STUDY SKILLS WHERE TO STUDY The environment in which you choose to study can have a dramatic impact on how successful...
STUDY SKILLS
WHERE TO STUDY
The environment in which you
choose to study can have a dramatic impact on how successful your studying is.
If you chose to study in a noisy coffee shop at a small table with dim
lighting, it may take you two hours to cover the same material you could read
in an hour in the quiet of the library. That is an hour that you don‘t have to
lose! However, for some people the noisy coffee shop is the ideal environment.
You need to determine what type of study environment works for you.
CONSIDER YOUR OPTIONS
Your goal is to find a
comfortable, secure place that is free from distractions. The place should also
be convenient and conform to your schedule. For example, the library might be
ideal in many respects. However, if it takes you an hour to get there and it
closes soon after you arrive you are not maximizing your study time.
For many people studying at home
is a good solution. Home is always open and you don‘t waste any time getting
there, but it can have drawbacks. If you are trying to fit studying in between
family obligations, you might find that working from home offers too many
opportunities for distraction. Chores that have piled up, children or younger
siblings who need your attention, or television that captures your interest,
are just some of things that might interfere with studying at home. Or maybe
you have roommates who will draw your attention away from your studies.
Studying at home is a good solution if you have a room that you can work in
alone and away from any distractions.
If home is not a good
environment for quiet study, the library, a reading room, or a coffee shop are
places you can consider. Be sure to pick a place that is relatively quiet and
which provides enough workspace for your needs.
NOISE
Everyone has
his or her own tolerance for noise. Some people need absolute silence to
concentrate, while others will be distracted without some sort of background
noise. So know yourself.
LIGHT
You will need to have enough
light to read comfortably. Light that is too dim will strain your eyes and make
you drowsy. Too bright and you will be uncomfortable and tense. Experts suggest
that the best light for reading comes from behind and falls over your shoulder.
Make sure your light source falls on your book and does not shine in your eyes.
COMFORT
Your study place should be
comfortable and conducive to work. While your bed might be comfortable,
studying in bed is probably more conducive to sleep than concentrated learning.
You will need a comfortable chair that offers good back support and a work
surface—a desk or table—that gives you enough space for your books and other
supplies.
A LITTLE HELP
When you have settled on a place
to study, you will need to enlist the help of your family and
friends—especially if you are working at home. Be sure they know that when you
go to your room and close the door to study, you do want to be disturbed. If
your friends all go to the same coffee shop where you plan to study, you will
also need to ask them to respect your study place. The cooperation of your
family and friends will eliminate one of the greatest potential distractions.
WHEN TO STUDY
Finding the time in your busy
schedule may seem like the greatest hurdle in making your fore mentioned study
plan, but you probably have more time available than you think. It just takes a
little planning and some creativity.
Make sure your schedule allows
for adequate rest and study breaks. Skipping sleep is not a good way to find
time in your schedule. Not only will you be tired when you study, you will be
sleep deprived by the time of the test. A sleep-deprived test-taker is more
likely to make careless mistakes, lose energy and focus, and become stressed-
out by the testing environment. If you plan to do most of your studying in one
block of time, say four hours, be sure you leave time to take a study break.
Experts have shown that students are more likely to retain material if they
take some time to digest it. A five- or ten-minute break to stretch your legs or
eat a snack will revive you and give your brain time to absorb what you have learned.
Most people need about six to
eight hours of sleep a night. Do not sacrifice sleep in order to make time to
study. Hunger can be a distraction, so don‘t skip meals. Eat three nutritious
meals a day, and keep healthy snacks on hand during a long study session. The
key word is healthy. Sugary snacks might make you feel energized in the short
term, but that sugar rush is followed by a crash that will leave you feeling
depleted. Caffeine can have a similar effect. A little caffeine—a morning cup
of coffee, for example—can give you a boost, but too much caffeine will make
you feel jittery and tense. Tension can affect your ability to concentrate.
Being over-caffeinated is not the
only potential source of tension. Pre-exam anxiety can also get in the way of
effective studying.
REMEMBER—DON‘T MEMORIZE
You need to use study methods
that go beyond rote memorization to genuine comprehension in order to be fully
prepared for your test. Using study methods that suit your learning style will
help you to really learn the material you need to know for the test. One of the
most important learning strategies is to be an active reader.
Interact with what you are
reading by asking questions, making notes, and marking passages instead of
simply reading the words on the page. Choose methods of interacting with the
text that match your dominant learning style.
