How to stay productive while you are studying math?

Question

Not sure that this question is a good fit for this site, but I will try.

When I am working through a chapter of a mathematical book first two hours are normally very productive (easily remember definitions, can proof many theorems of the text myself), but then productivity goes down even if I eat something sweet and make small pauses.

So after 4 hours my head feels like a slow computer and it takes a lot of time to find a proof even for a simple lemma. The productivity goes back only after an extended break 2-3 hours.

How to extend the productive period, maybe a diet, physical exercises or other tricks you can recommend?

A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems. — vadim123, Apr 03 '15 at 16:15
Usually, if I am learning something radically new, I limit myself to two hours per day. More than that is fine for problem-solving with stuff in my scope. — shardulc, Apr 03 '15 at 16:42
possible duplicate of How to effectively and efficiently learn mathematics — Zev Chonoles, Apr 20 '15 at 00:23

score 6 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 03 '15 at 16:46

6

Take a long walk if possible.

I learnt that it helped Andrew Wiles while proving Fermat's last theorem. Hopefully it'll help you too.

answered Apr 03 '15 at 16:46

Srinivas K

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How to stay productive while you are studying math?

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