How to Read an Academic Paper When You’re Tired: Strategies for Exhausted Students

Last Updated On: October 24th, 2025

How do you read an academic paper when your brain is mush? Primary sources and scholarly articles are an increasingly common tool in classrooms. They allow for insights into the methods and priorities of a discipline. In addition to reducing textbook costs, these resources ensure that you are getting current knowledge at the forefront of your topic. This is all great, but they are also dense, with complex and specific topics and data representation, which is hard enough when you are sharp and alert—but what do you do when you are tired? We always want to give our best to academic papers; however, the reality is that you are going to have to work through these research articles whenever your class, journal club, or advisor assigns them, and often you will need to fit them in with a ton of other work and other life things. So how do you do that in the best way? Happily, there are options and strategies to help with this oh-so-common situation, and you can use them to make life easier when you’re dealing with reading academic papers and scholarly sources.

How Much Do You Really Need to Know About This Paper?

The first thing that you need to consider is the purpose of your reading. Not every article needs to be read at the same depth. Knowing how you are going to use the paper will categorize the level of understanding that you need and consequently what approach you will take. Let’s think about common reasons that you might be reading this research paper so that you can get realistic about how much you really need to do.

Reasons that need a quick read (cite only):

You are looking to pad your Works Cited section.
You are trying to decide if this paper is one you want.
It is a class paper that is supplemental, but it won’t be tested or discussed in depth.

Reasons that you need a light read (skim for claim):

It is a class paper that is of passing interest.
It is a class paper that will be thoroughly covered or presented in class.
It is a journal club paper that someone else is presenting and you are not expected to ask insightful questions.

Reasons that you need a thorough read (teach or critique):

It is a class paper that will be tested or referenced frequently.
It is a journal club paper that someone else is presenting, and you are expected to ask insightful questions.
It is a class paper that you will be addressing as a group.
It is a paper that you will present to the class or journal club, but you won’t be asked questions about it.
It is a supporting source for your research or project.

Reasons that you need a deep read (use in your own study):

It is a paper that you will independently present to the class or journal club, and you will be asked questions about it.
It is a foundational paper for research or a project that you are doing.

How Do You Do Just the Right Amount?

Keeping focused on what you need from your article will help you decide which parts of the paper you have to read and how well you want to know each section. If you are well rested, you can read a level or two up from your needs, but when you are worn out, you will want to pick the minimum level that will accomplish your goal. The right level will stop you from being a perfectionist or martyr about the paper—and possibly finding yourself in an exhausted anxiety shut-down. It will also stop you from justifying a lower level of work that will get you in trouble. Be real with yourself and work just the right amount.

If it’s a quick read (cite only):

If you do not need to know the article beyond a quick read, you can just read the title and abstract of the research paper.
These two sections will let you know what the paper is about so that you can feel comfortable with the topic, purpose, and major conclusions of the work. With these details, you will be able to tie the title and author to basic facts of the paper, and sometimes that is enough.
If you are on the quick read level, finish these sections; make sure that if you have questions on their meaning, you have reviewed the relevant parts of the paper to solidify your basic knowledge of what the paper is about.

If it’s a light read (skim for claim):

If you are reading at the light reading level, you can just read the title, abstract, and conclusion/discussion of the research paper.
You will also want to have a basic understanding of the paper’s figures. Consider what each image, table, or graph is presenting so that if the discussion references one, you will know the general structure. You do not need to be able to analyze at this level, but you will want to give all the figures a look-over so that you understand the titles, axes, trends, legends, and captions.
If you have questions on the figures, you may want to refer to the methods and/or discussion sections to clarify them.

If it’s a thorough read (teach or critique):

If you are doing a thorough read, you will need to be more familiar with the scholarly article. For this level, you will read the entire paper.
In addition to understanding the concepts, you will want to follow the claim, evidence, and reasoning for each conclusion the paper makes. To do this, make sure that you can connect the methods to each figure in the paper and then connect these figures to the corresponding conclusion(s).
At this level, you can do some follow-up research if you have questions on major points in the paper but remind yourself that you do not need to know everything about the field of the article. You will want to fully understand the methods, figures, and conclusions, but you don’t need to be up to date on all the related literature.

If it’s a deep read (use in your own study):

If you are presenting, analyzing, or applying the research paper, you will be reading the article more than once.
You will want to understand the figures completely, identify potential weaknesses or limitations of the study, and relate your document to other work in the field.
Just because you need to understand the entire paper thoroughly doesn’t mean that you must get it all in one read. That pressure is unrealistic and stressful. If you have an article to address at this level, make sure to schedule multiple sessions with it. The more exhausted you are, the more you will want to break up your work for a deep read article.

Working Around the Exhaustion

Now that you know what type of understanding you need and what sections are going to get you there, let’s look at some effective reading strategies for maximizing your limited energy and your productivity when reading research papers and scholarly articles.

Having a direct path

If you like having a direct approach with timing and steps, you can try the 3-Pass, Figure-First Method to break down your studying.

Pass 1 (5–7 min): Abstract → Figures/Tables → Conclusion. Capture the claim + variables.
Pass 2 (12–15 min): Intro (research question), Methods overview (design, sample, measures), Key results paragraphs that match figures.
Pass 3 (as needed): Limitations, alternative explanations, related work.
Final Output: 5-line summary (Question, Method, Key Finding, Caveat, Why I care).

You can repeat these steps as often as you need to get just the right amount from your academic paper.

Having a tangible result/product

Producing a document can help you focus if your fatigue makes you distracted while you are working. It is easier to avoid zoning out if you have a specific goal and typing or writing hands. You can consider these options of outputs for your reading:

One-page Reading Sheet: Include your citation, a 5-line summary, 3 quotes or figure notes, 2 critiques, and 1 future application or link to your project. You can compile your Reading Sheets in a folder for easy reference around finals time.
Synthesis Matrix: List your articles in rows and list your themes in columns. This Matrix allows you to spot gaps and agreement in topics and viewpoints.
Critique Notes: List one method concern, one interpretation concern, and a how-to-improve suggestion.
Literature Reviews Notes: Develop synthesis notes including where your documents agree, where they disagree, and where they agree about parts while disagreeing about others. This will help you avoid mere summarizing.
Color code: Although color coding is not a document of its own, it is invaluable in organizing your reading and your documents. Consider a set scheme such as yellow (claim), blue (method), green (result), pink (limitation).

Keeping your focus at its best

If you are exhausted, your focus is going to be fragile. If your goal is to complete your work so that you can get to sleep, you will want focus to be a top priority. There are strategies to help you stay on target so that you can finish as soon as possible with your paper completed.

1. Pomodoro timing helps by resetting your focus regularly and by pushing you forward.

Consider 20/10s, 40/20s, or 25/5s, where the first number is the minutes that you are working on your paper and the second number is a break or a different project.
Ideally your break or other project will involve physical movement or a location change, but at the very least you will want to change topics of study.
Changing topics refreshes your attention and knowing that you have limited time to work on a goal makes you work faster on that project.

2. Keep your body working its best

Upright posture prevents strain and keeps your circulation flowing.
Hydration reduces fatigue, particularly if you are caffeinated.
Remember to eat. Easy foods like fruits and nuts can give your body what it needs without a major time commitment.
Repetitive breathing and motion give you built-in breaks. Bounce your heels and roll your shoulders between sections and/or figures. Take 3 deep breaths before each pass.

3. Set your environment for focus success

A single tab is less distracting. Close unnecessary tabs and/or apps.
Turn your notifications off. Unless you are on call for something more important than completing your academic paper, turn off your notifications.
Daylight or a lamp at shoulder level will help keep you from thinking about sleep.

4. Know when to work. Be real about your focus. If your focus has fled and you are no longer being productive, set a plan to accomplish the rest of your work later.

Take a nap or schedule the rest of your work in the morning.
Set multiple alarms or enlist a trusted person to help wake you if you have difficulty waking up.

Conclusion

Academic papers are part of education and exhaustion is part of life, so when they overlap, make sure that you have all the strategies to do just what you need in the best possible way! By matching your reading approach to your needs—whether it’s a quick skim or a deep dive—and using techniques like the 3-Pass Method, you can effectively read scholarly articles even when your energy is low.

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