I want to study but I can't get started

Do you want to study but find that you can't get started? You are desperate to make progress and yet at the end of each day, you find you have been busy not studying! It's a roller-coaster ride - you are locked on 'rinse and repeat'. Be assured there is an incredibly simple solution.

We have two choices - work or rest. Often, we are not choosing to rest, rather we are choosing not to work! That 'choice' makes us feel somehow responsible, yet playing the blame game is unhelpful. We are victims of the way our minds work. Fortunately , victims can transition to victors.

It is frustrating. We want to work, but our mind is doing everything it can to stop us. Did you know we possess a lethal weapon? It is boredom. Our mind hates boredom. We can tolerate boredom more than our minds can. Fantastic!

Dr. Alok Kanojia, aka Dr K, explains perfectly how to capitalize on our mind's reaction to boredom. He bills himself as a highly successful Harvard-trained psychiatrist, lifelong gamer and interestingly, a recovered gaming addict. One of his videos motivated me to write this post. I found the theory actually works in practice. If you are done with strategies that are full of promise and empty of delivery, hear him out.

He says, the success of this technique depends on a smidgen of tough love. It goes against the grain in the current climate, where self-love is king, but I like that. I am all for being supportive and understanding. That said, at times we need to take a different tack. Horses for courses.

So, why can't you study? Probably, you engage in other activities that are productive but are taking you away from the work you most need to do. For work, read anything study-related. It may mean writing your own notes, drafting an essay or a report, or even revising a topic you find challenging. Anything that causes your mind to draw a blank and shut shop.

How confusing to feel compelled to complete the work yet powerless to overcome the total inertia holding us back. Turns out we can fool our mind into choosing to study - willingly. The technique is safe and can be mastered without a guru, plus it's so simple. Did I mention that before? No cheating though!

But how do you overpower your mind?

We are not our thoughts, and we are able to observe our mind as if we were an outsider? Anyone interested in yogic teaching or mindfulness will know this already. For the uninitiated, here goes.

It begins the moment a thought crosses your mind that you will definitely study today. When today? 'Right now' seems a little bit too soon.

Don’t be tempted to get busy doing productivity tasks.

Your mind is tricking you into dodging the dreaded piece of work. Just sit with yourself and pay attention to what your mind is telling you. Notice your thoughts.

“I don’t feel like working today.” may drift into your mind. It is clever enough to repurpose this as something less guilt-ridden. “I can’t think straight at the moment:" or "I'll be able to focus much better if I finish the easy jobs first” is more palatable! Ring any bells?

Those tasks you are tempted to tackle before settling down to study may be genuinely important. Surely dealing with them can't be a bad thing, right? It would be ok if the next day were better, but experience tells us tomorrow will be exactly the same. It is not a solution.

Sit down at your desk anyway.

Laying down and not moving causes secretion of melatonin, which then makes you drowsy. Consequently, you should not lay on your bed to read anything that requires you to focus? Instead, sit at your desk. Notice what your feelings are. Close your eyes if it helps but stay sitting, and at your desk.

Frustration will set in

Resist any urges to get up and clean something, or to send an SMS. ... You may do nothing except study. Like a child, your mind will keep working on you and try to wear you down.

Ask it what does 'I don’t feel like working' really mean? What exactly is your mind objecting to? "I don’t know where to begin" or "I can’t think clearly today and tomorrow will be better." are likely responses. Perhaps it will say "You have so many pressing and straightforward tasks to do, why risk achieving nothing by beginning with an impossible task."

Tell your mind you are fine with it not wanting to work, but that you cannot do anything else in its place, apart from either sleep or sit and do absolutely nothing. Don’t stress. Your mind will throw in the towel long before you. Once it realises you are not going to budge - it will cave in.

How to beat your mind at fighting back?

This is about you changing the outcome of the fight you have with yourself every time you plan to attack that same specific piece of work. For today only, you are not allowed to be too kind to yourself. Try tough love.

If it tells you that you are tired agree with it. You can go and sleep. Sleep for as long as you like - all day if necessary. In the process you will appreciate the difference between true tiredness and tiredness due to lack of engagement!

What if your mind says the task is just too big and that you will never finish it? In response, suggest it attempts just one question, or agrees to write a single sentence? Then it might object that you don’t have enough knowledge. You can ask it "What do I need to learn to get over that?" But don’t let this be a distraction.

Often “I don’t know” really means “I am not confident” Tell yourself “Too bad” we are going to do it anyway. Get started and fix whatever problems there are afterwards. The mind is very slippery. See how it dances. It will offer all sorts of objections and there will only be one outcome - you won’t get started! Don't fall into the trap.

Notice you are learning about yourself. We can’t unlearn things. It's like letting the genie out of the bottle. Realising your mind absolutely can be controlled when you block it from doing anything else is a game-changer.

The more you practice the easier it becomes. Try it. It works for me.

When wasting time is not a waste of time

Whatever we need to do to be able to focus on our studies, should be considered to be an investment in our future. People spend their entire life trapped in stuck-city, ironically because they are not willing to waste a few hours experimenting.

Worst-case scenario is that you try this and it fails the first time. You can't write and you don't do anything else, so you end up actually wasting a whole day. Try again tomorrow, but at least you are on the right path.

In reality, it is much more likely that you will attack your studies rather than sleep all day. It has to be proper sleep, and not daydreaming, otherwise you will be missing the target.

Keeping busy is not the key to a successful career. If it were, every hard-working person would be highly successful. Rather, learn to prioritise and work urgently on whatever will have most impact on your progress. This ties in with learning how to overcome your mind's objections to seemingly difficult work, rather than keeping busy with regular tasks. The most successful people in life have a plan, albeit one that is monitored and revised regularly.

The antidote to chronic procrastination of a specific and relatively important task is of great value, whatever we do in life. Being equipped to resist the temptations of doomscrolling on YouTube and similar mindless activities has to be worth something! Try it. You might like it.

If you would like to watch the video here is the link. Dr. K How do I focus?