But if you found some way to enjoy your studies and find joy in your work, then you will never procrastinate again.

Hi, my name is Han.

I went to Columbia University, and growing up I took hundreds of exams and studied thousands of pages of learning materials.

And I'm pretty confident to say that if I didn't enjoy studying, I never could have made it.

Don't get me wrong, there are so many days that I just don't have the motivation to study, and there are subjects that I found really hard to study because I just have no interest in them.

But eventually, I do always find a way to enjoy studying them and get good grades.

So in this video, I'm going to share with you some actionable tips that not only can help you start enjoying studying, but also get better grades.

So let's get straight into it.

So sometimes when we don't feel like studying a particular material, then our mind automatically starts daydreaming and very disengaged in the context, because that's our natural reaction to feel better and get less bored.

But actually, you should do the opposite.

The more you engage in your studying, the more you will enjoy it.

Let me explain this.

The slowest time I've experienced are in classes where I'm actually not listening to the lectures.

My mind isn't focused on whatever the teacher is talking about, just waiting for the class to end.

Similarly, the worst study sections that I have are usually the ones that I don't know what to study.

I sit down, kind of think about what to do, maybe start reading my textbook.

But after a couple of minutes, I got distracted by a text message.

So I get on my phone for like 10 more minutes.

And I was like, oh, shoot, now I have to study.

Then thinking, oh, this is too hard to read.

Maybe I should do my homework.

Eventually, after almost an hour and feeling like I have done nothing, even though I just studied.

So those are the times that I end up feeling like, oh, I'm so not productive.

This is so boring.

And I hate studying.

And on the other hand, the best studying sessions that I've ever had are usually the ones that I sit down knowing exactly what I'm going to do, immediately getting to the deep focus mode, and then just very engaged in the studying session and actually get the job done.

Even though sometimes I may not study as long, but I usually end up feeling like very productive and accomplished.

These are usually the sessions that energize me afterwards.

The more randomness in your studying session, the more lost you will feel.

Also, you were more likely to be distracted because you just don't have a clear vision what you're supposed to do.

So plan out exactly how long or what task you're going to do before you actually start your studying session.

If every single studying session that you feel very accomplished and energized, long term, you will actually really enjoy studying.

On the other hand, if you always have like the worst feeling, then you will end up like not wanting to study.

Create a study environment that you love and associate studying with the things that you like.

So whenever you're about to study, romanticize it a little bit, listen to music that you really like and get yourself a fun drink that you really enjoy and keep your environment very clean and just aesthetically pleasing.

For me, I love to go to this one coffee shop and get one of my favorite, their signature latte.

And I have this favorite spot, which is like sit in front of a window.

And my view is like a small area of grass.

And whenever I look up, I can see people walking and sometimes people walking their dogs.

It just makes me feel so happy and content.

Like I feel like the life is good.

My mind is clear.

I can study for like 10 more hours.

So next time when you looking forward to get that latte, you're also kind of looking forward to study.

If you have studying in the same spot for too long or like for so many days in a row, you can always change your location because first of all, you change location.

You have to take a small walk and a walk is always better for your productivity.

And also different environment that kind of just bring a different energy to yourself.

So you have a more fresh mind, which always just helped me so much.

So I always love to go to different libraries, different study spots on campus and different coffee shops now.

The secret to make studying more engaging and fun is drum rolls, flashcards.

I talked about this multiple times on my channel, active learning and active recall.

More specifically, it's one of the most effective way of learning.

Active recall just means that you actually need to make an effort to think about it and retrieve information from your mind.

Examples are like flashcards and quizzes and practice questions.

It also really makes study more fun and engaging.

I love flashcards.

It just helped me memorize faster and better in the long term.

My only complaint is that sometimes it takes me way too long to make the flashcards and it's very hard for me to find flashcards online that related to my study content.

So I was very excited to found this study app and I'm so excited to share with you because I just think it will be so helpful.

It's called Wistolia.

It basically can help you make flashcards and then multiple choices questions or even scenario questions in just a couple seconds.

It's like really easy to use.

You can just upload your lecture slides for your notes and then boom, it just generated a bunch of flashcards and questions for you.

I can't imagine how much time this will save me if I have discovered this in college.

In answering every 10 questions, you will see your tree grow, which is just so cute.

You can use Wistolia completely for free and it also has premium plans that allows you to use it more often with more content.

So please go try out Wistolia.

The link is in my description box.

Upload your lecture slides and let me know how it goes for you.

And thank you so much Wistolia for sponsoring this video.

This is pretty straightforward.

Studying with friends is just more fun.

It's also very motivating to see your friend sitting next to you is also working hard.

If you guys ever start a discussion on whatever you're learning, that's always the best way to learn something, which is teaching each other and discuss with each other.

So next time if you're like lying on the bed and you don't feel like studying, just text your friend and see if they're down to meet at a library or like a coffee shop.

So you guys can study together because all you need is that like initial motivation to get you off the bed and like go outside and study.

So meeting with a friend is a great way to do that.

So when we are not motivated to study, sometimes it's because we're focused on the wrong thing.

Because lots of time we probably only focus on, oh, I'm studying because I need to pass my next exam.

But instead of thinking about your studying for the education system, think about studying as something that you're doing for yourself.

You're studying because you're devoted and invested in your future.

Suddenly it just feels lighter and less draining.

I know this is kind of like a cliche thing to say, everybody knows, oh, I'm studying for myself and not for other people.

Like if I study better, I'll have a better future.

Sometimes we always forget about that.

And actually it's very powerful to have this mindset shift.

There's this paper shows that if someone found very bored in a classroom setting, there are three options for them to choose from.

The first one is just rethink about your situation and remind yourself the importance of the subject.

And the second one is ask the teacher to give them more interesting tasks.

The third one is just switch tasks and do something else that make you feel less bored.

And surprisingly, the results shows that the students that just rethink about their situation actually found more joy in their studying than the other two group of students.

And if you foresee yourself getting bored at something, then you actually feel more bored.

On the other hand, if you foresee yourself having more fun at an event or at a class, you will actually end up having more fun.

So please stop telling yourself, oh, I don't want to study.

I hate studying when you're not being motivated.

Just when you have those thoughts, just take a moment, take a deep breath and remind yourself, I don't actually feel this way.

I actually do enjoy studying.

Get a role model.

Whenever you see someone you admire that they're working so hard and they're achieving their goals, it makes studying feel less like a chore, more like I'm stepping toward my own success, just like my role model.

You're studying because you want to become someone that you're proud of, someone that you always want to be.

I love to watch Legally Blonde when I need a motivation boost.

And one of my favorite movies is Flying Colors, which is about a girl who goes from filling all her classes to get into her dream top university.

Highly recommend it.

Role models can be incredibly motivating because just think about they once stood in your positions, facing the same challenges.

It's like if they can do it, so can you.

There's actually a huge problem for women in STEM due to the lack of role models.

How can you expect someone to work really hard at something if they've never seen someone else done it before?

A little bit off topic, this is one of the reasons I started this channel because I loved watching StudyTube's videos back in the day and they just gave me so much motivations and inspirations while I'm nowhere near close to become a role model.

But it is my goal to inspire some of you, especially for the girls who are interested in math and engineering.

Taking breaks is important, but please don't spend your study breaks on your phone.

It won't help you rest.

The apps on your phone are designed to have so much fun.

Companies spend billions of dollars to make sure that they are super fun.

So when you switch from your phone to studying, it's going to be really, really hard to enjoy studying because it does require more time and effort to feel the enjoyment of focus and mental activity.

So what I usually do is I use this app called Opal so I can block all the fun apps from 9am to 9pm.

So this way I can still use my phone and enjoy it a little bit after 9pm once I've finished most of my important studying tasks, which is not always the case, but I try.

Please go check out Westolia.

It's completely for free to try it.

Upload your slides and let me know how it goes.

You can find me on Instagram at Han Zhangou.

I hope this video is helpful and can inspire you to start enjoying studying.

Thank you so much for watching.

I hope you have a wonderful day.

I will see you next time.

Bye. you