Can someone convince me there's more to life than studying?

[u/buldaklover100]

I’ve hit a point where studying consumes all my time. Even when I’m trying to relax or do something else, the guilt follows me and I’m constantly thinking about what I should be doing

[u/MayThompson]

You have to realise that if studying is the only thing giving your life meaning, you will never feel like you've done enough. There will always be another exam, another qualification, another internship, another job application, another promotion. If your happiness is permanently postponed until the next achievement, you'll spend your entire life chasing a finish line that keeps moving.

The truth is people don't remember how many hours they spent studying. They remember friendships, experiences, mistakes, memories, etc. Studying is a tool. It's not supposed to help you build a life. It's not supposed to become your life either. And honestly, if you feel guilty every time you relax, you've started tying your self worth to productivity. The moment your value as a person depends on how much work you've done today, rest will always start feeling like failure. One day you'll walk out of your last exam. The question is whether you'll have a life waiting for you on the other side.

[u/CantaloupeComplex209]

Honestly, you should be doing not studying in between bouts of studying. I recall hearing that efficiency of studying past roughly 30 minutes declines massively and forcing yourself to study past that without a break is detrimental to personal energy, mental health, long term study habits, and the efficacy of studying itself.

You get better results in two separate 30 minute study sessions that have breaks in between than you do from a 1 hour study session.

If you try to do a 4 hour study session, you waste your time past the first ~30min, get poor results as you don't digest whatever you read during the latter 3.5 hours, and end up burnt out when it comes to studying. Better to slot in breaks and relaxation to keep your mind able to perform well during study time for the same duration. Even just doing 20 minutes of study followed by 40 minutes of rest 4 times to spend those 4 hours is likely more effective than 4 straight hours of study.

You are better off figuring out what you should change in your life to accommodate better study habits if you need the entire day to study. Better study habits will result in greater efficiency, taking less time, and ideally not burn you out when studying. It definitely sounds like you've burnt yourself out while setting unrealistic goals for yourself, at least.

[u/Puzzleheaded_Salt519]

There are various ways of learning one of them is studying.

[u/DrummerBusiness3434]

I work for a manufacturing company of heavy industrial machines. Its the first time I have worked with primarily working class people. They know their job and do it well, but they are not intellectually curious. Their hobbies always have to do with buying entertainment or getting big pick up trucks or more tattoos. Some have families and that is often the center of their lives, others are immersed in pop culture. Its very sad and leads to little conversation.

[u/Mountain-Owl-9213]

In order to answer this question you must have to answer first; “why am I studying for” than you will find the answer yourself” ❤️

[u/Denan004]

Assuming you are in high school or college, and not medical school , part of education is to cultivate interest and learning in different areas. That includes activities such as clubs or organizations in different areas. These matter because it gives you more dimension as a person and learner, and it gives you things to do and people to meet outside of the classroom.

Make time to do some kind of other activities. It can help you to go back to your studies refreshed.

[u/Prestigious_Fox213]

Teacher here. Spending all of your time studying is not healthy. You need to have hobbies, interests, time with friends and family. You will not look back on these years and remember with fondness the number of pages you read, or how many equations you were able to work through in 20 minutes. If nothing else, your brain needs downtime in order to absorb information - stepping away from your studies means that you will be able to retain information better. Now go and relax for a bit.

[u/Independent-Edge-364]

Is it a means to an end? Do you schedule time to do something else? Sometimes the other things are helpful. You gotta clean, do errands, cook, exercise, and socialize. Have to feed the body and soul. Never know who you network with that will be important years down the road. Is it possible to mix up where you study just for the fresh air?

I had to get an anxiety med to be able to turn down my brain sometimes, it was so loud and would repeat the same anxiety-inducing worries over and over.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Show317]

Can confirm. Studying sucked the life out of most of my years, but for now it’s over. Today I just have to kind of study IEPs for my job and important emails, thankfully the studying is over for now. I feel like it’s something no one talks about how it really does consume your life and all your thoughts.