Your Hardest Subject Isn't Actually the Hardest — Here's Why It Feels That Way

Have you ever came across a subject that you felt is the hardest one you’ve got on your plate? Either you spend most of your time mindlessly staring at the textbook trying to understand; but everything you read just feels like a blur visual in your cognitive memory. Or you save the hardest subject for the last and try as much as you can to avoid dealing with the difficulty level you feel comes with that particular subject.

Unpopular opinion but a subject does not become the hardest because of the content outline of it, but mainly through the way one perceives the content and deals with the learning process of the said ‘hardest’ subject.

One of the common problems related to learning a hard subject usually comes out to be students missing the first conceptual steps of the course outline. This later turns to ignite the feeling of inadequacy amongst students and trigger anxiety before even starting learning.

If you feel that a subject is hard, build the foundational concepts for it step by step just as you would do for any other subject. Think of going through high school classes, when you felt that grade 9 math was probably the hardest but now it just feels obvious; this did not happen because your brain was smaller back then it is because you built foundational elements step by step that allowed you to build upon these more complicated and deep structures.

Build the foundation first

The process of building foundational elements that help you build upon these more complicated and deep structures isn't as hard as it may sound, the key lies in recursively deepening your understanding of the topic which can be sorted with a simple technique being writing on a piece of paper the subject you want to understand and you go through explaining it to yourself as you were teaching it to another. Basically the idea is to form a first layer of understanding, translating the lecture concepts in a language you understand

Its not just what you study, Its when you study

Another factor that should be taken into perspective is that students don't struggle because a subject is hard; they struggle because they are learning at the wrong time. Usually students leave their hardest subject for the last, thinking that getting done with the easiest ones will give them more time to spend on the tough ones.

The problem with scheduling subjects you already find hard for the last is that; when your brain is in its fresh flow state invest that brain energy into learning topics that are already familiar to your memory that is why you consider them comparatively easy to the hard subjects leaving medium to low energy levels for the subjects that require high energy the most.

To avoid this issue a good habit an O and A level student can adapt in their routine is targeted studying which in simpler terms means to move the harder subjects to the start of your day before you have consumed any sort of social media.

2 hours of low energy study gives you less than 45 minutes of high energy work. Consistency is what actually makes subjects easy, not forced, exhausted study sessions.

Make the Hard Subject Feel Manageable

A difficult subject does not become easier by avoiding it. It becomes easier when you break it down, strengthen the basics and study it when your mind is ready to focus. With the right approach, what once felt overwhelming can start making sense one concept at a time.

At Orb-Ed, structured lessons, expert guidance and subject-focused resources help O and A Level students understand difficult concepts instead of simply memorising them. Start learning smarter with Orb-Ed and turn your toughest subject into one you can handle with confidence.