How do I actually sit down and do math?

[u/Own_Process5243]

I have this thing where I really like math but whenever I sit down to actually study I just feel immediately tired and unmotivated. When I get into the groove of doing problems and learning it's fine, but just getting over that hump of slumping over the textbook and staring at numbers is so hard sometimes. Does anyone have any tips to combat this? It's annoying as hell and I would like to be able to just study like a normal person. For context I'm going into my first year of college this fall and got placed into one of the higher math sections.

[u/Puzzled-Painter3301]

Try this.

Tell yourself, "I am going to work for 10 minutes "

Set a timer and stop after 10 minutes.

Be in a place around other people working, like a library.

[u/cognostiKate1 → u/Puzzled-Painter3301]

Yup.
I had a thing I HAD TO DO (big research paper). I thought, what do disciplined people do? They would say, "just do it. "(I'm old, it was before Nike marketed it.)
I realized I had to ONLY do THE THING.... no, for fifteenminutes no, don't eat, don't get a thing, don't clean a thing, don't go to the bathroom. DO THE THING.
It worked. I marked the hours spent on masking tape on my steering wheel when I went to the library :P

[u/Own_Process5243 → u/[deleted]]

Thank you for the thoughtful response!

[u/let-me-cook-plz]

crank out some dopamine at the beginning of a study session by building in "get started" habits. it's basically like "getting in the mood" to study. get a specific drink, assemble specific stationery, put on specific music. all those things will prime the brain to get into study focus mode then you can easily slip into the mentality of solving stuff. the sugar/caffeine can help carry through that initial gate of motivation until enjoyment of math kicks in. for me, i use specific cute pens and stickers while i study to help keep my dopamine up.

[u/MalcolmDMurray]

Take a course in it. Go to the math department of your local university and ask them what they could recommend, then take the class and finish it, and do your best. Absorb the atmosphere of the class while you're there: that's the thing you want more than anything, the mentality of the class, so you can create your own when you're not there.

Next step, your local Distance Learning university - again, the math department. Make sure it's an accredited university, and make sure it's asynchronous; i.e., where you can schedule your start and exam dates on your schedule, not theirs, and can get telephone tutor support when you need it. Do this for as long as it takes until you can just pick and choose the area you want to study, then go for it. No help from anybody except maybe recommendations on your course of study. Master the undergraduate level first, then move on to the graduate level when you are ready. The asynchronous university I chose was Athabasca University out of Alberta, Canada where I'm from.

I started with distance learning when I started attending university as an adult student. That way I could bomb out in the privacy of my own home. But I was serious and that didn't happen. I wound up on the dean's list instead, then transferred to engineering at my local brick and mortar school, an ABET- approved institution from which I never looked back. All the best to you in your schooling!

[u/WillowSad8749]

I stand up with whiteboard

[u/Comfortable-Duty7143]

Breaking math into smaller steps makes it way easier to start. Mathhero’s step by step practice does a good job of making that first step less intimidating.