- Prioritize
- Find a Good Study Place
- Eliminate Distractions
- Give Yourself A Break
- Have a Snack (preferably a healthy one)
- Sleep (no, not while you're studying)
- Always Ask For Help When You Need It
How to Improve Your Study Habits:
Going off of the statement above, make sure you do the most important things first and get them out of the way. A huge burden of stress will be lifted off your shoulders. Try rewarding yourself after every important thing you get done. Also, remember to finish assignments with a closer due date first, then focus on getting the shortest assignments from that list out of the way before you begin the more tedious assignments.
Sometimes working in your bedroom isn't the best idea. While it may be your most comfortable spot, it's easy for you to get distracted by your bed and have the sudden urge to crawl in and go to sleep. However, if it seems to work for you, then go right ahead. Other areas of the house may be a better option if your house isn't really noisy. A lot of students prefer to do their work in coffee shops or bookstores. A combination of the perfect volume of noise and the smell of coffee amongst other things creates an atmospere that inspires productivity.
We've all been there. Sometimes the studying gets so exhausting that we decide to check our phones for about 5-10 minutes and all of a sudden those few minutes turn into an hour. The best thing to do is to just turn your phone off and keep it in a place where you won't be able to reach for it quickly. Instead of checking your phone while you take your quick break, get a hold of that book you've been dying to read and read a few pages. These days, a lot of our work is done on a computer and in that case, it may be easy to open a new tab and type in facebook.com. To avoid these kind of temptations, you can block distracting websites with this chrome app.
Studying for long periods of time gets exhausting, as if the mere idea of studying doesn't want to make you go to sleep already. When you study for too long, you get so mentally exhausted that you barely process the information you're taking in. That's why it's important to back away from your work for a few minutes, get up, and get your blood flowing (especially if it's a walk to the fridge). It's okay to check your phone during breaks, but because it's so easy to lose track of time when you're on your phone, it's important that you set a timer for the length of your break. When you're done with all that you're supposed to do, celebrate! Go out to eat, get some ice cream, watch that movie or TV show you've been dying to see, spend time with your friends and family, and sleep for as long as you need.
Eating while working is a great way to make your exhausting journey tolerable. The more you eat while you're studying, the better you feel. Any food works to keep you going, but remember, those calories still count. So if you're going to eat a lot to keep yourself productive, then you might as well eat something healthy. Fruit snacks are the best snacks. If you're a coffee-drinker, just know that only a moderate amount should suffice.
Do not pull all-nighters. If you have a lot of things to do in a day, then start as soon as you can and work from there until about 10pm. If you weren't able to finish everything, then save that work for early morning. If it still isn't possible, then let this be a lesson to never procrastinate this bad again. Don't push yourself over your own limit. You are more important than all the assignments you have to do. Take care of yourself first. Staying up all night for an assignment won't feel great the next day, and often times the final product of an all-nighter doesn't get you a good result anyway. This is because our brains stop functioning the way they usually do after extensive periods of wakefulness. Studies have also shown that sleeping after a period of studying allows you to remember the material more because your brain processes the information as you sleep.
One of the worst mistakes you can make is refuse to ask a teacher for help because they're too intimidating or you're too embarassed. These feelings of insecurity won't matter in a year from now, so not to sound harsh, but get over it and ask for help. It's what they're paid to do. Don't let insecurity be the reason you don't pass a class. It's your education, no one else's, so you need to do what's best for you always. If you don't understand the way a teacher is explaining a certain topic, then ask them to break it down to the point where it sounds like they're teaching a second-grader. Believe me, you end up finding out a lot more than you would ever think. Spending a lot of time after class with your teachers or professors for more clarification will always benefit you. If you still don't understand after that, then ask another student who understands the topic well. If you're totally lost in a certain class, hiring a tutor never hurts.