A Guide to Managing Your Studies
As a student, your full-time job is to manage your studies and succeed in school. By learning important time-management techniques early, you can benefit from these skills both now and as you get older. Knowing how to take notes effectively, how to study them later, and how to manage your stress levels will also be important for you as a student. Once you learn these techniques, you may find that they benefit you after graduation when you enter the business world.
Time Management
- Make a list of things to do every day and work from this list to tackle your tasks. Many business professionals have learned that by prioritizing the hardest things, you can complete these tasks when you are the freshest.
- Take advantage of downtime you might have when you’re on the go. For example, if you have an appointment in the afternoon, bring along your textbook so you can use the time in the waiting room to tackle a reading assignment.
- Avoid distractions when you’re supposed to be working on school assignments. Consider installing an app that blocks your access to social media websites so you aren’t tempted to procrastinate.
- Designate specific times for specific tasks to create a schedule for yourself. Once you learn this schedule, it will become second nature for you, which can simplify your daily routine.
- Refuse some activities to avoid overwhelming yourself. Set priorities and let less important activities go if you find that you have too much to do.
Note-Taking
- Note-taking is important for remembering information. Studies have found that when you take notes by hand, you may remember details more readily than if you take notes on a laptop.
- Listen carefully as you take notes, and try to zero in on just the most important key facts. If you try to write down everything you hear in a lecture, you may miss important information.
- The outlining method is one way of taking notes that may work for you. With this method, you write down main idea headings and make bullets beneath each heading with key points.
- Plan a study session with other students in your class to compare your notes. Everyone will hear different things in a lecture, so notes will usually include a wide variety of points. If you read other people’s notes, you can add to your own to make them more complete.
- Familiarize yourself with the lecture topic before class, if possible. Knowing a little about a subject will help you take better notes because you will recognize key points.
- The Cornell note-taking method involves making two columns on your paper. List the most important ideas in the right column and any supplementary notes in the left column. Write a short summary of the entire topic at the bottom of the page, which you can use as you study.
- Try recopying your study notes onto adhesive notes or index cards to commit the information to your long-term memory. Rewriting information is helpful for retention. You could also hang up these notes in places where you will see them, such as your bathroom mirror or your refrigerator.
Study Skills
- To transfer information from short-term memory to long-term memory in your brain, use repetition. Repeating information by reading it or saying it aloud numerous times will help you remember it longer.
- Create a designated study area where you will do most of your school work. Eliminate distractions in your study space so you can focus only on your assignments.
- Keep a positive attitude about learning and studying. When you approach your assignments enthusiastically and positively, you are more likely to succeed.
- Look for ways to personalize what you are learning. Anytime you can make the information relative to you and your interests, you make it more likely that you will remember these details.
- Use a standard process for your study time. This might include skimming over an assignment first, then going back to complete it, taking a short break, and then reviewing the assignment a final time.
Stress Management
- Make time for exercise and fresh air every day to help alleviate anxiety and stress.
- If you’re feeling stressed because of a test or a big assignment, use calming methods to help alleviate your anxiety. Deep breathing, meditation, and exercise can help you feel calmer.
- Use a relaxation technique called mindfulness to help alleviate stress. Sit in a quiet place, breathe deeply, and focus your thoughts for a few minutes. You might even use an app to help guide you through this process.