Studying is one of the integral aspects of your academic success. Unfortunately, a lot of students find it extremely hard to study. While a lot has been blamed on studies being simply dull, things are actually more complicated than just that. Lack of interest in the subject is just one of the aspects of the overall problem of disorganization. Others include:
- Difficulty concentrating
- Easily getting bored
- Losing track of time
- Constantly getting distracted
- Feeling overwhelmed
Those are the typical signs of having difficulties with organizing your studies. You cannot concentrate, you get easily bored, and you procrastinate. First, you decide to start working on one subject, then, with no results, try your luck with another. You distract yourself or get distracted by various things. Suddenly, you find yourself having done nothing after two hours of sitting over your homework. In the end, you need to do everything in a rush.
There are several ways you can fix this issue. If you’ve thought to yourself, “I wish I could hire someone to write my essay”, and devote your time to something else, that’s a great option. However, your studies don’t consist solely of writing essays. In the end, no one can prepare for the exam for you.
Thus, you need to find out ways to organize your studying. It may seem impossible at first glance, but you don’t realize how much your studying success depends on the setting. The goals that you set for yourself are also crucial to your studying. But let’s not run ahead of ourselves. Let’s have a more detailed look at what you can do to organize your studying.
- Establish Realistic Goals
When it comes to studying, the first thing you need to do is to set realistic goals. Yes, it may seem that it isn’t a big deal at first glance. But then you sit down to study. You may realize that you need more time than you’ve initially thought or that you need to consult your professor about something. That’s why you need to be realistic about your goals.
You can’t prepare for the exam at the last minute. And you can’t write your essay in five minutes. That’s why you need to start preparing beforehand. Do you have an essay that you need to submit in two weeks? Start working on it when it’s assigned to you. At least outline the structure and make sure that you have all the materials required for it.
If you have an exam in a month, start preparing for it in advance. Think about which aspects of the subject you find the most difficult. Pay more attention to them. Establishing realistic goals allows doing things on time. You always have time to double-check your paper, ask your professor for advice, find extra materials, etc.
- Find a Comfortable Place to Study
While you may think it’s more in the vein of a lousy workman blaming his tools, the place has a lot to do with your studying success. Is your room a comfortable place for you to study? Maybe you need to change something about it? Think about what distracts you the most about studying in your room. There can be several reasons why your room is not the best place for studying.
You may have an uncomfortable chair. There can be too many things on your table that you don’t clean up, and you have no place for your textbooks, laptop, notebooks, etc., which makes it highly uncomfortable. You may not have enough light. Dim light often has a sleeping effect, so it’s difficult to remain concentrated.
Finally, you may have a loud roommate, which prevents you from focusing on your studies. In this case, either study when your roommate is away or find other places to study, like the college library or some hub. The place must be comfortable with little to no distractions so that you can concentrate on the preparation for your exam.
- Mind Your Posture
While it may sound odd, your posture plays an important role when studying. Reading the textbook for your exam preparation while curled up on the couch may not be the best idea. You may end up falling asleep. It’s better to sit holding your back straight.
The same goes when you are doing writing assignments. Yes, the idea of typing it out while half-sitting, half-lying on your bed is quite tempting. But it’s much easier to get distracted. If you sit and keep your back straight when writing your essay, you have better chances of remaining focused and finishing it on time. So, mind your posture when studying.
- Take Short Breaks
Another mistake that students often make when studying is not taking breaks. Generally, you postpone studying so much that you have no other choice aside from sitting several hours over your homework. Studying doesn’t have to be torture. When you feel your mind is overheating and losing concentration, take a short ten to fifteen minutes break.
Here, you need to be careful, as the desire to prolong your break is tempting. Make sure that your break doesn’t last longer than fifteen minutes. You can even set the alarm, so you’re in control of your time. It’s better to schedule your breaks beforehand, and you can set alarms for the start and end of them.
- Develop an Active Interest
Yes, certain subjects can be incredibly dull. The mere idea that you have to read anything related to that subject makes you bored. While it may seem too much to ask, you can try developing an active interest. There’s always something interesting about almost every subject. Try finding it; go deeper than what you learn in college.
Even if you can’t find something fascinating about a particular subject, try developing an active interest in studying as a whole. Aside from short-term goals, there are long-term goals. You need to be successful in your studies if you want to have a successful career. Developing an interest in studying makes organizing the process way easier.
Final Thoughts
So, here you have five tips for organizing your studying. If you follow the tips mentioned above, you will develop a habit of studying. This way, you won’t be frustrated when you have to prepare for an exam or do any writing assignment.
