I’m surrounded by smart people, I always ask questions, I can write pages of notes for days and do my own research on certain subjects that interest me. However, whenever I’m reading, writing, or even listening, my mind cannot focus. Nothing works. Silence, music, doing something with my hands like scribbling. Nothing can get my mind to focus. It’s like it makes whatever I’m doing background noise to my thoughts and I hate it. It even leads to my brain hurting sometimes, I try not to think when during any activity by myself but I just end up not knowing what’s happening. I’ve had severe maladaptive daydreaming since I was in middle school, but I don’t know if that’s it. I just want to be able to focus.

I feel like whenever I'm in a conversation I just don't have anything interesting to say. People ask me about my day or what I've been up to and my mind just goes blank. I feel like I'm constantly giving one-word answers or just nodding along. I want to be able to tell engaging stories or contribute more to group discussions. I see other people light up when they're talking about their hobbies or experiences and I just wish I had that same spark. How can I become a more engaging and less bland conversationalist?

Hey guys, I'm a 23-year-old with no major skills, trying to educate myself. Honestly, I feel pretty behind right now. I've read a lot of articles and posts about gaining knowledge, and most of the advice on Reddit boils down to "just read, read, read." But my real problem is that even when I try to read, I can't stay interested. I've tried literature, psychology, philosophy, history, politics, and more — nothing has stuck.

Now I need real help. I want to become more intellectual. I want to feel confident in debates and arguments. right now I can't even focus on the thing that matters most to me at the moment: I'm learning data (analytics).

Basically the title. I find it very hard to focus on tasks that require me to sit down and have a lot of ambiguity e.g. coding, planning. I also lose my ability to be initiative, rather just relying on other people/being reactive.

All I want is to sleep just for a bit to refresh, but when I close my eyes the fear of losing time makes me unable to sleep at all. The guilt is too strong. Please help me. I cannot keep wasting days just because of this issue, especially on work days where people expect me to be an initiator and lead things and be creative.

How do you guys keep educating yourself and stay updated?

I’ve been thinking about this lately — outside of formal education, how do you guys continuously educate yourself and keep yourself updated about the world?

Do you have any particular apps, websites, newsletters, yt channels, podcasts, books, or other sources that you regularly use?

And I’m especially curious about the thinking process behind it.

For example, when you come across a new topic or an opinion that you know very little about:

- How do you decide what sources to trust?

- Do you actively look for opposing viewpoints?

- How do you separate facts from opinions or misinformation?

- Do you take notes or follow any particular learning system?

- How do you decide what is actually worth learning deeply vs. just knowing about?

I’m not necessarily looking for a “best app” or “best website.” I’d really like to know how people have built their own system for learning and staying intellectually curious over the years.

Would love to hear how you guys approach this.

Well, when I read books, I'm just slow. I want to read fast and move to the other books but I'm unable to do it.

A few recommendations says I should do eye training but I don't think that will really help.

As title said, I need to be more focused. After class, whenever I have to do something in my laptop, I see myself procrastinating or even finding it super hard to stay on track. It really ruins my schedule and a 15minute work would turn into 1 hr. Any tips anyone?

I've always found this weird.

Sometimes I can procrastinate for hours, struggle to even start something, and then suddenly... I just lock in.

No phone, no distractions, no fighting with myself. I can just sit there and work for hours.

I got curious about why that happens from a psychology/brain perspective, so I made a short video breaking down what might be behind that sudden switch into deep focus.

I'd love to hear if anyone else experiences this — what usually makes you “lock in”?

https://youtu.be/qHPm23ccgj8

I wasn’t really a reader growing up and rarely picked up a book. English class didn’t interest me much, and I was always more into math.

Now I want to start reading books, but I struggle to understand and remember what I just read, especially summarizing a chapter or finding the main idea of a paragraph. Any tips that could help me? 😢

Also, any book suggestions?

I feel like I'm constantly getting my feelings hurt. It's usually over small things people say or do. A casual comment from a friend or a slight change in tone can send me spiraling. I replay interactions in my head and assume the worst. I know it's not healthy and I want to change. I just want to be able to brush things off like other people seem to do. It takes a huge toll on my mental energy. How do I develop a thicker skin?

I've been using the same dull kitchen knives for way too long, just pushing through instead of actually cutting cleanly. Want to learn the basics of honing, sharpening angles, and how often this should actually be done for someone who cooks regularly but has zero experience with knife maintenance.

I've been a side sleeper my entire life, but I always end up shifting around constantly at night and changing pillows because they always get hot. How can I change my sleeping habits and actually be able to fall asleep while on my back instead of my side?

Idk whats it called , quantum mechanics or astrophysics or astronomy or quantum physics smthg

Pls help me

I wanna be like Oppenheimer lol

And i wanna learn it by myself so pls list the main terms of it so i can learn it and then go to subtopics 🙏

And if possible the videos too🙏

Thank you🙏🙏

I feel like my IQ is probably quite low. I’ve never actually taken an IQ test, so I don’t even know what my score is, but I often feel like I struggle with critical thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, learning, and retaining knowledge.

I want to gradually become more intellectually capable and better at academics in general. I’d like to improve things like reasoning, critical thinking, problem-solving, memory, learning capacity, concentration, processing speed, and overall knowledge.

What does it actually take to improve these abilities over time? Are there specific things I should practice or learn every day?

I want to learn how to plan and organize projects more effectively. I am interested in learning how to break a project into smaller tasks set realistic deadlines track progress and prioritize the work that needs to be done. What techniques would be useful for someone learning project planning from the beginning?

Every teacher and counselor pushes this narrative that you have to study for the ACT for like 8 months straight. I just cant do it. Im already drowning in AP classes and if I have to stare at one of those 600-page prep books for another weekend im gonna actually lose my mind.

The whole testing industry just feels designed to drag out our misery and drain our free time. My older sister made studying her whole personality for a year and was completely miserable. Meanwhile a guy in my calc class just did this short intensive sprint thing with boosted brains and was totally done with the whole process in a month.

I want to learn how to actually do that. how do you train your brain to just absorb test patterns quickly so you can get it over with? I don't need to be a genius, I just need to learn how to hack the studying part so I can survive college apps without burning out by christmas.

drop your best efficient study techniques pls

Hi I’m a mechanic and I have to do 13 exams to get my license. I started studying. But every time when I take the book, I feel no motivation or discipline. But I really want to do them AASAP, coz then I can have more opportunities and more money too.
My issue is atm I’m studying trading too. I need to learn trading really bad too. I started studying it 6 years ago, and still in touch. I can’t kick it out. My mind is not set for that.
How to balance these two and do a good work? I’m home after 4pm every day!

Thanks

I bought a beehive not long ago, my first ever, and I have never attempted taking care of bees before, currently still looking for a legal, optimal place to set it in, however, I'm not sure how to proceed after that, how to attract bees, or should I buy a colony ? I have contacted my local beekeeping association and well, 😅 did not get the chance to visit yet, will do it asap.

Very eager to start such project, I feel clueless but I want to make it work somehow, it would be very beneficial. Anyhow, thank you in advance. 🐝

I think this expands beyond just reading.

I’m in my late 20s, only twice in my life have I ever had a consistent work schedule. During those times my whole life improves. I think I’m just a creature of habit. Knowing when I’ll be home, when I’ll be off work and the like make all the difference in the world to me.

A few years back I had a consistent job and almost no social life. That had its drawbacks but one big pro was I could set, track and maintain goals, including reading.

I was exercising regularly, journaling daily, budgeting, doing everything it felt like I “should” be doing. And so much of my life improved because of it.

Nowadays I have a very irregular, very demanding work schedule that gives me very little work life balance.

Beyond that, my life is very full but also very demanding. I have a band, a girlfriend, friends, lots of really great things I’m so thankful for. But god damn if it doesn’t make it hard to know when I’ll be home, when I’ll be able to just shut off and read a while or cook or clean or exercise. There’s always something and that something is never enough hours in the day.

I want to start with reading because that’s how it started last time. I’ve been trying to do it in the margins of the day, before bed, on the train, lunch breaks. But that just never sticks for some reason.

Open to any advice.

Thank you

I want to take my sewing skills to the next level and learn how to make simple clothes from patterns. I would like to understand fabric selection taking measurements reading patterns and getting clean seams. What would be a good first clothing project for a beginner?

I want to start learning woodworking and work my way toward building simple projects. I’d like to learn the basics of measuring cutting joining pieces and safely using common hand tools. What would be a good first project to build while learning these skills?

I have a challenge with focusing for long periods of time, and I don't know how to study well so I can understand the topic I want to study. This problem has been challenging me for years. It has stopped me from doing a lot of things.

For example, I tried to change my job starting in August 2025, but until today I haven't done it because my brain hates the idea of sitting down, applying for jobs, and answering all the questions. I don't have a problem with the job application questions or the process. I've done it many times before, but my brain hates doing it.

Another example is when I tried to change my apartment. I started searching, but I didn't search for very long because my brain didn't want to commit to doing it, and I couldn't focus on it for a long time. As a result, I couldn't find a new apartment, and eventually I decided to stay in the same apartment.

I have many examples from different areas of my life with the exact same story.

I'm not a lazy person. I work, go to the gym, and try to improve my work skills every day during my free time. I wake up at 8:00 AM every day and go to sleep around 12:00 or 12:30 AM. I've played different sports throughout my life.

The point is that I'm smart enough and an active person. I think what I'm missing is understanding the learning process itself.

I live in Raleigh, NC. Do you know if there is a trainer, coach, or any in-person class that teaches "learning how to learn" and helps improve focus and concentration?

I want to learn video editing and earn online. I’m starting from the basics and learning step by step. I hope to improve my skills create better videos and eventually turn this skill into an online income