1. Stay focused on priorities
Staying focused is essential, especially on your priorities. When completing a task, you should assess your preferences and use the time you have to do as much work as possible to ensure that the most critical work is done first. This is important because being able to sort out and understand what needs to be done is a vital skill you will be thankful for later in life.
2. Note-taking
Effective note-taking is hugely helpful when you’re taking onboard information. It will give you something to refer to later and, if you’re writing by hand, help drive the information deeper into your brain.
3. Don’t procrastinate
If you have a 500-word essay to write for tomorrow, not wanting to do it is understandable, but the consequences would outweigh not getting it done. Procrastinating once can set a tone for the work you may do in the future. Putting off studying can lower your grades and make you perform poorly in school. Getting your studies out of the way as soon as possible and doing this every time is beneficial to your work ethic as it will create a habit. It is also ideal as it gives you one less thing to get done, and you feel satisfied with yourself when it is done.
4. Organisation
Effective study is organised study. You’ll need to have all your materials within easy reach, and you’ll want to have a system for absorbing them. This might mean skimming through everything, identifying problem areas, and circling back. It might mean dividing your days into critical topics and poring through them individually.
5. Don’t get distracted by technology
Getting distracted is incredibly easy, especially if you are working on a laptop or with a device around you. The phrase “out of sight, out of mind” applies here. Leaving your computer and phone in another room and putting them on silent mode can benefit your studies and shorten the time it takes to do them. Additionally, even if you feel tempted to check your phone, the effort required to walk to another room isn’t worth risking study time.
