My Study Habits Tips

by Lise' Smith
(Nashville, TN, USA)

I am an early bird and find it best to study during the morning and early afternoon.

I turn off my cell phone (silence) and leave it in another room to avoid the temptation to pick it up. I set goals/deadlines (per 30 minutes increments) on what task should be completed first, this keeps me focus and on time with deadlines. In addition, using good posture in a chair is best with the T.V. on mute or off.

I take breaks frequently where I get up and walk around and do something different, including making a quick call or watch 15 minutes of my favorite daytime T.V. program.

After my arranged break-time is over, I am charged-up again to go back to the books.

Studying in bed is a recipe for disaster, which is why a chair is best for me. These are a few tips that I had to implement to improve my overall performance.

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Thanks for your contribution, Lise'...

Yes, cell phones are the number one distraction when studying so leaving it in an entirely different room is an excellent habit to maintain. Keeping it with you is a sure fire way to get distracted.

Your 30 minute increments idea is interesting -- do you aim to complete specific goals or deadlines in that time?

There is a lot to be said for working in blocks of time -- it can be a great way to get started on something, and to finish it, providing each block of time isn’t too ‘threatening’.

For example, if I was set a ten thousand word assignment to produce with a four week deadline from today I would ’time box’ working on it every day for as long as I want to.

On days I’m busy, or I don’t feel like working I would commit to a shorter length of time -- 30, 20, or even just ten minutes -- whatever I could face. This gets me sitting down and maintains the momentum.

The key thing is to work on it every working day. This ‘little and often’ habit is remarkably effective, and it’s adaptable to so many different study situations.

- Tim