Study SMARTER not HARDER. This is yet another effective mantra of effective students and considered performers at school. It is not always the amount of time given to study for a lesson, nor the number of concepts and theories one is able to comprehend, rather it is the quality of study habits and consistency to what they are doing that will spell out the difference. Students, at their educative years, must be able to develop habits that will bring out the best in them. This strategy will then translate to their work ethics should they are to pursue their respective professions.
Education Corner, a learning site based in England, describes the study habits of students that are found effective in creating and bringing out the best in students:
- Don’t attempt to cram all your studying into one session.
If students want to become a successful, then they need to learn to be consistent in their studies and to have regular, yet shorter, study periods.
- Plan when you’re going to study.
Successful students schedule specific times throughout the week when they are going to study — and then they stick with their schedule. Students who study sporadically and whimsically typically do not perform as well as students who have a set study schedule.
- Study at the same time.
Not only is it important that you plan when you’re going to study, it’s important you create a consistent, daily study routine. When you study at the same time each day and each week, you’re studying will become a regular part of your life. You’ll be mentally and emotionally more prepared for each study session and each study session will become more productive. If you have to change your schedule from time to time due to unexpected events, that’s okay, but get back on your routine as soon as the event has passed.
- Each study time should have a specific goal.
Simply studying without direction is not effective. You need to know exactly what you need to accomplish during each study session. Before you start studying, set a study session goal that supports your overall academic goal
- Never procrastinate your planned study session.
Successful students DO NOT procrastinate studying. If you procrastinate your study session, your studying will become much less effective and you may not get everything accomplished that you need to. Procrastination also leads to rushing, and rushing is the number one cause of errors.
- Start with the most difficult subject first.
As your most difficult assignment or subject will require the most effort and mental energy, you should start with it first. Once you’ve completed the most difficult work, it will be much easier to complete the rest of your work. Believe it or not, starting with the most difficult subject will greatly improve the effectiveness of your study sessions, and your academic performance.
- Make sure you’re not distracted while you’re studying.
Everyone gets distracted by something. Before you start studying find a place where you won’t be disturbed or distracted. For some people this is a quite cubical in the recesses of the library. For others is in a common area where there is a little background noise.
- Use study groups effectively.
“Two heads are better than one.” Well this can be especially true when it comes to studying. Working in groups enables you to (1) get help from others when you’re struggling to understand a concept, (2) complete assignments more quickly, and (3) teach others, whereby helping both the other students and yourselve to internalize the subject matter. However, study groups can become very ineffective if they’re not structured and if groups members come unprepared. Effective students use study groups effectively.
Effective students are not all the times, the brightest students. Effective students are those who are consistent to what they want to achieve. They are those students who are persistent and have patience in the things he/she cannot accomplish at the moment. Challenge for the students is to be able to develop their own study habits to be able to become productive in school.
Reference:
Loveless, Becton. “10 Habits of Highly Effective Students.” N.p., 2016. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
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