What I Have Learned About Study Habits and Time Manegment

Reading the books What Best College Student Do and Make It Stick have helped me

understand the importance of studying in advance, committing things to long term memory, and having a schedule. I have especially taken to the importance of having a schedule. I have seen its effects and benefits. As far as studying and committing knowledge to long term memory, the effects will be evident later. These approaches eliminate current stress related to procrastination, bad grades, and forgetfulness. By eliminating these poor choices, I am also eradicating future stress from the repercussions of procrastination, grades, etc...

Personally, having a schedule gives me the room to process and articulate thoughts. Although after some research this seems to be a common theme. When everything that needs to be done is written down and planned out, there is no worrying about when or where I’m going to get tasks finished. This affects the amount of sleep I get based on my stress level. There is no game of catch-up because it's already done or planned. This strategy can also lead to more sleep. There is more room to plan for healthy foods and physical care. Scheduling study times also prevents me from putting things off and having a false sense of still having enough time.

A personal example of schedules reducing stress and helping revitalize sleep happened this past week. I was assigned four different papers to write and had a pretty big test to study for. Instead of staying up late and frantically starting and finishing homework the night before the due date, I planned out multiple sessions to write outlines, work on thesis statements and different ideas, and prepare for my test. I knew which social activities needed to be postponed to make space for schoolwork. This almost completely eliminated my stress because I knew when, where, and how I was going to get it all done.

Learning how to study has been significant in reducing my stress levels. Before this class, I made study guides consisting of definition after definition from the textbook. This left me feeling and actually being unprepared for tests and did not transfer my knowledge into long term memory. After learning study tips, I now create practice tests that have definitions and concepts, read the textbook, use flash cards, make connection to my everyday life and past experiences, and study my professor’s notes, as well as my own. These tactics give me a much better understanding of the material, truly prepare me for the test, and commit to long term memory the things I've made connections with and really learned and understood.

Studying properly is harder and doesn't show immediate results but is so much better in the long run. It takes time, effort, and patience to commit things to long term memory. But once it’s there it's not going anywhere. I have read about studies showing that cramming for a test can result in a better grade but the chances of remembering all that information for the final is slim to none, let alone in the future. By taking time and pain to really learn the material, I have gained knowledge. I know that whatever grade I receive, I tried my best and helped my future self. This is what really matters.