Study Tips and Tricks
Study may be over for some of you because of holidays (whether that's the summer or semester break, depending on where you are in the world) or you've graduated, but for some of you the journey may only be beginning so it can't hurt to have some study tips that we've found useful over our university careers.
Study is always daunting, especially when you're a procrastinator (as we both are), or you don't really have the motivation to do it and you're giving yourself the excuse that you have plenty of time to do whatever study or assessment you have. This has always been a problem us. So as procrastinators we have compiled a list of useful tips and tricks that help us get the work done.
1. Study in chunks- work for X amount of time, and then break for Y amount of time, then repeat.
Last year we started to implement this strategy. The point to this strategy is to break up the time so you don't drain all your energy and it makes it more tolerable. There's less of a chance to get distracted because you get time to have fun and relax. So, we decided to try out working for 40 minutes and then break for 30 or 40 minutes. During those breaks, we could do whatever we wanted- which most of the time involved us talking nonsense. We found that this strategy is very effective for us. Recently we have been doing a lot of these study sessions to motivate us since it's both our last year at University. Along with this if yiu can study with someone its always helpful, use this friend to help you stay focused and do the same for them. Since the two of us live in different cities in the country it wasn't as if we could study together. But one day we had the genius idea of doing a Skype study date. (It sounds stupid, but trust us it's great.) By doing it over Skype it also gave us the chance for us to motivate each other when we were starting to run out of steam.
Merel: I have also found this very valuable when I'm alone and trying very hard to study. By doing these study sessions over Skype I've really enjoyed having that company from Georgia, it made it easier to do the study while I'm at home in bed (seeing as I have no desk in my room). Even if sometimes we end on a break after 2 or 3 work times and we end up talking for longer than the break and giving up, it feels good to have accomplished something.
2. Just do it (Insert image of Shia LaBeouf here)- start early, this seems like everyone's tip and of course it's easier said than done, why start early when it doesn't seem necessary? Start early and save yourself from pulling an all nighter.
Georgia- I am someone who loses focus quickly even with a looming deadline so if I can find time to do little chunks of my assignments early on then I find that even with my inability to focus later I'm on the right track to finishing on time. 3 and a 1/2 years in and I've been asleep by midnight every single time.
3. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, there's nothing worse than trying to get words to flow when you're tense. If you feel like you can't write take a break, have a shower (all the best ideas come from there), take a walk, make some food, just don't stare at the computer and expect a brainwave.
4. Ask for help. You pay your lecturers and tutors for this so take advantage of them, visit them in their office hours send them emails with your questions, if you're not sure about what to do it's better to ask than hope you'll figure it out. You'll often find lecturers and tutors are willing to look at your thesis or even your introduction and offer you feedback that could lift your grade so ask away and make sure that they earn that large sum of money you're paying them.
5. Reward yourself for completing something. Studying is tough and often it seems like there's no end, no light at the end of the tunnel so create that light. Give yourself something to look forward to. Have a baking session, plan a trip out with your friends, pamper yourself or just treat yo self to that thing you've been wanting but didn't think you deserved. Now little treats for hitting targets also works but having that thing to look forward to at the end can sometimes be the thing that helps you cross that finish line a little bit earlier than the deadline.
These are just some of the tips we use to help us finish those assignments and survive the year and we hope that these maybe help you as well. Good luck with your assignments and remember that it will eventually be over and you'll never have to write an essay again.
Merel & Georgia Xx
Study is always daunting, especially when you're a procrastinator (as we both are), or you don't really have the motivation to do it and you're giving yourself the excuse that you have plenty of time to do whatever study or assessment you have. This has always been a problem us. So as procrastinators we have compiled a list of useful tips and tricks that help us get the work done.
1. Study in chunks- work for X amount of time, and then break for Y amount of time, then repeat.
Last year we started to implement this strategy. The point to this strategy is to break up the time so you don't drain all your energy and it makes it more tolerable. There's less of a chance to get distracted because you get time to have fun and relax. So, we decided to try out working for 40 minutes and then break for 30 or 40 minutes. During those breaks, we could do whatever we wanted- which most of the time involved us talking nonsense. We found that this strategy is very effective for us. Recently we have been doing a lot of these study sessions to motivate us since it's both our last year at University. Along with this if yiu can study with someone its always helpful, use this friend to help you stay focused and do the same for them. Since the two of us live in different cities in the country it wasn't as if we could study together. But one day we had the genius idea of doing a Skype study date. (It sounds stupid, but trust us it's great.) By doing it over Skype it also gave us the chance for us to motivate each other when we were starting to run out of steam.
Merel: I have also found this very valuable when I'm alone and trying very hard to study. By doing these study sessions over Skype I've really enjoyed having that company from Georgia, it made it easier to do the study while I'm at home in bed (seeing as I have no desk in my room). Even if sometimes we end on a break after 2 or 3 work times and we end up talking for longer than the break and giving up, it feels good to have accomplished something.
2. Just do it (Insert image of Shia LaBeouf here)- start early, this seems like everyone's tip and of course it's easier said than done, why start early when it doesn't seem necessary? Start early and save yourself from pulling an all nighter.
Georgia- I am someone who loses focus quickly even with a looming deadline so if I can find time to do little chunks of my assignments early on then I find that even with my inability to focus later I'm on the right track to finishing on time. 3 and a 1/2 years in and I've been asleep by midnight every single time.
3. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, there's nothing worse than trying to get words to flow when you're tense. If you feel like you can't write take a break, have a shower (all the best ideas come from there), take a walk, make some food, just don't stare at the computer and expect a brainwave.
4. Ask for help. You pay your lecturers and tutors for this so take advantage of them, visit them in their office hours send them emails with your questions, if you're not sure about what to do it's better to ask than hope you'll figure it out. You'll often find lecturers and tutors are willing to look at your thesis or even your introduction and offer you feedback that could lift your grade so ask away and make sure that they earn that large sum of money you're paying them.
5. Reward yourself for completing something. Studying is tough and often it seems like there's no end, no light at the end of the tunnel so create that light. Give yourself something to look forward to. Have a baking session, plan a trip out with your friends, pamper yourself or just treat yo self to that thing you've been wanting but didn't think you deserved. Now little treats for hitting targets also works but having that thing to look forward to at the end can sometimes be the thing that helps you cross that finish line a little bit earlier than the deadline.
These are just some of the tips we use to help us finish those assignments and survive the year and we hope that these maybe help you as well. Good luck with your assignments and remember that it will eventually be over and you'll never have to write an essay again.
Merel & Georgia Xx
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