10 Steps That Will Help You to Improve Your Study Skills
We offer you 11 tips to improve your study habits and stop procrastinating. This way you will find motivation in what you are doing and not delay the work you have to do.
Procrastinating, i.e., dragging out tasks, leaving everything for the last few days. To that end, here are a few tips you can follow to improve your study habits:
1. Work environment for studying
If you are going to study from home, try to find a suitable place: good light, good temperature, a comfortable chair and table, a computer that works… you know, all those things that allow you to spend time pleasantly and quietly, improve your study habits. Use some anti-stress tool, like a ball, that you can squeeze to get rid of anxiety and have anything that enhances the moment at hand. If you can’t find it at home, find a quiet library, a park bench, or sit leaning against a tree.
2. The art of synthesis
It is very important to take notes, take notes, and above all, to outline on paper everything you have done during class. Learn to highlight the essentials and ignore the secondary. This will help you develop your ability to structure and also help you remember the material you have studied better. You can find many studies and free essay examples that describe the importance of taking notes and outlines for better memorization.
3. Finish the pending tasks
When we face a class, we have to give it the necessary time to isolate ourselves in a certain way from everything that surrounds us. One of the biggest complaints from students, of all educational levels, during this confinement, has been that at home they have many distractions. And it is true. Therefore, it is important to know how to isolate yourself from them. A couple of hours before each class, it is important to take care of everything that can distract us: arrange appointments with friends and when we will eat or have a snack. And then, of course, stay away from WhatsApp, Telegram, social networks in general, etc.
4. Keep up with the pace of study
Classes that keep a steady pace are the best. Each teacher has a kind of pre-written script of each unit, which is determined by the content and will also redound on the concepts that he/she believes are more difficult and deserve more of your attention. It is best not to break this rhythm by asking questions at the wrong time or outside the class. If there is something you do not like as a student, for example, it is best to raise it in a tutorial or shortly before class. Teachers are okay with dealing with such issues, but raising them during the course slows down the pace, shortens the learning time, and some parts of the lesson may not be able to be developed. If, during the study, questions arise, write them down and wait until the end of the class for them to be resolved.
5. Balance
Keeping a schedule is possibly the most important thing. It sounds boring, but improvisations usually give wrong results when studying. It is essential to sleep well, eat properly, and do everything on a workable schedule from Monday to Friday. You have to think in the same terms as a professional athlete. You don’t have to be a robot, of course. Adjust your hours to what your body asks for, understanding that it has to be compatible with the schedules of the rest of the class and of your classmates. Think that weekends are long and that the balance you maintain will depend on whether you can enjoy quiet Saturdays and Sundays and days off in which you can dedicate yourself to what you like the most.
6. TALK!
Sometimes, when a problem arises, the best thing to do is to talk about it. With your environment, with your friends, with your family. Even if they are not related to the subject you are studying, you can discuss your problems with them. Sometimes, by verbalizing the issues, there is a solution. Review the day you have completed with them and what you have done, and you will find the root of the problems you have encountered and how to solve them. Positively use social networks and throw your questions to them; there may be someone who can solve your doubts among your followers. There may be a remote possibility of finding answers, but you will find positive reinforcement to move forward. If they troll you, don’t worry: there’s that block button that gives such good results.
7. Incorporate
Incorporate your learning into your daily life. If you incorporate it naturally, it will be easier to understand it as something that goes with you rather than something that drags you down. For example: think of the advantages that what you are doing will bring you in the short term. A well-assimilated lesson allows you to have more free time, a greater margin of freedom, and enjoy the day more. Make your learning something that is yours that benefits you, and that will improve your life immediately and in the future.
8. Revalue yourself because everything can be learned
As a great Ringo Starr song said: “It don’t come easy”. Or, if you prefer, choose “It’s a long way to the top (if you wanna rock and roll)” by the Australians AC/DC. None of the geniuses you know had it easy or accomplished their goals without difficulty. Like you, they had moments of doubt and thought they wouldn’t make it. Forget about it all. Procrastinating is sometimes a matter of accumulating negative feelings about oneself, thinking that we are not fit or will not make it. Everything, absolutely everything, can be learned. There is a minimum percentage of genius, a small percentage of genetic or spiritual predisposition that differentiates geniuses like Picasso or Stephen King from great painters and writers. Still, seriously, with effort, you can learn to do anything. No one is born knowing anything. Dedicate quality time and nothing else.
9. Alone, you can’t. With friends, yes.
Beyond finding your personal space, lean on a group of people, establish good relationships with people in your class, analyze your affinity with them, and think that you may have to work as a team with some of them in the future. Study groups work well. Get together with people in your class to study, to feel comfortable, to do fronton, i.e., to be able to ask them questions and get them to give you answers. Be generous and reciprocate as much as possible. Generating a group conscience, of the crew, of people embarked on the same mission and sharing common goals, is the best way to understand the ultimate purpose of what we are doing.
10. Is this good for anything?
Plan all your does well. Always focus on what is important. It is necessary to calculate the balance between study time and the time we dedicate to the practical experience in which we have to apply what we have learned. Studying is as important as completing exercises and assignments on the subject we have learned. Try to have a practical experience attached to what you have learned to test yourself. Eliminate any random assignments. You will recognize them because they will not help you solve a functional problem. For example: if you are studying engineering, you will learn about structures, but you may need more than just a list of engineers who studied systems before you. Note that you must know these facts and take time out of your free time (when you are less overwhelmed) to learn about Engineering History, but for now, try not to let this ancillary knowledge make you procrastinate.
Follow these 10 steps, and you can focus your day-to-day better, improving your study habits. As we mentioned on another occasion, time management is essential. We may think that we are managing our time well and, nevertheless, be dedicating it to tasks that serve no purpose. With these small tips, we want students to achieve quality time and a viable method to achieve their goals without getting lost
