✨How to Study Series
For the past few years, based on my own personal experience and from various study tips and methods I've learned over the past few years, I've filled a notebook and Pinterest board with all these things. With a new season starting in my life, and getting ready for another year of school, I've decided to help prepare myself and refresh my memory by putting these into the digital scrapbook of this blog <3
✨Part One - Using Your Planner Effectively
Whether it's a physical or digital one, blocking off time and planning what to do and when to do it is very critical. The trap of procrastination or feeling panicked because you don't have enough time to do something gets nipped in the bud when you're thinking about it beforehand.
✨Due Dates
For all of your classes, there should be a syllabus. First, you should make sure to go over the whole thing, because professors will often not just use this for telling you due dates, but what kinds of things they are looking for in what assignments, their policy on late work, office hours, and more. But for your planner, first go through and copy down all of the due dates and times of each of your assignments. I like to use a certain color highlighters, or level of boldness, to separate these due dates from other things noted down.
If it's a college class with a set schedule, just copying down the due dates should be pretty easy. If it's something you're learning on your own time and resources, or a self-paced course, you're going to have to make up your own schedule of due dates. This requires some more leg work- you should see how much work there is, how much you could reasonably do each day, when you want to finish by, and split off what your own due dates will be, and for what, when.
✨Work Schedule
For classes, there's usually a mix of readings, classes at certain times and/or pre-recorded lectures. Writing down the days, and even times, that you are going to do these, and exactly what and how much, is going to simply things greatly, rather than floundering and not even doing the work until the last minute because you don't know what you're going to do.
✨Break Down Assignments
I know for me personally, a huge cause of procrastination is getting overwhelmed by a task being too big, so I can slip into only doing it last minute when I feel enough pressure to actually do it. But a far easier, better, and healthier way to do this, is to break the big task down into several smaller tasks. Instead of being daunted by the essay that is due in two weeks, split that one thing on the big due date into a bunch of smaller things that you assign tiny due dates to, just for yourself.
Essay due on the 14th = Topic due on 1st -> Research due on 3rd -> Thesis due on 4th -> Outline due on 5th -> Rough draft due on 10th -> revising due on 12th -> final paper done on 13th
And, if you can, by having the assignments done a day early, or at least several hours before the submission cutoff is, you'll have plenty of breathable time and not end up panicking.
If this isn't enough, you can break it down even further! Make specific times certain amounts of sources need to be found, or paragraphs need to be written. And its totally okay if you can't always meet your own deadlines, they are supposed to work for you and help you, not make you feel more panic and stress.
✨Study Schedule
Leading up to a test, it's important to be reviewing the information you've already learned. This doesn't have to be strict, just try to set aside some times to study so you'll remember to do it. Try to incorporate a mix of methods, like flashcards and blurting.
