Power Studying
We all love studying don't we? Nothing better than good old studying. That's what you're thinking right? Can't wait to hit the books each night after school? Yes? No? What do you mean am I crazy?
We want you to maximize every minute spent studying and as a result maximize every minute you don't have to study! That's right; we want you to study less. Every day. We want you to study less by learning how to power study - to study with super powerful efficiency and effectiveness which will cut the amount of time spent studying down to nothing! OK, that's a lie - but you get the drift. You have to study anyway, so why not learn how to learn more in less time?
So let's take a look at the new habits you are going to introduce and start putting into practise straight away! Excited? You should be!
Successful students do the following:
Never Over-Study
As soon as you spend too much time studying you will quickly lose focus and the time spent studying will become 'junk time'. This is when you think you're studying but you're just sitting there re-reading the same sentence about 1000 times. You're 'studying', but you're not getting anywhere with your work. You're just a mouse on the wheel. Round and round you go! Instead of this, take regular breaks. We suggest a 15 minute break for every 30 minutes of work completed. Sound good? For every hour you spend studying you get 30 minutes off! Why do this? Well, taking breaks will restore your energy and refresh your mind - plus it will give your mind some time to take in what you have been doing. But don't spend your time thinking about what you've been doing. No, no, no, instead you should allow your mind to rest by doing something completely different - like dance around the room to that lame song you like. Finally, don't study for more than 45 minutes in any one sitting. Why? Your brain will switch off at around about the 45 minute mark. So if you keep studying after that you're just playing ball in junk time again.
Plan Their Study
Successful students actually plan what they are going to do during their study time. As in, they actually plan the time they will be studying and they set goals for what they will achieve during their study. For example, your new habit could be saying 'I will study from 5 o'clock to 6.30 pm with a 15 minute break at 5.45 pm. At 6.30 pm I will have done all my maths worksheets and my history homework. I will then go online and get some solid Facebook time under my belt. Planning is no joke. If you want to be successful, do what successful students do. Create a plan, establish a goal and then stick to it like super glue. By having set times for doing work each day it will create a routine for you and as every good teacher will tell you, a routine is the first step towards developing a habit. And this habit is good. When you know that you have committed to work at a specific time each day you will be mentally prepared for it. You will know that 5 o'clock is study time. Just like you know 7 o'clock is dinner time (for some people!). Goal setting is also important. If you sit down with no clear thoughts about what you're trying to achieve during your study time you will just pointlessly drift along without knowing if you've done what you're supposed to do. So, create a target to achieve and focus your energy towards it. You won't regret it!
Front Up To The Toughest Work First
Let's face it, when completing tasks we all love to do the easy things first. Why? Because it build our confidence. We get excited when we're ticking items off our to-do list. BANG! 1st item ticked off. BANG! Double tick that item now I'm rolling. The only problem with the tick-off easy items first approach is that you use up your best energy at the start of any study session and so if you are tackling the easy parts with your best energy your energy reserves will be low when it comes time to tackle the hard part of what you need to get done. So what happens then? Bet you can't guess! You can guess? That's right - you get tried, you can grumpy, frustrated and then just give up and go play Xbox. We all do it. We really shouldn't though. So get in the habit of dedicating your best energy to the difficult tasks first and completing the easy 'I can do it with my eyes closed' stuff last.
Get Off Social Networking Sites, Your Phone, The Latest Game You Like and Turn Off Your TV
We live in a mobile device online world. But, hey, just turn them off for an hour or so and we promise the world will still be there when you log back in to Facebook! Don't text your friends, don't 'like' stuff, don't make phone calls, don't send texts, just focus on what you're doing! Even if you focus on work for 15 minutes followed by 5 mins of power texting to make up for the 15 minutes of texting you lost, it's better than 30 minutes of work whilst also texting at the same time. It's a good idea to reward yourself for any study completed, but you really should do some work to earn that reward. You agree right?
P.S. Music can be OK as a nice soothing background noise when studying - and even helpful in some instances, but having death metal blaring so loud your neighbor's dog is about to howl bloody murder isn't the way to go here. There is no way you can focus when you do that - and don't try to convince us otherwise!
Actually Ask For Help
If you don't know what on earth is happening in class or what on earth you are reading in your text book please ask someone for help - a teacher, parent, friend, sibling, tennis coach, someone else's parents. Seriously, just ask for help. Don't feel embarrassed or stupid - the most important thing is getting the task completed isn't it? What difference does it make if you have to ask for help? Wouldn't you rather do a good job? If you don't ask, you won't know. Frustration can be easily avoided, but sometimes we have to suck up the ego and ask for help. Either that or just scream and cry. Someone will probably twig that you need some help if you do that.
Clean Up Their Act
Seriously, do your work in a neat and tidy place. Don't study in a cesspool of your own rubbish. Work on a table or a desk - not on that pile of clothes in the corner that smells better than the other piles in your room. Organize all your books and materials. It's not cool to not be able to see your bed because there are mountains of junk all over your room (although it is fun to wonder 'where will I sleep tonight - can't find my bed again!') A clean environment makes a happy little bee out of you and me. Sorry that's lame I apologize. Good luck!
We all love studying don't we? Nothing better than good old studying. That's what you're thinking right? Can't wait to hit the books each night after school? Yes? No? What do you mean am I crazy?
We want you to maximize every minute spent studying and as a result maximize every minute you don't have to study! That's right; we want you to study less. Every day. We want you to study less by learning how to power study - to study with super powerful efficiency and effectiveness which will cut the amount of time spent studying down to nothing! OK, that's a lie - but you get the drift. You have to study anyway, so why not learn how to learn more in less time?
So let's take a look at the new habits you are going to introduce and start putting into practise straight away! Excited? You should be!
Successful students do the following:
Never Over-Study
As soon as you spend too much time studying you will quickly lose focus and the time spent studying will become 'junk time'. This is when you think you're studying but you're just sitting there re-reading the same sentence about 1000 times. You're 'studying', but you're not getting anywhere with your work. You're just a mouse on the wheel. Round and round you go! Instead of this, take regular breaks. We suggest a 15 minute break for every 30 minutes of work completed. Sound good? For every hour you spend studying you get 30 minutes off! Why do this? Well, taking breaks will restore your energy and refresh your mind - plus it will give your mind some time to take in what you have been doing. But don't spend your time thinking about what you've been doing. No, no, no, instead you should allow your mind to rest by doing something completely different - like dance around the room to that lame song you like. Finally, don't study for more than 45 minutes in any one sitting. Why? Your brain will switch off at around about the 45 minute mark. So if you keep studying after that you're just playing ball in junk time again.
Plan Their Study
Successful students actually plan what they are going to do during their study time. As in, they actually plan the time they will be studying and they set goals for what they will achieve during their study. For example, your new habit could be saying 'I will study from 5 o'clock to 6.30 pm with a 15 minute break at 5.45 pm. At 6.30 pm I will have done all my maths worksheets and my history homework. I will then go online and get some solid Facebook time under my belt. Planning is no joke. If you want to be successful, do what successful students do. Create a plan, establish a goal and then stick to it like super glue. By having set times for doing work each day it will create a routine for you and as every good teacher will tell you, a routine is the first step towards developing a habit. And this habit is good. When you know that you have committed to work at a specific time each day you will be mentally prepared for it. You will know that 5 o'clock is study time. Just like you know 7 o'clock is dinner time (for some people!). Goal setting is also important. If you sit down with no clear thoughts about what you're trying to achieve during your study time you will just pointlessly drift along without knowing if you've done what you're supposed to do. So, create a target to achieve and focus your energy towards it. You won't regret it!
Front Up To The Toughest Work First
Let's face it, when completing tasks we all love to do the easy things first. Why? Because it build our confidence. We get excited when we're ticking items off our to-do list. BANG! 1st item ticked off. BANG! Double tick that item now I'm rolling. The only problem with the tick-off easy items first approach is that you use up your best energy at the start of any study session and so if you are tackling the easy parts with your best energy your energy reserves will be low when it comes time to tackle the hard part of what you need to get done. So what happens then? Bet you can't guess! You can guess? That's right - you get tried, you can grumpy, frustrated and then just give up and go play Xbox. We all do it. We really shouldn't though. So get in the habit of dedicating your best energy to the difficult tasks first and completing the easy 'I can do it with my eyes closed' stuff last.
Get Off Social Networking Sites, Your Phone, The Latest Game You Like and Turn Off Your TV
We live in a mobile device online world. But, hey, just turn them off for an hour or so and we promise the world will still be there when you log back in to Facebook! Don't text your friends, don't 'like' stuff, don't make phone calls, don't send texts, just focus on what you're doing! Even if you focus on work for 15 minutes followed by 5 mins of power texting to make up for the 15 minutes of texting you lost, it's better than 30 minutes of work whilst also texting at the same time. It's a good idea to reward yourself for any study completed, but you really should do some work to earn that reward. You agree right?
P.S. Music can be OK as a nice soothing background noise when studying - and even helpful in some instances, but having death metal blaring so loud your neighbor's dog is about to howl bloody murder isn't the way to go here. There is no way you can focus when you do that - and don't try to convince us otherwise!
Actually Ask For Help
If you don't know what on earth is happening in class or what on earth you are reading in your text book please ask someone for help - a teacher, parent, friend, sibling, tennis coach, someone else's parents. Seriously, just ask for help. Don't feel embarrassed or stupid - the most important thing is getting the task completed isn't it? What difference does it make if you have to ask for help? Wouldn't you rather do a good job? If you don't ask, you won't know. Frustration can be easily avoided, but sometimes we have to suck up the ego and ask for help. Either that or just scream and cry. Someone will probably twig that you need some help if you do that.
Clean Up Their Act
Seriously, do your work in a neat and tidy place. Don't study in a cesspool of your own rubbish. Work on a table or a desk - not on that pile of clothes in the corner that smells better than the other piles in your room. Organize all your books and materials. It's not cool to not be able to see your bed because there are mountains of junk all over your room (although it is fun to wonder 'where will I sleep tonight - can't find my bed again!') A clean environment makes a happy little bee out of you and me. Sorry that's lame I apologize. Good luck!
About the Author:
HelpMeToStudy.org is the best resource for learning new study skills, changing your study habits and finding the best studying tips available. We will help you change the way you think about study - and even better - we will show you how to study effectively: How To Study Effectively | Good Study Habits
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