Effective Study Habits

Today’s young generation will also need to master a new skill ${\displaystyle –}$ digital literacy. Digital literacy can be defined as “the ability to find, evaluate, utilize, share, and create content using information technologies and the Internet”. Digital literacy, by this definition, encompasses a wide range of skills, all of which are necessary to succeed in an increasingly digital world. Students who lack digital literacy skills may soon find themselves at a disadvantage. As technology changes, students also need to keep updated.

The key to becoming an effective student is learning how to study smarter, not harder. This becomes more and more true as you advance in your education. An hour or two of studying a day is usually sufficient to make it through high school with satisfactory grades, but when college arrives, there aren’t enough hours in the day to squeeze all your studying in if you don’t know how to make your study efficient without skipping sleep or meals. The vast majority of successful college students achieve their success by developing and applying effective study habits.

Ever find yourself up late at night expending more energy trying to keep your eyelids open than you are studying? If so, it’s time for a change. Successful students typically space their work out over shorter periods of time and rarely try to cram all of their studying into just one or two sessions. If you want to become a successful student, then you need to learn to be consistent in your studies and to have regular, yet shorter, study sessions, with periods of rest in between. That will give your brain time to process the new information.

Successful students schedule specific times throughout the week when they are going to study ${\displaystyle –}$ and then they stick with their schedule. Students who study sporadically and whimsically typically do not perform as well as students who have a set study schedule. Сreating a weekly routine, where you set aside a period of time a few days a week, to review your courses will ensure you develop habits that will enable you to succeed in your education long term. You won’t get stressed or overwhelmed by portioning your workload.

It is very easy, and common, to put off your study session because of lack of interest in the subject, because you have other things you need to get done, or just because the assignment is hard and needs effort and perseverance. Successful students do not procrastinate studying. If you procrastinate your study session, your studying will become less effective and you may not get everything accomplished that you need to. Procrastination also leads to rushing, and rushing is the number one cause of errors.

Always make sure to take good notes in class. Before you start each study session, and before you start a particular assignment, review your notes thoroughly to make sure you know how to complete the assignment correctly. Reviewing before each study session will help you remember important subject matter learned during the day, and make sure your studying is targeted and effective. Successful students also look through what they have written down at their lectures and seminars during the week over the weekend.

Everyone gets distracted by something: TV, or maybe family. Some people actually study better with a little background noise. When you’re distracted while studying you lose your train of thought and are unable to focus ${\displaystyle –}$ both of which will lead to very ineffective studying. Before you start, find a place where you won’t be disturbed. For some people this is a quiet cubical in the recesses of the library. For others it is in a common area where there is little background noise. For some it may be a park or a garden ${\displaystyle –}$ there are so many options to choose from!