What Is the Hardest Subject to Study? Real Answer + How To Make It Easier

You clicked because you want a straight answer: which subject is the hardest to study? Here’s the uncomfortable truth-there isn’t a single winner. The hardest subject is the one where the concepts pile up faster than you can connect them, the feedback is slow or vague, and your study method doesn’t match how the subject really works. For many students, that ends up being math-heavy fields (calculus, physics), organic chemistry, or languages that need daily practice. But hard doesn’t mean impossible. With the right plan, you can turn the panic into progress.

TL;DR

• There is no universal hardest subject. Difficulty comes from cognitive load, abstraction, cumulative skills, and slow feedback.
• Commonly tough: math/calculus, physics, organic chemistry, foreign languages, and memory-dense courses like anatomy.
• Fix the fit: use retrieval practice, spaced repetition, worked examples, interleaving, and past papers. Re-reading and highlighting won’t carry you.
• Use a 7-day loop: Learn → Summarize → Practice → Retrieve → Space → Review errors → Test under time.
• If your exam is close: shift to high-yield topics, timed drills, and error logs. Keep sleep. It beats extra midnight pages.

Jobs you probably want to get done after clicking:

• Figure out which subject is hardest for you and why.
• Get a clear step-by-step plan that works for different subject types.
• See real examples and quick cheats for math, science, languages, and memory-heavy courses.
• Avoid time-wasters and pick tools that work (backed by research, not vibes).
• Know what to do next week, and what to do if your exam is in 7 days.

What ‘hardest’ really means (and how to tell which subject is your problem child)

Hard isn’t a personality trait of a subject. It’s a mismatch between the subject’s demands and your current method, time, or prior knowledge. Three research-backed ideas explain most of the struggle:

• Cognitive load: If new ideas overload working memory, learning stalls (John Sweller, 1988; Cognitive Load Theory).
• Retrieval beats review: We remember what we try to recall, not what we re-read (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006; Karpicke & Blunt, 2011).
• Spacing and desirable difficulties: Some struggle now builds durable memory (Bjork, 1994; Cepeda et al., 2008; Pashler et al., 2007).

So, which subject is hardest for you? Use this quick self-check. Be honest, no one’s watching. I wrote it on a rainy Edinburgh evening while my dog Bella snored on my feet.

Quick diagnosis checklist:

• Symbol shock: Do equations, diagrams, or syntax make your eyes glaze over? Think calculus, physics, programming.
• Concept pile-up: If you miss Week 2, Weeks 3-10 collapse. Think math sequences, organic chemistry mechanisms.
• Memory mountain: You can’t keep names, dates, or pathways straight. Think anatomy, history, biochem, law cases.
• Slow feedback: You study for hours and learn you were wrong only after a graded assignment. Think essay-heavy subjects, lab reports.
• Vocabulary wall: You get stuck on terms, not ideas. Think foreign languages, philosophy, economics.

Match your red flags to a fix. The trick is aligning the study method with the subject’s mechanics.

Evidence to trust: Dunlosky et al. (2013) reviewed 10 learning techniques; they ranked re-reading and highlighting as low utility, and practice testing and spacing as high. That matches what you see above: practice and spacing map to the subjects that feel heavy or slippery.

Step-by-step plan: turn a hard subject into a studyable one

This plan fits most subjects. Adjust the ratios based on the table. If your exam is within 7 days, see the crisis plan near the end.

1. Find the target and the gap

   • Pull the syllabus or exam blueprint. Highlight outcomes with action verbs: solve, analyze, derive, explain, critique. These are your to-do verbs.
   • Grab the last 3-5 past papers or sample questions. Tag question types: definitions, short problems, long proofs, essays, data analysis.
   • Self-test cold. No notes. Score by type. This is your gap map. It hurts, but it saves weeks.

2. Build a 7-day loop you can actually do

   • Day 1: Learn in small bites (25-40 min). Use worked examples for math/science; for reading-heavy, do a two-pass read (skim structure first, then detail).
   • Day 2: Summarize without notes for 10 min. Write or say what you learned. If you can’t, you didn’t learn it.
   • Day 3: Practice: 5-8 problems or one timed essay outline. Mix topics.
   • Day 4: Retrieval: quiz yourself closed-book. Use flashcards, but with production: explain steps, draw diagrams.
   • Day 5: Space: short review of Day 1 material. Use 1-3-7-21 day spacing (Cepeda et al., 2008).
   • Day 6: Error log: rewrite wrong answers, note the exact misconception and the fix.
   • Day 7: Dress rehearsal: do a timed set or mini-mock. Grade it honestly.

3. Use methods that match the subject

   • Math/Physics: start with fully worked examples, then partially worked (faded examples), then you solo. Always annotate the why under each step. Sweller’s cognitive load work shows this reduces overwhelm.
   • Organic Chemistry: make a mechanism atlas. One page per reaction: conditions, electron flow arrows, what changes. Weekly, do 30-minute mechanism drills from mixed chapters.
   • Biology/Anatomy: image-heavy recall. Cover labels, draw from memory, speak the pathway. Use teach-back: can you explain the pathway in 60 seconds?
   • History: outline arguments before reading details. Use cause→effect→evidence chains. Practice 20-minute timed paragraphs with a thesis and two pieces of evidence.
   • Languages: daily habit over marathon. 10-15 min listening, 5 min shadowing (speaking along), 10 min output (voice notes, tiny texts). One grammar drill per day is enough.
   • Programming: write, don’t watch. Set tiny specs: read a file, transform it, print the result. Keep a debug diary: bug, hypothesis, attempt, fix. You’ll learn patterns fast.

4. Make retrieval routine, not heroic

   • Closed-book first: answer from memory, even if messy.
   • Check and correct. Then do a second attempt after a short break. This double-shot beats one long grind.
   • Use spaced repetition tools for facts and steps. Keep cards lean: one idea per card, answer in under 10 seconds.
   • For processes, make procedure cards: Prompt: Solve non-homogeneous ODE (method). Back: steps only.

5. Create instant feedback where the course doesn’t

   • Essay-heavy subjects: build a rubric checklist from past marking schemes. After each timed write, tick or cross. Faster than waiting a week.
   • Lab-heavy subjects: do pre-lab questions, sketch your graphs, predict results. After the lab, compare prediction vs reality.

6. Guard rails: time, energy, and attention

   • Pomodoro with a twist: 30 minutes focus, 10 minutes micro-retrieval (flashcards or explain-to-self), then break. You end each block with memory, not just exposure.
   • Sleep: 7-9 hours. Memory consolidates during sleep; the spacing effect assumes it. Pulling an all-nighter often erases yesterday’s work.
   • Schedule white space. I walk Bella around Arthur’s Seat for 20 minutes as a reset. You need a ritual like that.

7. Measure what matters

   • Track only three numbers per subject weekly: timed score (%), error types (concept, process, carelessness), and hours on retrieval (not reading).
   • If hours on retrieval < 40% of study time, shift. That’s where the gains live (Dunlosky et al., 2013).

Common pitfalls to avoid:

• Pretty notes disease. Your notebook looks great; your recall doesn’t. Swap to messy recall pages.
• Endless reading before touching problems. Do two worked examples, then try one yourself.
• Topic bingeing. Interleave: A-B-A-C patterns beat A-A-A-A for long-term memory.
• Past-paper hoarding without feedback. Do fewer papers, mark harder.

Cheat-sheets, examples, FAQ, and next steps

Fast, subject-specific plays you can run this week:

• Calculus: Make a derivative/integral decision tree on one page. Each night, solve 5 mixed problems in 20 minutes. Check units, domains, and a quick sketch.
• Physics: For word problems, write: Given, Goal, Model, Plan, Execute, Check. Always sketch a free-body diagram or energy flow. Units sanity-check catches half the errors.
• Organic Chemistry: Group reactions by mechanism (substitution, elimination, addition). For each, list strong/weak nucleophile/base and solvent effects. Drill electron flow arrows.
• Biology/Anatomy: Turn figures into recall prompts. Cover labels. Draw the pathway from memory. Say it out loud in 60 seconds.
• History: For each theme, prep a 5-sentence mini-essay template: thesis, cause 1 + evidence, cause 2 + evidence, counter-view, clincher.
• Languages: 10-10-10 rule: 10 minutes listening, 10 reading, 10 speaking or writing. Record yourself once a week. Cringe now, improve faster.

Weekly checklist

• Did I do two timed sets in my hardest subject?
• Did I log and fix three recurring errors?
• Did I space reviews (1-3-7-21 days), not cram?
• Did I practice the exam’s exact format?
• Did I sleep and leave one recovery block?

Mini FAQ

• Is math the hardest for most people? Not universally. Many surveys show math, physics, and organic chemistry topping difficulty lists because they’re cumulative and abstract. But language courses can feel harder for students without daily habits. Your hardest subject is the one where your current method doesn’t match the demand.
• How many hours should I study a hard subject? Aim for 5-7 focused hours per week per hard subject across 4-6 sessions. Split: 50% practice/retrieval, 30% learning/examples, 20% review and error fixing. Increase practice time as the exam nears.
• What if I’m trying and still stuck? Switch the method before adding hours. Add worked examples, interleave topics, and do timed sets with ruthless marking. Meet a tutor or attend office hours with your exact error log. Target the misconception, not the whole subject.
• Does intelligence decide this? Ability helps, but methods and habits move grades the most. The spacing effect, retrieval practice, and feedback quality are bigger levers than raw hours or talent (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006; Cepeda et al., 2008).
• Are learning styles real? Matching study to a declared style has weak evidence. Instead, match method to task: problems for problem-solving subjects, recall for memory-heavy, speaking for languages (Dunlosky et al., 2013).
• Can I cram successfully? You can boost short-term recall, but it fades fast. If you must cram, do timed mixed problems and rapid-fire retrieval, then sleep. Spacing wins for long-term memory.
• Any quick way to drop careless mistakes? Slow the first 10% of each problem to set units and plan. Add a 2-minute end-check: units, signs, extremes. A small tempo tax, big error cuts.
• Which apps actually help? Spaced repetition (Anki or any SRS), a simple timer, and past paper repositories. Fancy dashboards don’t replace closed-book recall.

Examples: what a 7-day loop looks like for different subjects

• Physics (kinematics): Mon learn with 2 worked examples; Tue summarize motion graphs; Wed 6 mixed problems; Thu closed-book recall of equations + units; Fri review Wed errors; Sat 30-minute timed set; Sun reflect and re-do one hardest problem.
• Organic Chemistry (substitution vs elimination): Mon build mechanism cards; Tue drill 20 minutes of arrows on blank schemes; Wed mixed reaction ID; Thu recall reagents/conditions; Fri review patterns; Sat mock with past questions; Sun fix 3 misconceptions with one-page notes.
• French (A2-B1): Daily 10-10-10; Wed and Sat record a 1-minute voice note; Sun write a 100-word paragraph and get feedback.

Decision cues to pick your starting move

• If you’re lost in symbols: Do 3 fully worked examples today. Then do one with steps hidden. Only then go solo.
• If you forget everything: Build 20 lean flashcards and run them daily with 1-3-7-21 spacing. Add one mini teach-back per session.
• If you run out of time on tests: Twice a week, do 25-minute sprints of mixed questions with harsh marking and a 2-minute end-check.
• If essays bomb: Collect 3 past questions, write thesis-only answers in 5 minutes each, then expand one to a timed paragraph with evidence.

Crisis plan: exam in 7 days

• Day 1: Past paper triage. Identify top 3 topics by points. Make a short formula/fact sheet.
• Day 2-4: Daily 2x 45-minute timed sets on those topics. After each, error log and one-page fix.
• Day 5: Mixed paper. Treat it like the real thing. Grade it.
• Day 6: Patch day. Only your weakest error types.
• Day 7: Light mixed retrieval, sleep early. No new content after midday.

Troubleshooting

• Grades flat despite work: Increase retrieval to at least 40% of time. Interleave topics. Add timed sets. Your brain needs pressure similar to the exam.
• Concepts click, mistakes kill: Add the 2-minute end-check. Write a preflight checklist for each problem type.
• No time, heavy life: Cut to essentials-past papers, error logs, and daily 20-minute recall. Lower perfection, keep rhythm.
• High anxiety: Run two low-stakes mocks with a friend. Practice breathing: 4-2-6 pattern before each timed set. Confidence comes from reps.
• Hate the subject: Pair it with a favorite task. 30 minutes hard, then 10 minutes of something you like. Reward loops work.

If you remember one idea, make it this: the hardest subject becomes manageable when your method matches the task. Practice what the exam asks, in small daily chunks, with feedback you don’t have to wait for. And yes, even in a grey Edinburgh week, that rhythm adds up.