Hi so I’m a student right now and I have so much work to do, I feel stressed and I always procrastinate and end up just watching YouTube or something instead of working which is not helpful but I can’t seem to change my work ethic
so then I become more stressed cuz I feel like I don’t know how to fix it
so yeah any advice for studying habits and stuff would be appreciated
Hello @user223332 !
Let’s take a deep breath first and then slowly unpack a couple of things that are being discussed here: procrastination, stress cycles
First, on procrastination, it can be useful to probe deeper as to why you are procrastinating - is it about quantity of work (overwhelm), difficulty of work (not knowing how to start) or others that you can think of? And then, how does watching YouTube etc help you cope? This quick reflection is important as it can help us identify just where we can intervene to promote action rather than rumination. Do share and we can discuss further!
Next is what appears to be the stress cycle of: workload → not doing work but other leisure activities → feeling bad about undone work → stress; and this cycle reinforces itself. Let’s try to tackle something more felt, which is stress. Stress is a very intense feeling that sometimes overwhelm us so much that it totally clouds our function. Sometimes people freeze, sometimes people express it overtly. Regardless of the typical coping mechanisms, they can be alleviated when we just try to look at the emotion on its own first and “target” it so that we can think a bit clearer. Have you ever tried box breathing? It’s worthwhile googling it on how its done to bring our emotions closer to a baseline, calm level first. This can seem terribly basic but it’s more useful than we think, if we give it a good go 
Another would be taking a quick cold shower to “reset” our nervous system. Again, super easy but effective way to signal to our brain that we are ready to try again.
Hope this helps, if not, keep the messages coming and we can figure this out together! Be kind to yourself, and all the best with your studies!
Helloo. I understand how you feel in this situation right now. Being a student is really tough due to constant assignments and exams piling up no matter how much you finish them. Based on how you act in this situation, I assume that you are tired of works appearing endlessly and the pressure to be perfect by doing them well.
What I would suggest you is to take small breaks to relax. Even if you feel like you don’t deserve it, you still need to take breaks because our brain can’t handle that much stress. Forcing yourself to keep on working will not do anything and will eventually lead to mental burnout.
This is my first time posting an advice and I hope it helps. Cheers and good luck.
Hey @user22332,
Before going into study techniques, it might help to look at that statement. You mentioned that you “can’t seem to change your work ethic.”
When work builds up and you don’t start, it’s easy to assume it’s a discipline issue. But often procrastination is more about stress than character. When a task feels big or unclear, the brain avoids it because that reduces discomfort in the short term. Watching YouTube works because it’s simple and predictable. It lowers the tension quickly.
If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t feel stressed about it. Right now the main issue may not be motivation, but the size of the starting point.
Rather than changing your whole study habit, try reducing the entry step. For example:
The aim is just to begin, not to finish. Starting tends to be the hardest part. You may just need a smaller, repeatable starting action that feels manageable. Try one small adjustment first and see how your stress responds.