Fabia Shahzadi
How do you transfer that massive tank of information from the books and notes in front of you to your miniature sized brain? When you are studying, your mind wanders off to places you never imagined even. To avoid such tireless strolling in the “hypothetical” world you need to a need to develop good study habits to stay connected with the books. Initially, it’ll take a good deal of conscious effort to change your studying patterns, but after a while, it’ll become second nature, and studying will be lot easier.
Manage your time: Construct a weekly schedule and make it a point to allocate some time to your studies per day. What amount of time you will devote to studying? Well, that depends on whether you are a high school student or a college student or even of your field of study. Other than occasional irregularities, ensure that you stick to your schedule. If needed add some more time to your “study time” but never try to deduct some minutes away from it. The plan you make should be effective if not realistic.
Pace yourself: Rather than rushing for a particular exam the night before, try to study in a regular pace. Know your potential and make optimum use of it. Adjust your study speed accordingly. You might to face some chapter which will consume a lot of your time (In my case it was ‘Moles’) whereas others seem comparatively easy; be sure to assign your time and speed on each topic correctly. Take all the time you need and study at the pace you feel comfortable.
Get enough sleep: While many of us think that pulling an all-nighter is effective but getting enough sleep is equally effectual. Getting adequate hours of rest to your body will provide mental boost and a higher, better performance. However, if you are one of them who cannot study unless the clock strikes 12 at midnight, then make sure that you are compensating your sleep in the later part of the day. Bottom line: Sleep!
Clear your mind: As I mentioned earlier, we students have a habit of thinking about all the irrelevant, trivial things when we sit ourselves to study. Well that does not help! If you feel that your mind has diverted off to an off topic, take your time, think about it, if needed solve it quickly, and then restart your brain with fresh study materials. Clear your mind of anything that has nothing to do with the topic you’re studying. This way, you can accumulate all your focus on your current work.