I have been struggling with this question, especially the last year. It really seems like lately, no matter what I do, I just am not working hard enough. I have this one class in particular. I spend anywhere from 18-22 hours a week on this ONE CLASS, not including the time I spend actually in the lectures. This professor makes things unbearably hard and the class is nothing like I expected. Every 3 weeks or so we have an exam and the week before I get so so worked up. I uncontrollably cry day after day even though I know that isn’t helping me. I find myself so stressed out over this class I can’t think about anything else, I can’t even eat. Everyone around me puts in 1/4 of the effort I do and gets the same results if not better. At first I thought it was my studying habits but I am successful in other classes, so how would that make sense?
Like.. am I just dumb? Sometimes I think that is the only logical explanation. My family is always telling me, “oh you’re the smartest person I know”, but isn’t that their job? What I really want to know is, am I just not working hard enough? Should I be putting more hours into this class? Into work? I have little to no social life because of school and I keep telling myself it’s just for this last semester, and then I’ll be free to do whatever I want. But is that true? I want to continue my education, but do I have what it takes? Will I be able to work hard enough for a Master’s degree if I’m drowning in undergrad classes now?
I am extremely afraid of failing and that doesn’t help my anxiety about school. I always thought I was smart, but am I overestimating my abilities and that’s why I’m not having the outcomes I think I should? I do have a tendency to compare myself to others and that definitely contributes to the anxiety I have surrounding school. I always had a vision of how my life would look after school but what if I can’t achieve those goals? I am at constant battle with myself thinking that I don’t work hard enough, even though all I do is work for school! I think some expectations, especially for classes like the one I mentioned, are just unrealistic. When I’m writing this I can really see that I’m not the problem. Anyways… hopefully I’m not as dumb as this class makes me seem..
Unruly Bodies 
I can definitely relate to your struggles. I think from a very early age, we are taught as students to stay competitive and get better grades than those around you. This mentality has stayed with us and has now caused us as college students to become extremely anxious with school and our grades. To help answer your question (because I am the same way) I don’t think there is a standard of work needed to be put in. My mentality when studying is “if I do poorly, at least I know I put in all of my effort” because it would make me feel even worse to know I bombed an exam and did nothing to prepare for it. So, I say just keep working hard and everything will play out how it is intended to.
I think in our society hustle culture has dominated and tainted the meaning of “success”. You aren’t successful if you aren’t working hard every moment grinding for your future like these Billionaires and Celebrities. The fact of the matter is people get so worked up in this that when they actually achieve success they look back and realize what they’ve missed on, or even worse, they burn out completely. In life I believe there needs to be a balance between all things, whether it be work, school, or your hobbies, make time for everything, have stuff you need to get done but also set aside time to do what you like.
In this post you are questioning if you need to work harder or longer hours. Alternatively, consider this- maybe working less hours is the answer? When we stress and work ourselves to exhaustion, we start to produce lower quality work or spend longer hours to learn way less information. Consider asking your professor, TAs, and classmates for some advice on their technique and how best to study for this class. Every class is different and everyone thinks differently so I wouldn’t waste time on comparison. Try to change your approach and hopefully that will change your results. Remember, sometimes less is more! And of course take care of yourself.
Your experience and anxieties surrounding school/grades described in this post is something I and probably a lot of other students can relate to. I feel like in an academic setting, people tend to deem proof of intelligence as getting good results with barely any effort. It’s this huge contradiction of people praising hardwork, but also seeing those who dont need to work hard as the most intelligent. And so then when we find ourselves putting in work only to not receive the results we want, we think it’s a reflection of our intelligence. This one class doesn’t cancel out your success in other classes, and I think it’s important to remember that when things are feeling especially tough.