Tips for getting my brain in gear?

Microbass · #1 11-03-2009, 02:41 PM

I'm now in my final year of uni, 6 weeks in and I'm struggling. Not quite because the work is too hard... there is a lot, and i'm juggling work, 2 bands and a new girlfriend.

I know I can make this work. I know I have a lot of potential; but I just can't get my brain to work. Whenever I try to read journals or textbooks, I fall asleep, even though I can be motivated/hyped to when I initially sit down.
I'm constantly tired.. My body feels so fatigued, yet I generally get 7+ hours sleep - less on occasion - but the pattern is a bit screwed up.

My diet sucks, and I'm becoming very lazy.
The only time I'm happy and feel my brain engaged is at work.. even then I sometimes just feel so tired I can be a bit slow.

My questions to you TB, what foods can I add to my diet to help get me awake, and my brain in gear? What study tips do you have?

drteeth · #2 11-03-2009, 02:49 PM

Study tip: get off talkbass now.

(somebody was going to say it

)

iamlowsound · #3 11-03-2009, 02:50 PM

You have to eat right. That is the biggest thing I can see from what you said. Eat right and sleep enough.

lowsound

L-A · #4 11-03-2009, 02:56 PM

Grape juice is known to help.

I'm in the same situation as you are, and my diet is as healthy as I can make it with my actual means. Enough proteins, plenty of vegetables and fruits. I cut back on the salt and fat. This seems to keep me in a productive state for long enough every day.

Also, stuff like jamming to a song, eating some chocolate chocolate or a couple of minutes to play with the cat (figuratively or literally, depending on your marital situation and if you do have a cat), can cheer you up and raise your morale, making you more productive/less prone to bad work.

Split your tasks into small "bits" that you can do one by one. You will see your progress, and you will also see your workload planned instead of chaotically, which is very reassuring.

CrispyDelicious · #5 11-03-2009, 02:57 PM

I suffer a similar conundrum. Work 40+ hours a week, night class 3 nights a week, while trying to maintain a semblance of a normal life.

My tips:

-proper diet is important but, if you can't eat well all the time (cooking is a ***** when you are out of the house from 7am until 10 pm), take vitamins. You'd be amazed at what a vitamin B complex can do for you, taken regularly. This is no substitute for healthy eating, however.

-Set your priorities - I had to accept that bands are not an option right now. You might need to cut something from your schedule, but what that is, is entirely up to you. You may be a very capable person, but your not a robot, nor a god, not a machine. You have limits.

-I don't know what your schedule is like, but I try to get my studying done before noon, when I'm fresh. I do this by studying on the subway/bus ride to work (about one hour). Knocks a sizable chunk out of my work.

-Most importantly - WHERE DO YOU STUDY? I thought for the longest time that it was ME, unable to get my work done at home, until I left the house and went to one of the campus libraries, stuck myself in a cubicle and got to work. It could very well be your environment. Personally, I need my study spaces to be different from my relaxing spaces.

-Make sure you have a little downtime. When I am working 14 hours a day at a job, then school, then coming home and doing laundry, cooking food for the next day, its easy to forget how to just relax, go out with friends once in a while, and unwind. If you are not mentally and emotionally content, you will not work efficiently.

FWIW, IMHO, YMMV.

MadMan118 · #6 11-03-2009, 03:01 PM

Read a book. They look like this:

MakiSupaStar · #7 11-03-2009, 03:14 PM

Stop smoking the herb.

UnsungZeros · #8 11-03-2009, 03:37 PM

Eat right and sleep right.

You have to strike a balance. It sounds like you've got quite a bit on your plate. Perhaps you need to prioritize things and give something up.

tplyons · #9 11-03-2009, 03:46 PM

I cut out caffeine four or more hours before bed. Lots of vitamins and minerals in breakfast, and is generally my biggest meal. Lunch is middle sized and dinner is pretty hefty.

Get out of bed when you wake up, and don't spend all day laying around. Bright rooms help too.

MJ5150 · #10 11-03-2009, 04:17 PM

Put your body on a routine. Find out what times of the day you are the most productive, and do your most important work at that time.

-Mike

marksmith85 · #11 11-03-2009, 04:17 PM

One important thing to remember too, is to go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning if at all possible. You're body will quickly learn when it's time to be sleepy and when it's time to be alert, making your day much more productive and your nights much more restful. If you sleep sporadically, you won't nearly feel as refreshed as you should, despite averaging 7+ hours sleep a night/day.

Settle the pattern and you'll reap the rewards!

Unrepresented · #12 11-03-2009, 11:16 PM

Methamphetamines: good enough for the nazis, good enough for college students.

SpamBot · #13 11-03-2009, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unrepresented

Methamphetamines: good enough for the nazis, good enough for college students.

Bob Mould has said in interviews that Husker Du would wrote and record entire albums in the course of a week, thanks to very small and very frequent doses of amphetamines.

Just thought I'd share.

UnsungZeros · #14 11-03-2009, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unrepresented

Methamphetamines: good enough for the nazis, good enough for college students.

Good enough for these people too...

L-A · #15 11-04-2009, 05:21 AM

Thanks to this widely distributed chart, I am now much more aware that meth plays a big role in bad haircut choices.

machine gewehr · #16 11-04-2009, 06:00 AM

The dude in the second pic. has more hair on the forehead after a year of meth.Does meth make your lost hair grow again?

If so I'm starting meth.