How to Focus on Studies When Depressed or Feeling Low?

Depression significantly impacts studying by impairing concentration, memory (especially for positive events), and motivation. Effective coping strategies include setting SMART goals for manageable steps, using the Pomodoro Technique for focused work, creating to-do lists, establishing routines for structure, prioritising self-care, and seeking support from loved ones and mental health professionals.

Depression is a common mental disorder that involves a depressed mood or loss of pleasure/ interest in activities for long periods of time. Though it is normal to experience mood changes in everyday life, depression is different from this. It can affect all aspects of life, such as relationships and work. It can also impact an individual’s academic performance.

Depression is diagnosed when a depressed mood or a loss of interest or pleasure in most activities is present for most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks. In children and adolescents, they may be irritable, rather than sad. Although these are the chief symptoms, several others are important for a depression diagnosis.

Impact of Depression on Studying

Lack of concentration

One of the most common symptoms of depression is a lack of concentration. Having trouble concentrating makes it difficult to make even small decisions. This lack of focus also makes it very hard for a person with depression to keep up with relationships and work. 

Information-processing and cognitive flexibility

Depression affects your ability to think. It affects your memory and your attention, as well as your information-processing skills. It makes it difficult to be cognitively flexible, which is to say that you might have trouble dealing with new situations and adapting to new environments. It can be hard to think about things in different ways, and you might feel like you’re constantly getting stuck, and not being able to find solutions. 

It can also make it difficult to start tasks, even if it is a simple task such as getting out of bed. Life can feel messy, and you might struggle to keep track of things (Cartreine, 2016).

Poor memory

People with depression have a poorer memory for positive events as compared to negative events. This might be due to stress directly affecting the hippocampus’s capacity to generate new cells. The hippocampus plays an important role in memory, learning and regulating emotion. Stress, thus, reduces new memories being made as well as inhibits dopamine neurons, which produce pleasure. What this means is that positive memories are not stored as effectively as negative ones, and it is easier to recall negative events (Goldman, 2024).

Motivation

Motivation is another area that is significantly affected by depression. This lack of motivation often leads to the person not being able to fulfil several tasks. This falling behind can, in turn, make them feel worse. It forms a vicious cycle of not being able to cope with the demands of everyday life (Harvey, 2021).

Strategies for Studying

SMART Goals

Depression makes it feel like most of our goals are very difficult to achieve. It can make it hard to start working on our goals. SMART is an acronym which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. The point is to be specific about what you want to achieve.

Setting SMART goals can help you build the momentum you need to start working towards your goals. Breaking your larger goals down into these manageable chunks can help you achieve one step at a time. This can motivate you to get to where you want.

Pomodoro technique

When you’re feeling overwhelmed by the work you have, you can use this technique. It is a time-management tool that involves splitting your tasks into 25-minute intervals, with 5-minute breaks in-between them. These intervals are known as pomodoros. Using a timer can be helpful to ensure you stay on track and don’t work longer than the 25 minute interval. Planning your tasks to figure out how many intervals you might need for each task can help you. It is important to take these breaks to refresh yourself, either by drinking water or getting something to eat, or going for a short walk or stretching your limbs. With time, you can also customise your intervals to suit you.

To-do lists

To-do lists can help you transform studying by reducing overwhelm. Break down study tasks into bite-sized microtasks, and batch them together based on their similarity. This can help you simplify your workflow and reduce your mental load of having to remember all the tasks you have to do. Moreover, you get a rewarding dopamine boost every time you check off an item in the list, which can help you build confidence. 

When you focus your to-do lists based on one habit, you can do this until it becomes automatic, which can create a lifestyle change leading to success. An example of this would be stacking a new habit of reviewing your notes for 10 minutes to an existing habit of brushing your teeth in the morning. Since you are anchoring this habit onto an existing habit, it becomes easier to integrate into your daily routine.

Routine

Depression can be extremely unpredictable and overwhelming. Routines can reduce this stress by providing you with structure and a sense of control. When a routine is set into place, you don’t have to make several simple decisions, which eliminates decision fatigue and offers you predictability. This can be comforting. Setting a daily routine for studying, even if it’s small, can help you stay focused and make studying easier. 

A well-planned routine also makes space for weekly routine tasks such as grocery shopping, meal prepping, and exercise, to boost your physical health as well. Having a routine can also help you maintain a regular sleep schedule, which can enhance cognitive function and mood. It is also important to incorporate hobbies and relaxation into your routine to maintain a vital balance.

Self-care

Like we’ve mentioned, depression can deplete your energy and your motivation. Prioritising self-care can help you maintain physical and mental well-being, which can help you study in the long run. This could include talking to someone, giving yourself adequate breaks, practising meditation or mindfulness, getting enough sleep, exercising, staying hydrated, eating nourishing foods, as well as acknowledging your limits and not overloading yourself. 

Seeking Help and Support

Talking to Friends or Family

Though relationships are not a substitute for professional therapy, they can greatly help people with depression deal with their symptoms. We might have thoughts of wanting to ‘solve’ things by ourselves, not wanting to be a burden, or not wanting to look weak. These can sometimes stop us from reaching out. It is important to acknowledge that depression is a major health condition, and that there is no shame in looking for the people we love to lend us a hand. 

Different people around us can offer different kinds of support, and it is completely okay for us to lean on them for support. The first step is to think of someone whom you’re comfortable with and trust. This could be a friend, your partner/spouse, a family member, a co-worker you’re close with or a trusted professor or coach. It is also not your job to make sure that the conversation is perfect. The specifics of the conversation aren’t as important as starting it in the first place. It can be difficult to open ourselves up, but it is important to remember that relationships are all about supporting each other, in good times and in bad (HeadsUpGuys, 2023). 

When and How to Seek Professional Help

Depression looks different for each person, and the treatment that would suit each person varies in this way too. If you are finding it difficult to manage your symptoms, or if you feel you are experiencing symptoms related to mild or moderate depression, therapy from a trusted and qualified therapist can greatly benefit you. This might include any or a mixture of cognitive therapy or behavioural therapy. Therapy has been proven to be effective for depression. You can choose a therapist whose approach you think seems most appropriate for you as well.

Medications are also used as a part of the treatment if the symptoms are severe. Medications are usually used as a part of the treatment, if they are. This could include SSRIs, SNRIs, or tricyclic antidepressants. Support groups can sometimes be helpful as well.

You can start off by making an appointment with your primary care doctor, who can recommend mental health professionals to you, or directly reach out to a therapist or psychiatrist by yourself (Gotter, 2024).

Depression can significantly impact different areas of our lives, including our studies. It affects our concentration, memory, and impairs our decision-making skills and motivation. By incorporating strategies such as setting SMART goals, using routines, using the Pomodoro technique, making to-do lists, prioritising self-care care and seeking help and support, we can manage the challenges of depression adequately and continue making progress in our lives.