I've always loathed watching online lectures, it takes too much time (even on 2x) and depending on the instructor, it can be filled with filler or jargon. I also find it easy to lose focus when a video is passively playing in front of me.

I've found myself to be much more productive reading textbooks or articles because I have to actually read and engage with the material rather than get the illusion of learning from passive listening.

I've always wished there was some tool that could convert lectures to articles, but the ones I tried were either crap or locked behind some paywall (often-times both), so I made one myself!

https://ytdistill.hrideshmg.com

The code is open source and as you can probably tell by the domain, I don't plan on monetizing this.

Hope you all find it useful!

So I am an engineering freshman, I have AuDHD and I really struggle with episodic memory deficits. I lose track of things, time, goals and pretty much my whole life 😭

And I end up in the same cycle of zoning out, masking, procrastinating and feeling devastated and lonely.

I REALLY need someone to count on, for keeping track of each other's day and act like an actual academic co-conspirator.

Also, anyone is welcome but I'd highly prefer a fellow engineering student!

I doubled my efficiency!!

For a long time, my approach to studying was brute force: chug coffee, fight through brain fog, crash at 2 PM, and then stare at the ceiling wide awake at midnight. Trying harder to concentrate when my brain felt like static never worked.

After an episode of Andrew Huberman’s podcast caught my attention, I read through 20+ research papers on body-clock biology to understand why. It turned out that when you do things matters just as much as what you do.

After months of trial and error, here are the 5 habits that aligned my studying with my body clock and practically doubled my daily energy. (Full disclosure, I did build an app to automate these routines but you can try all of them with just a notebook and a phone timer.)

1. Activating your mornings with outdoor daylight

Your body clock takes its main cue from bright outdoor light shortly after waking. A 15–20 minute morning walk does two things: it tells your brain and body to wake up now, and it starts an internal timer that helps you fall asleep easily tonight. (Indoor lights or sitting by a window aren't nearly bright enough—even a cloudy sky outside is much stronger).

• Make it easy: Lay out your shoes and clothes the night before, and save a favorite podcast exclusively for this walk so you look forward to it.
• Try at least for a week: keep this routine for at least 1 week, then you will notice the difference between days when you went out for that walk and days where you didn't.

2. Match your study tasks to your peaks and dips

Afternoon slumps aren't a sign of laziness—peaks and dips in alertness are wired into your body clock.

• How to find yours: Most people hit their sharpest focus peak 2 to 4 hours after waking, hit a natural afternoon dip 6 to 8 hours after waking (usually around 1–3 PM), and get a second wind later in the afternoon. Track your energy for a few days to spot your pattern.
• Work with it: Save your peak hours for hard material (new concepts, math/coding problems, practice exams). During your afternoon dip, stop forcing heavy reading—use that time for easy tasks like organizing notes, making flashcards, or taking a walk.

3. Study in 90-minute focus cycles

Your brain naturally focuses in roughly 90-minute cycles (called ultradian cycles). It usually takes the first 5–10 minutes just for your mind to settle down, followed by deep concentration before your brain needs a reset at the 90-minute mark.

• Pick one specific goal (*“Finish 10 practice questions”* instead of *“study biology”*).
• Set a 90-minute timer, put your phone in another room, and push past the first 10 minutes of restlessness.
• Afterward, take a real 15-minute break away from screens before starting another block.

4. Time your caffeine

Coffee doesn't create energy—it just temporarily blocks the "sleepy signals" in your brain. When the coffee wears off, all that built-up fatigue hits you at once.

• Wait 90–120 minutes after waking: Letting your body wake up naturally for the first 1.5 to 2 hours clears out morning grogginess so you don't crash in the afternoon.
• Cut it off 8 hours before bed: Caffeine stays in your system for hours. Stopping 8 hours before sleep protects your deep, restorative rest—even if you feel like you can fall asleep easily after coffee.

5. Dim the lights 3 hours before bed

A productive study day starts the night before:

• Lower the lights 2–4 hours before sleep: Bright overhead lights at night trick your brain into thinking it’s still daytime. Depending on your body clock, switching to dim lamps about 3 hours before bed helps your brain naturally wind down.
• Shut off stimulation: Stretch or read for 10 minutes before sleep, and put your phone away (or use an app blocker) so a quick scroll doesn't turn into an hour of midnight screen time.

What to expect

Once I got consistent with this, my afternoon brain fog cleared up, my energy stayed steady, and my wearable sleep scores climbed from the 60s into the 80s and 90s. Try picking just one habit this week—like morning daylight or delaying your coffee—and see how your focus feels.

Transparency note: I’m the developer behind Rhythm: Better Sleep & Energy on iOS. I originally built a personal tool because doing the mental math for coffee cutoffs, peaks and dips, and light timing while half-asleep was a chore. The routine above works completely free with a notebook and phone timer, but if you want an app to automate it, Rhythm maps your daily peaks and dips from your sleep data, checks outdoor light brightness with your camera, and includes 90-minute focus timers, Lock Screen reminders, and an app blocker.

Hey y'all! I'm currently in my final year of MBBS. I haven't started reading yet. My proffs will commence in March/April/May. Please help 😭

1. If I do important questions alone clubbed with Pyqs, will it suffice?

2. How to do clinical postings? White Army lectures?

Hey everyone!

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To celebrate our 50k monthly active users, we’re offering 2 months of free Premium access to the first 50 users who comment on this post.

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ok so my school keeps exams in different series so I just got done with Oct / nov 0500 and now my next exam is in February- English lit and Hindi . Next I have 5 papers in may / June - history biology economics ict and math . So I’m so confused on how I should plan my study routine because it gets so boring studying the same thing over and over and idk how should I study cause as of now getting more time is just making me procrastinate more cause our school is done with the course for almost all the subjects so now it’s just and just revision though obviously I need to study , I don’t feel like it 😭😭 how should I motivate myself to study ?? And what should my study plan be??

I’m incredibly worried as my Y9 exams are in 2 weeks and I have barely revised anything.

I have a solid understanding of all 5 exams I have to do, (Mathematics, science, social sciences/studies, Spanish, and English) but I’m a big procrastinator and has just decided to study. I’m aiming for all excellences in all of these subjects, is that possible?

I’m 60% confident with mathematics, 75% confident with science, 45% confident with social studies, 60% confident with Spanish, and 45% confident with English.

I can study up to 7-8 hours on weekdays and around 12-18 hours on weekends normally.

Any study tips on how to achieve excellence in all these subjects and is it possible for a Year 9 student to accomplish this?

Help!! Looking for recommendation for studying help for Psychology. I have a bunch of pages of notes and I've tried everything to get them organized and quiz myself. I am looking for recommendations help or tips to help with studying for exams or making quizzes out of your notes. Tools that work for neurodivergent even better

I enrolled in my undergraduate program in 2020. My degree requires me to complete 8 semesters over 4 years, with 2 semesters each year. I completed my first 6 semesters (up to the third year) without any major interruptions. However, due to unavoidable circumstances, I had to take a one-year break before resuming my studies from the 7th semester. My major is in Environmental Science (Oceanography) .

Unfortunately, I had to retake one course in the 7th semester, which means I now need to complete a total of 10 semesters, including 2 repeat semesters. As a result, a degree that is supposed to take 4 years is taking me around 6 years to complete.

My question is: How much will this extended study period and my academic record affect my chances of pursuing higher education abroad?

I really want to pursue a master's degree abroad on a scholarship, and I have already started exploring opportunities in China. However, my academic results are not particularly strong, and I expect my final CGPA to be around 3.2. 

I would really appreciate your valuable advice and suggestions.

Hey everyone! I’ve been building Casper, a Mac and Windows app with a Chrome extension that reads visible questions, generates draft answers through your ChatGPT account, and fills supported fields for you to review.

This it completely undetected from all the platforms I listed by editing the software and disguising it as an software update.

It currently supports Google Forms and Canvas Classic Quizzes, with support for Canvas New Quizzes. Multiple choice, checkboxes, and plain text/numeric fields are supported. Next and Submit stay manual, and AI answers can be wrong.

You’ll need a Mac, Chrome, and your own ChatGPT account. Casper costs $9.99/month or $60/year.

I’m looking for feedback on the setup, speed, and overall experience. What would make something like this more useful for you?

You can learn more or ask questions in the Discord: https://discord.gg/AGWq3Jxy2r

We will have a website coming very soon!

Hello people.

I used to do better in uni because getting a low grade (like 80) was considered horrible to me and I worked really hard to bring my mark up for the next test. However, in 4th year (and starting somewhere in second year) I accepted the idea of getting lower grades and I've been slacking off too much because as I said the only thing making me study was that initial idea that I have to get high marks. Any way I can bring back this feeling? Like I could study for hours and it wasn't even tiring to me.