| By Tara Shekouri |
With the start of the school year comes the chance to develop habits that can propel you toward your academic goals. This blog breaks down seven essential study habits that help to provide a structured and disciplined approach to your studies, ensuring a productive and successful school year ahead.
Find a Suitable Working Space
When choosing a study location, ensure that it is surrounded by minimal distractions, is as quiet as possible, and allows you to keep concentrated. At home, creating a study space is ideal for maintaining focus, staying organized, and separating your study time from leisure activities (view one of our previous blogs for more information). Other study places outside of one's home include libraries, a café, and at school.
2. Minimize Distractions
No matter where you may decide to study, distractions are present anywhere. Ensure you have your phone on Do Not Disturb in order to avoid incoming notifications interrupting your study session. You may also want to download a study app such as Flora - Green Focus or Focus To-Do.
3. Try Not to Cram
Cramming will allow you to retain information short-term, but spacing out your studying will allow you to retain the information for a longer period—which is especially helpful for future exams. For example, try reviewing text material in chunks every few days leading up to a test. Doing so will also allow you to feel more comfortable and confident with the course content.
4. Set Goals for Yourself
Setting goals gives you a sense of direction and allows you to feel more motivated to complete tasks. For example, a goal may be to complete a presentation a few days before the deadline to allow yourself sufficient time for practising.
5. Take Breaks
Studying for long periods of time can cause you to feel burnt out, hinder your concentration, decrease productivity, etc. According to research, working for around 50 minutes followed by a 15- to 20-minute break can result in peak productivity. Try to avoid scrolling through social media and going on your phone. Instead, try going for a short walk, eating a snack, cleaning your working area, taking a shower, stretching, or listening to a couple songs.
6. Test Yourself
Testing yourself on a subject is an effective way to recognize any gaps in your knowledge and areas that need to be revisited a few more times. Some ways to test yourself include creating flashcards, completing online tests, or having a friend or family member quiz you.
7. Find Your Learning Style
Finding your learning style allows for a more fulfilling study experience overall, on top of being more effective. The four primary learning styles are reading/writing, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (in other words hands-on). Based on your learning style, you can then learn what study techniques and methods work best for you. For example, if you are a visual learner, using mind maps or colour-coded notes can help you better organize and retain information by visually connecting concepts and highlighting key points.
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