Finding it difficult to keep up with coursework after joining a strong master's program in mathematics. How should I study? I am doing M.Sc. in Mathematics from a reputed college in India. But I have a humble background in mathematics. At my undergraduate college most of my batch mates were not interested in mathematics, and the teacher taught in a way that we could sail through exams. But I tried to learn on my own from online courses like NPTEL and OCW lectures and somehow I got a position for doing master's. At that time I used to study for just an hour and manage to understand, and I didn't solve any problems.
But here, the teachers are extremely good and they take 3-4 hours of lectures (i.e., one hour for each course). But now I am not able to grasp the concepts (develop intuition, visualization, looking at the big picture, etc.). To understand what my teacher/course instructor taught takes me 2-3 days of work and I am left behind. If I include memorization time then almost a week or so.
I am becoming overweight and suffering from lower back problems. If stay late up at night then I don't get sunlight giving vitamin D deficiency.
I don't know but I know I want to do research.
But how should I deal with this, I have 6 (5courses+seminar under professor).
And here we have to write an exam and be in the top 100 percent to get admitted for PhD from a reputed college with proper funding.
Please guide me, help me. How can I maintain my health and study?
It's all about time management my friend.
You need to learn how to adapt and the first step to start adapting is to set your timing schedule. A time schedule for the day with clear tasks, for the week..etc. You need to start working out or at the very least walk/squat for 5 minutes from time to time while you are doing a task for every 30 minutes, it will help your back a lot.
You need to use a good chair and use pillows behind your back to set your spine as vertical as possible. Since you are a mathematician and you'll need to set a lot to solve or prove you must check your pose while sitting despite having Vitamin D deficiency, sitting in the wrong pose will hurt your back, you'll lack focus and you'll have a headache.
You must treat your vitamin D deficiency by prescribed supplements. Depending on your deficiency level you might need high doses.
I hope that helps you.