Quit what you`re doing. Yes, I said quit! We all have the tendency to be lazy, procrastinate, and make excuses, but these adjectives do not get us very far when studying for a mid-term or final. Throughout the course of my college career, I have learned and mastered a few techniques that have help me along the way. In the following paragraphs, I will share these techniques and share some tips to encourage oneself to study.
The hardest part of studying is getting started, and in my opinion studying happens to be more than half of the battle.
The first thing to do, in order to make yourself study, is to quit. Quit being lazy, quit procrastinating and quit making excuses. Studying something you don`t enjoy much, might make it very hard. Quit whatever doesn`t make you happy. I encourage you to either start doing what you love or change your perspective on what you`re already doing. Keep your eyes on the pros rather than the cons. Turn that into a technique. Or should I say a formula?
The formula to making yourself study equals the goal that you have times the freedom you wish to have plus the dream life you wish to live, minus the time that you have divided by the deadlines. Eeekk. Deadlines.
Now, a technique to solve this formula and survive this student life, is to motivate yourself to do what needs to be done as early as possible. Don`t wait until hours before the deadline. I don`t mean to underestimate your super unicorn deadline wrecking power, but the earlier you start, the less time you`ll spent stressing. A hard decision is to stop procrastinating. But if you flip it and finish studying or doing your homework first, you`ll be left with all the time you need to procrastinate.
Take as much time as you need. I know this sounds contradicting compared to the previous paragraph, but this time I`m using this technique to refocus. I spent all the time I need to be lazy, procrastinate, nap or I go out with friends. After I spent this time, I must get back to work. This technique keeps me focused, because I`m not too tired or burned out, before I can study. What I`m saying here is, be wise with the time spent. Are you procrastinating to avoid getting your work done or are you procrastinating in the form of relaxation to refocus?
A great thing to do is to reward yourself. Even if you`ve done less than you wanted, you were still productive. Instead of beating yourself up, give yourself a reward. Could be a snack, the shoes you saw last week, or simply movie time. Rewards will make studying more fun!
No more excuses. If you vow to not make excuses for the work you don`t want to do, it will be easier to get to the work done.
Taking notes during lectures and paying clear attention in classes is a golden tip. For certain subjects, you might not even have to study after paying great attention and taking bomb notes. All you may have to do is go over your notes a few times.
It begins by doing what you love. Set goals and keep your eyes on them. Motivate yourself. Rewarding yourself is the greatest form of motivation. Don`t avoid deadlines. Instead, start as early as possible, so you are less stressed and have more time left. Take time to refocus. Paying attention and taking notes will help you speed up the study process.
Don`t make excuses, just do it like Nike.
