With the stress of school and classes on many of us so often, having good study habits under your belt is key when faced with deadlines, tests and work. Follow these next few tips I have to excel and have a better routine regarding school and classes.
xo
1. Find a good place to study
The environment that you study in can greatly affect your ability to study. It's up to you to decide what place find best suits your needs. Some things you may want to look for is an overall quiet space which is not too busy. This can be a room in your house, your backyard, a cafe, a library, wherever you are most comfortable. Being in a calm space can improve your focus and remove stress, making it much easier to get things done.
2. Take breaks
Taking a pause to regroup with yourself and step back is very much okay, in fact it is what you probably should be doing. After studying or doing work for a period of time, it is good to practice taking a 5 or 10 minute break to take a walk, get a snack/drink, really anything you'd like. I find it helpful to set timers for myself in order to keep a good balance between studying and taking a pause. Sometimes I do one hour of studying with a 10 minute break, sometimes it's 20 minutes of studying and a 2 minute break. Up to you.
3. Have dedicated hours/days for specific tasks
I find that when I chunk out time to work on my tasks, it helps me a lot. If I have a set time in my day to work on a few things, it keeps me in order and it lowers my chances of procrastination. This kind of thing becomes part of my daily schedule and it improves my time management as well.
4. Set goals
Setting goals can be so helpful when it comes to school work. Similar to dedicating time to doing work, you can dedicate that same time to reaching your goals. whether that be to finish an essay, study for a test, whatever it is, make a goal and write it down. Completing it will feel so good.
5. Reward yourself
Sometimes it's nice to do something kind for yourself after working so hard on school work. This does not mean that every 10 minutes of studying you should get an iced latte (although I wish that was the way it was), the best way to do this is when it truly feels like a reward. It should be something that you look forward to. Perhaps you take yourself out for a coffee or matcha after you complete that 20 page paper. Maybe to you a reward looks like a walk in nature, maybe a walk into your favourite store. Whatever makes you feel refreshed and energized, reward yourself with that.
6. Remove distractions
This one can be quite difficult at times. Removing a distraction such as a phone can take a bit of time to get used to for some people. Getting into the habit of putting away distractions in order to stay focused and get as much done as possible is so helpful as much as it can be an annoyance. However, getting rid of distractions is something that will aid you in many aspects of life, not just with studying and school.
7. Make a list
This one seems very obvious, but it is super helpful if you have not tried it yet. Simply compiling a list of everything needed to be done is a wonderful habit because you will have everything out on paper (or on your notes app) for you to see and check off one by one. Being able to cross things off of a list also creates a sense of achievement which can feel great, especially when you spend countless hours on projects and studying.
8. Get things done as soon as possible
If you're anything like me, you're good at procrastinating. This is something that I am recently trying to change for myself. I do not find it helpful to leave things to the last minute. I'm not sure many people do. This is why getting work done as soon as you get it is an extremely good thing to get into the habit of doing. As much as it can be a pain, it would be just as annoying to do it later. This will also take a lot of stress off of you in the long run.
