By Mool Raj
As the saying goes, “Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” And nowhere is this more true than in the world of education. Effective learning skills, or effective study skills, are the key determinants of a student’s success or failure in college, high school, or competitive exams. Yet, many students struggle to sit down and study, concentrate on the material, and retain the knowledge for the long-term. In this article, we will explore the process of effective studying and how it can lead to success for learners of all ages. Effective Studying: The Key to Success in Education
Students struggle with many issues in their lives during their learning stage, and because of all of the issues competing for things for the attention of the student, it becomes really hard for the student to concentrate effectively on studying. Day by day increasing competition and the addition of more and more technology into the life of the young generation has created a lot of confusion and fuss in their lives. Having their head into so many things create a lot of mental imbalance and lack of interest in studying and concentration as well. The key to effective studying isn’t cramming or studying longer, but studying smarter.
Effective study demands the focus of the learner. It’s hard to make an impact in any learning process without a particular quality. It is the quality that will get you some extra marks in your exams, and for those extra marks, there is a need for effective study.
Without an effective study plan, hard work also gets wasted. To really achieve something big, you need to put in some endurance and determination. Pushing yourself through the tough times towards your goal achievement is the key to unlocking the door of success. There can be some effective steps for effective studying:
Tips for Effective Studying:
Set your Goals: The first step towards effective study is to set your goals well in advance. Jot down all your short-term and long-term clearly. Define it to yourself that what you want to achieve this year or want to do in your life academically. It is really important to dream big, in order to achieve big. To constantly motivate yourself towards your goals stick it up on the wall, on your study table or in your workplace. That way, whenever you feel discouraged or dishearten your goals will motivate you to in a positive manner to work hard in order to achieve them.
Planning: For an effective utilization of your time it is important to plan your activities well in advance for a better time utilization. Plan a definite time for studying every day and also try your best to follow your time plan. Planning your activities well in advance will discourage procrastination and prevent a huge pile-up of work that may often lead to a lack of interest towards your studying if there in huge piles. Studying every day, even for a short period of time, keeps you on track with your studies and also keep you well in touch with topics of your course. It is also advised to prioritize your list and begin completing the most difficult material with priority before you move on to some easy or less important ones.
Know your Topic Well: When you have a clear understanding of the facts of what you study and why you study, it creates an added interest of your brain towards the topic that you are being taught. It is better to know the purpose of every topic and understand each assignment before leaving class.
Take Notes: Taking proper notes during your class is yet another way of effectively doing your class work that would really help you during your self-study time at your home. Summarize what the teacher is saying. Try to write down every important point that your teacher tells you during the class related to the topic, rather than the unnecessary information which may create a hell of notes that may lead to you getting bored when you sit down to study.
Do your Homework: A revision of the topic that you studied during your class is very important for proper understanding and retaining important facts and formulas. Homework usually revisits the essential concepts taught during the class that must be learned. Try making homework time fun, since it is not your classroom so you can add up a lot of fun activities along with your homework, crank up the music and throw in some yummy snacks as you do your homework along.
Revision: Revision of the topics that you studied is very important for you to retain the things that you studied and also to know whether you understand your topics well or not. Every time you study, spend at least ten minutes reviewing the material from your previous study session and if any doubt appears to make sure you deal with it in a right way rather than ignoring it. These “refresher shots” are part of the secret for long-term retention of important topics.
Choose a Proper Place: Selecting the right place for studying is a very important part of studying. Many people have a habit of studying in a peaceful and calm atmosphere, where you tend to have the best learning of your topics. A lot of students make the mistake of studying in a place that really isn’t conducive to concentrating and end up with a lack of concentration and understanding of the topics.
Your Approach: Your approach towards any particular thing is of great importance, as it determines the kind of energy that you put in to do particular work. Also, the thing that you accomplish with your interest had better results than the one you did under pressure or unwillingly. Many students look at studying as a necessary task and not an enjoyment or as an opportunity to learn. But many researchers have found that how a person approaches something matters almost as much as what they do. Being in the right mindset while you study is important in order to study smarter and have a good understanding of your topics.
Study in Small Chunks Lasting 25 to 35 Minutes: It is advised to take appropriate breaks while you study for an effective learning. Your memory and concentration will work better if you study in short bursts but often and you would be able to retain more.
Effective Resources: It is of due importance to have authentic and reliable resources to get your study material from. Make a list of resources available for help and study. This means noting the places from where you can get a good study material such as libraries, teachers, friends, siblings and people you can turn to for help when you get stuck. These could be your classmates, family or most importantly, your teacher. Make your learning Interactive and involve as many helpful people you can, because everyone has something or the other to contribute.
Schedule Yourself: If you really want to achieve something in your life, then time management is very important. Too many people treat studying as the thing to do when you get around to it or have some spare time which is not the right way. You really need to schedule your study time just as your class time is scheduled and you’ll find it becomes much less of a hassle for you and also you tend to cover much more in short intervals. Instead of last-minute cramming sessions just before the exams, you’ll be better prepared for your exam well in advance.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of this newspaper.
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