The act of studying, or any form of hard work, especially that which requires a tremendous amount of mental effort, has generally had many negative connotations. Many see such tasks as unpleasant, which leads to procrastination.
However, if one can enjoy studying, it would make such a task become much easier to accomplish, and in the long run, this is definitely a highly desired outcome. Hence, this article aims to act as a guide for a journey towards a fulfilling studying habit.
1. Learn to “stack” studying with the things that you like
In #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits, by author James Clear, one of the ways to start a new habit that is outlined by Clear is habit stacking. The overall gist of such a concept is that one of the best ways to cultivate a new habit is to do it is to stack it together with existing habits to make it easier for the new habit to be performed. I propose a similar approach when it comes to studying, where study sessions can be sandwiched in between various activities that are highly desirable to us. For example, a study session could be placed right between drinking a nice cup of coffee and a Netflix session. The cup of coffee would then be able to motivate one to study, with the Netflix session used to encourage the completion of the study session as one would be anticipating a well-deserved rest right after the study session, instead of beating yourself up every time you watch Netflix(or any other form of entertainment, for that matter). This would work best when both activities are immediately actionable, meaning that they can provide an almost instant sense of reward when done.
2. Gamify the process
I am sure that anyone reading this article has definitely played a game, in any form, before. In many games, like the popular(though outdated) Candy Crush series of games rely on a levelling up process sometimes equipped with a progress bar. These functions are able to provide gratification to players after they have put in the hard work to finish a level, and is also what makes such games so popular and addictive. In fact, this is very similar to the construct that studying is built upon — you cannot achieve academic success without putting in the hard work required. Therefore, studying actually becomes a fun game where hard work put in to complete the require homework, the required research, the required readings etc. just becomes the ‘quests’ that have to be completed to complete the level, which could be a certain test or exam. And who doesn’t love playing fun games!
3. Learn to love the process and not just the end
Many a time, studying is done only to achieve a goal, for example, to get an A in a subject. Although having a specific goal is not inherently bad, in the case of studying, if we are merely doing it just to achieve a certain something, it indicates that we are treating studying as a means to an end.
In Immanuel Kant’s Formula of Humanity, he states, “Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as end, and never as a mere means”
Reframing this in the context of studying, I propose that we should see studying as a process that is ‘alive’ and not treat it as inanimate. Therefore, studying should be treated as an end in itself too, which means that we have to learn to proclaim a love for the process of studying, just as much as we do for success(earning good grades, getting into our dream universities etc.), maybe(more like probably) even more. Only when we learn to love the process, can the love of studying be apparent, and we can make use of this love to achieve success.
However, studying is inherently a complex task, layered with various aspects to consider. Therefore, these tips may not be all that helpful to some of you readers. Instead, what I advise is for those of you to still consider my thoughts and opinions on this subject, but to formulate your own theories on how one can enjoy studying, or if there is even a need to.
Do take note, I am by no means an expert in this field, but I believe strongly that it is not fair that I should not let my opinions on this matter be known, since it may be helpful to some individuals out there. Do follow me for more articles just like this as I project my thoughts and opinions out to the world!!
