10 reasons why 'Study with Me' videos work

Find out about how watching someone else study can help you become a better learner. AND THEY ACTUALLY WORK.

INTRODUCTION

Study with me videos posted mostly on YouTube are media where a stranger, mostly, is studying, taking notes and just being productive overall. The videos showcase someone studying at their home, their university or a library. They occasionally include some form of background music like lo-fi, relaxing jazz or some other form of music that can help you concentrate. An example is shown below:

Videos like these can be really helpful if you are a habitual procrastinator and need that extra bit of motivation of someone watching over you to really be productive and study.

THE METHOD

The work we as viewers that have to put in is really small. Go to youtube.com, search for study with me and you will be presented with tons of videos of varying lengths ranging from 30 minutes all the way to 12 hour straight insanely long videos of pure studying a little bit of breaks in between. The videos have different styles of timing one's self. The study sessions can range from 25 minutes of studying and 5 minutes of break every session to no breaks for 4 hours and just continuous study. Example below.

Pick a video and you are good to go. Now all that's left is to study.

THE SCIENCE

This technique might work for a number of reasons.

1. Firstly, real life friends are people we interact really often and they know a lot about us so we have a lot to talk about. This can sometimes be a bad thing as this distracts us from our goals of studying sometimes. Studying with a buddy on the other side of the word who does not know us and will try their best not be distracting you from you from success can be a real blessing.
2. There are also some people who have friends but their schedules and daily timetable do not match with ours and thus it is difficult to manage time and schedule study sessions together. This is not a problem on YouTube where someone is always studying and you can tune in to join a session anytime.
3. The students who are making the videos manage the times of the study sessions as well so whatever time format you chose to watch, the video will hold you accountable so that you study for at least that amount of time.
4. The occasional scheduled breaks are also a huge plus. Many students even try to learn more about what their viewers are studying and provide helpful tips if it is something they can answer or one of their other viewers might answer the query. Some students try to joke sometimes and just small talk to refresh their own and their viewer's minds so that the next session can be even more productive.
5. They create a sense of community where it might not be possible. A student studying late at night might find a video of a person studying along with them really helpful to focus and feel that someone is with them.
6. They show some viewers what is possible if they just start to focus. Some students create study with me videos that are almost 12 hours long. A person might believe that this much studying is impossible but seeing someone do it can change their mind.
7. They hold you accountable and provide a structure for the long duration of study. Regular study times and breaks and just the things someone needs to become a better version of themselves and learn more.
8. They provide people the opportunity to connect with people who share the same interests as themselves and would like to make their studying even more efficient. They can also learn some studying techniques from the YouTube content creator or one of the other viewers.
9. Most study with me videos have calm and relaxing backgound sounds that help people focus in the study sessions. Some people might discover studying with some background music on for the very first time with a study with me video.
10. Some viewers also use the live chat functionality of YouTube to write down their goals for the session and when the session is done provide the results if they were able to achieve their mini-goal. If they did, people will praise them and virtually cheer for them which provides even more motivation to continue. If they could not, there is the next session coming in which they can try again. There is no judgement as everyone is trying to do their best and make other people succeed along the way as well.

SOME TIPS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THE TECHNIQUE

1. Prepare yourself for a long and focused study session. Do not leave the study session midway.
2. Hold yourself accountable. If you failed to reach a goal, be honest and try again.
3. Put away distractions like your phone and study with the student in the video.
4. Try to study at a quiet place like a library. This way you can avoid being distracted. This is especially true if you live with someone and your study schedules do not align.
5. Use your breaks to the fullest. Drink some water, look away from the screens to avoid straining your eyes too much, chat a little in the live comments section of the video and most importantly, after the video is finished, so is your studying for the day. Do not try to study more as you might get burn out from over-working.

Hope you can use the wonderful videos that many students around the world are creating to study more efficiently, effectively and productively. 😃

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