Hi Rahul. I have this kind of thought a lot when I realize I have not prepared enough. The issue is that these thoughts can come at any stage in the process, whether you had 20 days or it's the beginning of the term. I remember rejecting coding in college because I knew people who had started in middle school. I felt foolish learning beginning programming in preparation for my masters' degree, regretfully thinking it was too late. It never really goes away.
I don't know what will help you, but I'll try to distill what helped me. When I was young, I had a mentality of "if I can't do it correctly, it isn't worth doing". When I was vulnerable and rethinking my path, this became co-opted by my dissenting inner voice. It presented rational arguments and I gave up before I started things. I lost relationships, friendships and career opportunities because it by the time I realized I cared, I thought that I could never overcome the difference. I still let it affect me, but it happens less now.
In your case, it's so rational to look at the next 20 days and think "I had all term to do this, I can't possibly make up the difference now." Maybe you can optimize the process, pick your highest-chance-to-pass classes, break those down, budget your time, and pass enough to be in this position next semester. That's probably the only thing that you can do right now. Maybe later, you can look inward and figure out why everything else is more preferable to you than studying. When I had a real, specific purpose for why I studied the things that I did, it informed my time management. I didn't find my purpose until after undergraduate, but my Masters' was easier than my bachelors' because my dissenting inner voice was exposed. It wasn't a rational helper - it was just an alternative viewpoint in my head that I gave too much space.
In your specific case, I think it's possible to pass. In Belgium (where I went to grad school), you generally have one text for each exam worth 75+% of your grade. Undergrads seem to do a large percentage of studying in the time after classes and before exams - 3-4 weeks or something. They literally would wake up, study, and sleep. It's possible, but I think it's way easier to find your purpose. Something else I wish I learned earlier - I thought it would be harder to find my purpose once I had already committed to something else. I have found it to be the opposite - I've re-found my purpose a few times, and it gets easier every time. If you've read this, thanks for reading and good luck.
eirkeirk t1_ix5f2g5 wrote
Reply to [Text] Is it possible for me to prepare for an exam in 20 days? by [deleted]
Hi Rahul. I have this kind of thought a lot when I realize I have not prepared enough. The issue is that these thoughts can come at any stage in the process, whether you had 20 days or it's the beginning of the term. I remember rejecting coding in college because I knew people who had started in middle school. I felt foolish learning beginning programming in preparation for my masters' degree, regretfully thinking it was too late. It never really goes away.
I don't know what will help you, but I'll try to distill what helped me. When I was young, I had a mentality of "if I can't do it correctly, it isn't worth doing". When I was vulnerable and rethinking my path, this became co-opted by my dissenting inner voice. It presented rational arguments and I gave up before I started things. I lost relationships, friendships and career opportunities because it by the time I realized I cared, I thought that I could never overcome the difference. I still let it affect me, but it happens less now.
In your case, it's so rational to look at the next 20 days and think "I had all term to do this, I can't possibly make up the difference now." Maybe you can optimize the process, pick your highest-chance-to-pass classes, break those down, budget your time, and pass enough to be in this position next semester. That's probably the only thing that you can do right now. Maybe later, you can look inward and figure out why everything else is more preferable to you than studying. When I had a real, specific purpose for why I studied the things that I did, it informed my time management. I didn't find my purpose until after undergraduate, but my Masters' was easier than my bachelors' because my dissenting inner voice was exposed. It wasn't a rational helper - it was just an alternative viewpoint in my head that I gave too much space.
In your specific case, I think it's possible to pass. In Belgium (where I went to grad school), you generally have one text for each exam worth 75+% of your grade. Undergrads seem to do a large percentage of studying in the time after classes and before exams - 3-4 weeks or something. They literally would wake up, study, and sleep. It's possible, but I think it's way easier to find your purpose. Something else I wish I learned earlier - I thought it would be harder to find my purpose once I had already committed to something else. I have found it to be the opposite - I've re-found my purpose a few times, and it gets easier every time. If you've read this, thanks for reading and good luck.