing them to completely lose motivation and interest. They may have loved learning about the subject before, but now, everything is dull and monotonous.
If this sounds like you, you might simply be too advanced for what you’re exposed to! Try to challenge yourself (with resources outside those given to you by your school or teacher) and learn at your own pace, in whichever direction you’d like to follow.
Studying gives you anxiety
Some students get serious anxiety or depression when they try to study. This can often be attributed to traumatic experiences in the past. Sometimes, parents are too demanding when it comes to academics, causing a student to develop a fear of not doing well enough.
If you feel that your hatred of studying comes from bad memories from the past, try to adjust how you communicate with your parents (or whoever gave you trauma in the past). You could talk to them, letting them know that you are strained to unhealthy levels due to your academic stress.
You could also adjust the way you study, perhaps setting goals and keeping them to yourself. Only revealing your successes once you’ve achieved them. And of course, if you feel that your anxiety is severe, don’t hesitate to seek out a therapist or counselor!
Try different learning techniques
Unfortunately, the methods of learning in schools (especially high schools) are quite rigid, and students aren’t taught to explore and find the learning technique that works for them.
In truth, there are many learning techniques, and they all work differently for different people. Here are some examples:
- Flashcards to memorize terms
- Taking notes and reviewing them
- Repeatedly writing things down to memorize them
- Drawing diagrams
- Making flowcharts to make connections
- Asking questions then answering them with notes
- Watching videos on the subject
- Discussing the subject with others
- Trying to teach the subject to another person
- Doing hands-on experimenting
As a student, your job is to learn. If that means using various techniques, do that! Not everyone will learn effectively just by listening to a professor talk for an hour.
Try out different learning methods and find the one (or the few) that work for you. This could vary for different subjects, so allow yourself some trial and error and be patient! Finding the learning technique that works for you will benefit you greatly in the long run.
YOU’LL LOVE THIS POST: 20 Actionable Steps To Become An Outstanding Student
Use all available resources
Do not limit yourself to the textbook. There are so many resources out there, in the library, on the Internet, and even the people around you! Just taking notes from the textbook may seem like the simplest method of learning, but it is likely not the most effective.
If you feel that you aren’t learning effectively with your textbook, reach out for different resources! Here are some of my favorite resources and the subjects they’re most effective for:
Best for scientific and mathematical concepts. There are often articles you can read and videos to watch, equipped with diagrams and explanations.
If you’re studying for the SAT, Khan Academy is always a great source of practice problems and full tests!
- YouTube
There are so many educational channels on YouTube, as well as videos of individual lectures, research, etc. Some channels I loved were CrashCourse (effective introductions to most concepts in most subjects), Heimler’s History (high school AP history classes), Marco Learning (high school AP classes), and The Organic Chemistry Tutor (math, chemistry, physics).
- Wikipedia
While some teachers seem to despise Wikipedia, I find it a useful resource for researching historical events, figures, and other similar specifics. Be careful when you come across suspicious information though, and I would often fact-check using multiple resources.
- Your teachers
Your teachers may be able to provide you with additional information and resources if you contact them. They may even have teacher-exclusive resources that you would usually have to pay for!
Know what you want to learn
Often, studying becomes much easier and more interesting when you are studying something you’re passionate about. In other words, you want to study to learn, not to follow instructions or because you “have to.”
This may be hard to implement in high school since most of your courses are already pre-selected. This is where you need to take initiative and explore; find something you’re passionate about and take electives, take outside classes, join clubs, and do research on your own.
It may be difficult to find what you want to study, but here are a few steps you can follow to possibly find the right direction to go in:
- Consider the things you are interested in (you enjoy them!)
- Consider the things you’re good at (you have the skills!)
- Consider what careers could be successful in the future
- Talk to someone currently working in a field you’re interested in
- Talk to your teachers, counselors, parents, and others for advice
Once you find something you want to learn, it’ll be much easier to motivate yourself to start studying. Come up with an end goal (maybe it’s to understand something, to become someone, etc) and work towards it!
Make friends who enjoy studying
The people around you can influence you more than you think. If you surround yourself with people who despise studying and choose to go out partying every day instead, you’ll start to dislike studying simply due to peer pressure.
To combat and prevent this, surround yourself with people who enjoy studying. You don’t even need a large number– 3 is enough! Of course, the larger the group, the better, but just a few inspiring friends are enough to get you started and focused.
You may be wondering, how do I find people who enjoy studying and make friends with them? From the first day of school, observe the people in your class. You should easily be able to distinguish between those who study a lot and those who never study.
Get to know the students who study a lot by working with them together on group assignments, asking them questions, helping each other with problems, etc. Just like any relationship, more communication and interaction will be effective! Here’s a post to help you hold effective study sessions: The Easiest Way To Maximize Your Next Study Session.
Build good habits
Building the right habits will ensure that the routines and mentalities you’ve built actually stick. There are countless habits good students practice, and there are many bad habits they avoid. I have numerous posts about habits and habit-building, but here are a few habits you should start building right now:
- Plan and structure your day
- Set SMART goals
- Prioritize, delegate, and batch tasks
- Take notes actively
- Review after class
If you’re dedicated to living the lifestyle of a top student and building all the habits they might practice, you’ll love this post: 60 habits.
In addition, if you struggle to build habits that stick, you might want to check out this guide (made by yours truly!): Complete Habit-Building Workbook. Use this workbook to master building consistent habits!
Conclusion
I truly hope this post was helpful for you! Though it’s perfectly okay to dislike studying (your grades and test scores don’t define you!), it’s undeniably beneficial to have more knowledge beyond that needed for survival, for your well-being and health.
If this post was helpful, leave a comment below with what steps you’re going to take to stop hating studying! And if you’d like to read more, check out these posts:
- 9 Essential Study Skills To Study Smarter, Not Harder
- 7 Better Monthly Habits Of The Smartest Students
- 9 Important Lessons I Learned In High School
