How to trick your brain to enjoy studying

This molecule, which has 8 carbon atoms, 11 hydrogen atoms, 1 nitrogen atom, and 2 oxygen atoms, is the key to enjoying studying. You might also know this molecule as dopamine. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter in your brain that's associated with feelings of happiness and pleasure. While you're eating snacks, watching movies, or hanging out with friends, your brain is releasing a ton of dopamine. But when you go to your desk to work on some homework, well, it's not releasing as much. The ultimate goal here is to trick your brain into releasing dopamine while you're studying. But before we jump into that, let's talk about dopamine itself. I like to imagine that different activities in our lives give us different amounts of dopamine, and we can put these activities on something I like to call the pleasure scale. Studying is all the way down here, listening to music is probably here, eating sugary snacks is here, and then scrolling on your phone is all the way up here. Of course, there are hundreds of other activities that can and do give us dopamine. Now, before we discuss anything else, I want you to ask yourself one question. Where is my baseline dopamine level? Is it all the way down here? Is it all the way up here? Or is it somewhere in the middle? Because here's the truth. The farther ahead your baseline dopamine level is from studying, the worse studying is going to feel to you. But Gohar, what is a baseline dopamine level? Well, think about the activities you engage in regularly. The average amount of dopamine these activities release is your baseline level. So, for example, if you spend most of your day scrolling through TikTok while eating candy and watching movies in the background, chances are your baseline dopamine level is all the way up here, meaning that this is what normal life feels like to you. So when you have to study, which is all the way down here on the pleasure scale, it's going to feel very painful. On the other hand, if you live a healthier lifestyle, for example, if you exercise, limit your phone usage, and avoid eating high processed foods, your baseline level is probably in a lower, healthier range. So in this situation, studying doesn't feel as painful. By the way, this notion of a baseline dopamine level is not some precise measure. It's simply a framework that I came with to assess my own behavior. So now to trick our brains to enjoy studying, there are two things that we can do. First, we can make the act of studying itself release more dopamine, which in essence means moving it up the pleasure scale. But there's also something else that we can do. We can lower our baseline dopamine level, so this way when we have to study, it feels less painful. And ideally, we want to do both of these. All right, first, let's talk about how to lower your baseline dopamine level. Some people also call this a dopamine detox. The first tip I have to go on a 10 to 15 minute walk every single day. No music, no phone, just you, your thoughts, and nature. For many of us, our phones aren't just a tool that we use. They feel like an extension of our being. I mean, just think about it this way. Is your phone ever out of arm's reach? Chances are, you said no. This dopamine box is sitting next to us 24-7. I mean, it's sitting next to me right now. The goal should be to bring this down just a little bit. I'll be honest, going on a walk without your phone is going to feel really weird at first, because we are so used to holding our phones or having it in our pockets. So when you first go outside without it, you are going to feel like you're missing something. But after some time, you are going to overcome that feeling, and it might even feel freeing. As you go on these walks, I encourage you to just sit with your thoughts, to observe the smells, the sights, the sounds, because in today's era, I feel like we seldom take time to observe the world around us. Tip number two is to implement a no screen rule for the first 30 minutes of the day and the last 30 minutes of the day. Remember, you are in control of your phone, not the other way around. If you grab your phone first thing when you wake up, you are implicitly surrendering yourself before the day has even started. This sounds a little intense, I know, but my goal isn't to get you to abandon your phone. All I'm saying is that you should give yourself the first 30 minutes of the day to stretch, drink some water, maybe regain consciousness. I'll admit, there are some mornings when I grab my phone first thing, and I mean first thing, like before my vision has even kicked in. And no surprise, these end up being the mornings that I feel the laziest. Tip number three is to practice mindfulness or meditation for 10 minutes every single day. Now the main benefit here is that meditation is a great way to balance out all the distracting dopamine you might be getting throughout the day. It's also a great way to lower cortisol, which is your stress hormone, as well as increase focus. And here's a very simple five-step meditation routine. First, find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed for 10 minutes. Second, sit in a comfortable position either in a chair or on the floor. Make sure your back is straight, but not tense. Third, start a timer for 10 minutes. Fourth, close your eyes and focus on your breath. Try to notice the sensation of air flowing in and out. Fifth, be present. Don't try to judge or fight any random thoughts. Simply acknowledge them and return your focus to your breath. After implementing these habits, hopefully you can lower your baseline dopamine level, but it still might be far away from studying on the pleasure scale. So now the goal isn't to move your baseline level even lower. Instead, it's to move studying up the pleasure scale so we can make learning fun. And you know what else makes learning fun? The sponsor of this video, Skillshare. Skillshare is the ultimate online destination to pick up almost any skill that you can imagine, from web development and video editing to productivity and mindfulness. The platform has thousands of classes spanning all skill levels, so no matter what you want to learn, you're bound to find something that's the right fit for you. Personally, I think it's super important for all students in today's world to have digital skills, like programming and graphic design. Luckily, Skillshare not only offers classes for these skills, but they also offer something called learning paths, which are curated collections of classes designed to help you master specific skills. For example, I'm interested in taking the creative productivity learning path, which will help me with everything from being more creative to optimizing my workflow. What I love about Skillshare is that you are learning from experts who are passionate about what they're teaching. The lessons are energetic, bite-sized, and very easy to digest. And as you take these classes, you'll both learn the relevant knowledge and also get the chance to apply that knowledge through projects. Best of all, you can access the classes from whenever, wherever, so they're easy to fit into your schedule as a busy student. If you're ready to pick up some new skills this school year, head to my description. The first 500 people to use the link in my description will get a free one-month trial of Skillshare. Get started today, and now back to the video. Okay, so for this next part of the video, we're going to talk about how to make studying more enjoyable. In other words, move it up the pleasure scale. To do this, you have to consider five different factors. Where, what, how, when, who, and why. First, we have to consider where. If you're always studying in a dark, dingy environment, something as simple as studying in a different room can make studying more pleasurable. Back in college, I would love studying in different campus libraries, particularly Barker Library, which was located right underneath the MIT Dome. Here, take a look at a few pictures and tell me this doesn't look mesmerizing. But if you're not in college yet, you could study at your local library instead, or maybe a cafe, or even outside. Choose a place that's novel but not distracting. For example, you don't want to study in a place with too many people or too much noise, even if it feels like a fun place to be. Now, if you don't feel like walking or driving somewhere to study, don't worry, because you can still make it feel like you're studying somewhere new. Just head to YouTube and search up Ambience, and instantly you will find videos, each between two and ten hours long, that will transport you into different worlds. For example, do you want to study in a bookstore cafe while listening to jazz? No? Well, what about a cozy wooden house in the forest while listening to some rainfall? Or what about a cabin? Or what about a spaceship? Or what about Hogwarts? Not gonna lie, I sometimes throw that one on while working. I would definitely recommend. Next, you have to consider what you study with. I mean, doesn't it always feel exciting to study with a new notebook or a new set of pens or pencils? No? Am I the only one? I remember back when I was taking AP Calc, I got the TI-84 Plus CE, which is that fancy graphing calculator with a colored screen. I kid you not, just because I had that calculator, I actually enjoyed doing my Calc homework for the first few weeks of that class. Now, the point here isn't to go out and buy a bunch of expensive things to make studying more fun. If you have the budget to buy a few new things, great. But the main point here is to introduce just a pinch of novelty. And that could be as small as using a pen instead of a pencil, or Cornell notes instead of the outline method. Actually, I'm not the biggest fan of Cornell notes, so maybe not that. Okay, so we just talked about where and what. Now, I want you to think about how you study. Now, the problem with how we study is that the payoff is all the way at the end. Only after studying for two, three, or four hours, when we can finally check studying off our to-do list, do we feel that sense of gratification. But while we study, we usually feel pretty miserable. So, we have to figure out a way to feel that sense of gratification, not just after studying, but while studying. And this requires us to hack our brain's reward system. So, I have a question for you. What is the most satisfying feeling as a student, besides doing well on an exam? It's checking things off your to-do list. So, the trick here is to create a super granular to-do list on a sticky note and place it next to you while you're studying. This way, you can feel the satisfaction of checking things off while you're working, and not just after. For example, you can write things down like, read five pages, read 10 pages, read 15 pages, or write one paragraph, two paragraphs, three paragraphs. By having this granular to-do list, studying will start to feel like a game. And obviously, games are pretty fun. Now, if you want to take this even one step further, you can associate each thing on your checklist with a different reward. For example, next to So, now you're going to feel the pleasure both of checking things off and getting rewarded for making progress. This is literally a way to turn studying into a fun video game. And if this doesn't move it up the pleasure scale, then I don't know what will. Next, I want you to focus on when you study. Now, this is totally up to personal preference, but I feel much better when I tackle hard homework assignments earlier in the day. So, for example, back in high school, I would do homework right after school, or better yet, even during school. I can't even begin to explain how great it felt to finish homework during study hall. And this was especially the case during my senior year when I was taking five AP classes and also applying to colleges. I would also try to squeeze in work in between classes. For example, if I got to class a few minutes early, or if I had a few free minutes at the end of a class, I would just pull out a homework assignment and answer the first question right then and there. This way, once I got home, I no longer felt that burden of starting an assignment from scratch. Instead, I just had to keep the momentum going. Now, I will add one caveat to this, however. Numerous studies show that studying right before bed can help with memory consolidation. However, I'm still going to stick to my original point. I still think it's beneficial to study as early as possible in the day. However, right before bed, maybe you can throw in a light review session. Alright, next, I want you to consider who you study with. Now, I'll be honest, finding a friend to work with is one of the easiest ways to make studying more fun. Yes, you have someone who can quiz you or explain concepts, but you also have someone who can help reduce the stress. Some of my best memories from college come from when I was studying with my friends at 1 or 2 a.m., and it was during these late night study sessions when we had some of our funniest moments, which does lead me to one caveat. You should only study with your friends for certain kinds of assignments. Studying with them the night before a big exam might be a recipe for disaster if y'all don't know how to stay disciplined and focused. Now, unfortunately, my friends and I did not have that discipline all the time, which is why we wouldn't really study together before huge midterms or finals. But during the week, we would always get together for p-sets or anything else that wasn't as important. And then finally, I want you to consider why you study. Many students study just for the grade, not for the sake of actually learning the content. And look, I don't blame you. I'm not jumping for joy at the thought of learning about Hamlet or the Krebs Cycle, but education is a privilege, and to be well-read in this era, where the world is more distracting and distracted than ever, is a gift. So I want you to switch your perspective. Instead of thinking, I have to study this, think I get to study this. This one subtle shift can make studying feel so much more enjoyable and meaningful. And yes, while I understand that the individual topics might feel a bit irrelevant, school isn't just about learning a bunch of random facts and formulas, though it might feel like that at times. School is instead about who you become in the process. Regardless of whether you want to be a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, or even if you don't want to go to college, you will have to learn to synthesize information, think critically, and approach complex problems, all of which are skills you learn as a student. So even if school feels irrelevant or pointless, acknowledge the benefits and how that develops you as a person to survive in the real world. So hopefully with these six key aspects in mind, you can make studying feel not only bearable, but also enjoyable. And if you want to make studying feel even more enjoyable, feel free to join my discord which has over 180,000 students from all around the world. You can join my newsletter, The Studio Student, for weekly study tips, and you can always subscribe for more tips. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you again next week.