Alright, let’s talk about last night. I had this brilliant idea, you know? Finally buckle down and really learn [mention a skill or subject briefly, e.g., Japanese vocabulary, maybe some coding concepts]. Heard everyone raving about flashcard apps, the whole spaced repetition thing. So I thought, yeah, let’s do this.
Got the app set up, found a deck, or maybe made one, can’t recall exactly. Point is, I had a pile of new cards waiting for me. Fresh information, stuff I needed to cram into my brain. Seemed simple enough.
The Plan vs Reality
My genius plan? Tackle these new cards right before hitting the sack. Wind down with some productive learning. Yeah, right. What actually happened was… well, ‘zzz’ happened.
I sat there, computer screen glowing. Opened the app. First new card pops up. I stare at it. Try to memorize it. Flip it. Okay, got it. Next one. Stare. Flip. Okay… maybe? Third one… brain’s already feeling fuzzy. It was late, I was tired from the day. Bad combo.
It went downhill fast:
- Staring blankly at the screen.
- Reading the card, but the words just floated.
- Mixing up answers.
- Feeling that heavy eyelid droop. You know the one.
- Getting genuinely frustrated.
Honestly, I just wanted to howl. Like, seriously groan out loud. It felt completely useless. Every ‘new card’ felt like a tiny enemy mocking my sleepy brain. Nothing was sticking. It was like pouring water into a sieve. The ‘zzz’ was winning, big time.
I pushed for maybe another 10 minutes? Kept telling myself, ‘just a few more’. But concentration was zero. Head started nodding. Almost dropped my phone (was using it by then, gave up on the laptop). That was the final straw.
Just shut it all down. Didn’t finish the new cards. Didn’t really learn anything. Just confirmed that trying to force new information into a tired brain is a recipe for frustration. Total fail. Note to self: Don’t mix demanding ‘new cards’ with the ‘zzz’ state. Do it when you’re awake, man. Simple as that. Today’s a new day, maybe I’ll try again after coffee.
