What to do when youâve been working really hard and not seeing any progress
If youâre like me, you might have gone through a phase where youâve put in your ALL. Youâve been working hard and consistently andâŚnothing has improved. At all. You read all these amazing stories on studyblr of people working hard, making sacrifices and getting amazing results and, well, the latter hasnât happened. Your results are still terrible, youâre stressed, exhausted and feel like youâre not actually capable of doing anything well. Iâve been there myself and I know exactly how terrible that feels and how soul-crushing it can be. Which is why Iâm here to help.
These are just tips that have worked for me. If youâre really suffering like this and may have anxiety or depression, I would highly suggest seeing a mental health professional because that was tip number zero. But here are the rest of the tips!
1) Work less. This may sound counterintuitive, but if youâre spending your weekends working, and youâre working late every day, and you feel like you have no time to see your friends or do anything fun - NO WONDER YOUR GRADES ARE SHIT. Youâre tired, stressed and unhappy so of course youâre not actually getting all that much done. Set strict working hours. For me, that was from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. with a full hour at lunch to go outside, sit in the sun and talk to my friends. No work on weekends. I donât care if your classmates are pulling all-nighters - this isnât about them. itâs about YOU and YOUR wellbeing.
2) Get a frikken hobby that doesnât have anything to do with what youâre studying or your work. I picked up this tip because I realised that the top performers in my class had something they LOVED doing and dedicated a lot of time to outside of their studies. It made them full, human beings whose self-esteem didnât rest on how well they did in class. The top student in my class ran regularly and did races. Another was really involved in her church. I started a lifestyle/book blog and tried figuring out how to have an instagram #aesthetic. This is something that you can do outside of your working hours and it really does not matter what it is - as long as you enjoy it and find it engaging. It gives your studying brain a break and exercises other parts of your body/brain. I canât remember the exact quote but itâs good to have a hobby that keeps you creative, brings in cash or keeps you exercising if feel like itâs âgoing to be a waste of time!!!!! that I could spend studying!!!!!â
3) Sleep, eat, move and socialise enough. Now that youâre not spending literally ALL of your time sitting in one place studying, youâll notice that you actually feel a bit tired and hungry because youâve used up a lot of energy. You need to refuel and actually sustain your body. Make plans with your friends too or spend time with your family - you need those social warm fuzzies as well because biology. Instead of disappearing off to your room after a meal to study again, help out with clearing the table and speak to the people in your home that you like. If you can, go outside and sit somewhere green. Trust me - it helps.
4) Step back from the terrible, overworking-normalized culture that youâre part of. I was stuck in a horrible physics department that normalized and glorified overworking and competition and it just was NOT for me. It literally made me ill. So I stepped back, realised that I was in a toxic hell-hole that I didnât have to be in and switched to astronomy the following year where the culture was a lot calmer and more supportive and had actual women in. Not everyone has the luxury of changing fields but if you step back and separate yourself from the culture youâre in and see how much thatâs affecting you, you can bring it up in meetings and start changing the culture. Decide not to participate in overworking. Speak to your friends and peers and ask them if theyâre feeling the same because they very well might be. Â
5) Chill TF out. Find some kind of balance. Youâll find that when you do sit down to work, youâll actually start to get things done and youâll feel more confident in your work. Once you get rid of the panic (for me, that required medication but you might not need that), youâll find that youâre actually able to concentrate a whole lot better!!! The time you spend on work will decrease, but the quality of your work will increase.
I really hope this helps. Being in an âIâm working so hard but Iâm not improving at allâ situation truly is frustrating and harmful and I donât wish it upon anyone. If you have any questions, my ask is always open. This is 1000% based on personal experience but it is something Iâm seeing more of on studyblr so I want to provide this alternative.
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