Studying - it is viewed as important to some people and less important to others. However, we all come across a period in our life where we should study, even just a little bit. Some people may find it easier to study in comparison to others - it can be overwhelming to start at times or maybe there’s difficulty in maintaining focus and concentration throughout a study session. I’m no expert, but studying has been integral part of my life since high school began, and so I will be providing some of my tips and advice on how to execute an effective study session.
How to begin?
There’s various reasons as to why some students decide not to study - a potential reason is difficulty getting started. Just thinking about the workload you have to do can be overwhelming in itself, let alone starting on it. You may find it hard to figure out where and how to get started on your work. To help solve this, devise a plan of attack (or a to-do list) on how you will tackle your work and revision. Be specific with it, break down large tasks - such as a research project - into smaller counterparts. By doing so, the task will seem less intimidating and you will have a clear point where you can begin your study session. Also, if there’s difficulty with bringing yourself to actually begin the work, work on the task for at least 5 minutes. From there, you may have established your study flow that propels you forward during your work session or maybe you realised that you’re not in a current position to study and that’s okay. Try again when you’re ready and good to go.
Another reason some students attribute not studying to is procrastination. Before I would rely on motivation to help me get started, while it worked at the time, I found that it would just drain out throughout my study session. It was incredibly short-lived. But this is just my personal experience, it may be helpful for others and not so much for other people. Developing discipline can be a lot more effective and is more worthwhile. To help you become more self-disciplined, set up a reward system for yourself e.g. your study for a specific amount of time and treat yourself with food.
Maintaining Focus
Yes, it is obvious and so frequently repeated, but I should reiterate - keep your phone out of site. Checking a notification can lead to hours of mindless scrolling on social media and while there is some amusement out of that, some of that time could have been better spent. It can disrupt your work flow and thus, can end your study session quite short. If you’re working on a device with access to social media apps or other distracting apps, install programs that block them for you while you’re studying, such as the Forest app.
Additionally, the noise around you can become a distractor (I cannot work around loud noise, specifically people talking as amusing things can be heard and pique my interest). White-noise or music without lyrics are great mechanisms to block out unwanted sounds and help you to maintain your concentration while studying. Although, I still like to listen to music with lyrics just to spice up my study session a little and make it a little less boring.
Another tip for you to actually maximise your focus is by working in intervals. Studying for 2 hours straight will lead you to over exertion and you may not retain what you studied in the second half of the study session. Find what study intervals work best for you (you could try out the pomodoro method that was mentioned in a previous blog post) as they vary between people. For me, I find that 50-minutes on and 10-minutes off as well as 25-minutes on and 5-minutes off works great.
What to do after finishing a study session?
Reward yourself and treat yourself. After working hard, you deserve a break. Take a well needed rest after finishing a study session in order to prepare yourself for the next or just to chill out. Do activities and hobbies that makes you happy and that you love. Maybe even take a lil nap. If you have more study sessions ahead, clean up your work space and prepare the materials that you will need for the next session to make sure that you’re ready to begin when your break ends.
I hope the tips and advice were helpful in assisting you to develop a consistent and effective study routine. Remember to be patient with yourself throughout the school or work year, and treat and pamper yourself.
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~ Julia
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