Developing Academic Discipline

[tuxscholar]

Hello I'm new to Physics forums, so pardon me for any mistakes. This thread is specifically about how one can be very consistent in his/her studies and making meaningful progress as a student, especially if one is self teaching oneself a particular subject i.e. math, physics etc. and having no mentor or any kind of guidance other and heavy reliance on books and youtube videos.

So far I'm thinking of learning math solely on my own but not actually getting any impetus to kickstart my learning journey, like I'm consistently procrastinating and delaying learning this particular subject, but incessantly I'm thinking of learning it. Whenever I'm approaching of solving problems I most of the time feeling depressed that after spending an hour long time of learning a particular concept still I don't know how to solve a problem pertains to that concept. And it's seems to be painfully regretful that I'm failing to satiate my intellects desire to learn Math.

Well I don't wanna make this any long. And the reason I'm posting this thread is because I don't want my account to be deleted because of not having any posts as happened previously. Anyways thanks for creating and maintaining this wonderful community of intellectuals.

 

[mcastillo356]

Hello I'm new to Physics forums, so pardon me for any mistakes. This thread is specifically about how one can be very consistent in his/her studies and making meaningful progress as a student,

All of us are dilettante

especially if one is self teaching oneself a particular subject i.e. math, physics etc. and having no mentor or any kind of guidance other and heavy reliance on books and youtube videos.

Physics Forums is another source

So far I'm thinking of learning math solely on my own but not actually getting any impetus to kickstart my learning journey, like I'm consistently procrastinating and delaying learning this particular subject, but incessantly I'm thinking of learning it.

To procrastinate and delay are actually studying resources.

Whenever I'm approaching of solving problems I most of the time feeling depressed that after spending an hour long time of learning a particular concept still I don't know how to solve a problem pertains to that concept. And it's seems to be painfully regretful that I'm failing to satiate my intellects desire to learn Math.

Doubts are invariant; moreover, necessary.

Well I don't wanna make this any long. And the reason I'm posting this thread is because I don't want my account to be deleted because of not having any posts as happened previously.

Why? For everything there is a first step

 

[tuxscholar]

To procrastinate and delay are actually studying resources.

Well thank you for your decent laconic reply, but I didn't comprehend this.

 

[PeroK]

All of us are dilettante

Perhaps you mean dilatory?

 

[mcastillo356]

Well thank you for your decent laconic reply, but I didn't comprehend this.

I study by myself. I sometimes stand up and do whatever, just to return to the book or the PC. For me is useful. It's like playing cards: once my mother, economics graduated, recommended me to do so when playing mus, a Spanish card game where the only task is to win the opponents. Is mind-refreshing. Just a minute, doesn't matter where, but my mind is on the matter. Coming back somehow I've taken new points of view. Don't know how.
I blame laconism to myself. But this is philosophy

 

[Choppy]

In my experience it's extremely rare for people to successfully autodidact (self-teach) advanced STEM topics. I don't think the challenge so much a matter of discipline, at least not exclusively. In addition to having the discipline to focus on it on a regular basis you need (i) to objectively identify when you have understood enough about a topic to move on to the next concept, (ii) not just understand a topic but develop skill in its application, (iii) have the opportunity to have your questions answered in a meaningful, constructive and time-efficient way, (iv) identify appropriate exercises for your skill level, etc.
That's why course work tends to be a much more successful route. I get that given the costs of education and geographic restrictions this isn't always a viable option, but if you're really serious about learning this, the first recommendation is figure out a way to get there in the long term.
Beyond that, things that can help with self-study:

• Make sure you're at a time and place in your life where your goals are reasonable. If the only time you have to put into studying on a regular basis is after a 10 hour work day, walking the dog and putting the kids to bed, you're not going to be able to focus on it, at least not for the long term. What amount of time is reasonable for you to dedicate to your studies per week?
• And remember there's usually an opportunity cost to these things. What are you giving up to make time to study? Even if it's your down-time, remember sometimes you need that to rechange on a long term basis. It's important to keep the other aspects of your life in balance.
• Come up with a specific plan. Identify the topics that you want to master, figure out the pre-requisite material and build toward them in a systematic manner.
• Set some SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bounded).
• Identify a source of feedback. Even if this is just working through problem sets with answer keys, you need to have a check system in place to identify when you're on the right track or not.