Optimal Study Time per day

silver77-1

Hey everyone, just want to hear everyone's thoughts on what worked for them in terms of how many study hours you put in per day without feeling burnt out?

Cant Get Right

Depends on the situation. When I was working 60-70 hours a week, I studied much less. I learned to set very low minimums because if I was ambitious and told myself I was going to study for 4 hours after work, I'd often feel overwhelmed and end up not studying at all. So I'd plan for 1 hour, or even just 30 minutes. That at least got me started. Once I'd finished that time, I would allow myself to continue if I wanted, but it was also perfectly okay and guilt-free if I wanted to just be done with it. This helped me to get started because even if I really didn't want to study, I could just knock out 30 minutes and be done with it. It helped manage burnout because I was able to achieve my daily minimum without too much exertion. And it helped maximize my effectiveness because it ensured that the majority of my study time came from wanting to study and not forcing it. Some of the days I dreaded studying the most, I'd sit down to just get it behind me but then get really absorbed in something and end up wanting to continue. Pursuing something out of interest will almost always be more effective than forcing it, so that's a good practice both for learning generally and for managing burnout.

During the time I was fortunate enough to be able to study full time, I treated it more like a job with a more rigid start and finish time. I found that six hours a day, six days a week was optimal for me. Beyond that I would get mentally fatigued and my effectiveness would decline. If I (or, more usually, my study group) felt like I was burning out, I'd also take whole weeks off to clear my head and reset.

ljtakessian

obviously, everyone is different. my schedule has been blocking off 5 hours (5pm - 10pm) on monday to thursday in which I'd study, eat dinner, shower, etc. I usually get about 3.5 good hours of studying within that time period (maybe a little less depending on the day and how I was feeling/how work was). Friday I usually gave myself off, id go out with my significant other or friends and just let myself vibe after a long week of working 9-5 and then studying. Saturday/Sunday were a bit of a toss-up for me, sometimes I'd have nothing going on and I'd put in some good time, other times I'd have plans or just wanted to turn my brain off especially after a really busy week at work and spend less time or maybe just review some topics but not try and take anything new on.

I was really going at studying when I started, and it absolutely stressed me out. Some people can just handle the absolute grind of studying nonstop but between work and finding time to nurture other aspects of my life that need attention that grind wasn't for me.

I think if I wasn't working full time, I could handle more study hours in a day/week but it's all relative to your situation. As long as I feel I'm making progress and reaching my milestones I'm happy with my study time regardless of what others may say is "required" or "optimal".