Study Habits

Many students find that they had difficulty managing their time as they begin to juggle class work, extracurricular activities and jobs. Most students don’t schedule enough time to get their work done while maintaining their commitments at school and home. Here are some helpful tips to help you budget your time now and when you go to college.

Stay organized! Organize your desk or work space. Label your notebooks for each class and keep a folder with handouts and syllabi for each course. Keep a file for personal correspondence and one for upcoming bills. Keep a supply of needed items on hand and take a little time to put things away each day. Determine where’s best for you to study. Can you study in your room if your roommate is listening to the radio or watching TV? Keeping organized will save you time and frustration.

Before the beginning of each week, sit down and list all of the things you need to get done in the upcoming week. You may want to assign tasks to given days of the week if you have a tight schedule. Keep a day planner and schedule and assign your tasks daily. Be sure to check your month calendar to plan ahead for large tasks. Be sure to prioritize tasks. Carry your “To Do” list with you during the day. Consult it when needed to make sure that you at least completing your task throughout the course of the day.

Practice the SQ3R method; the reading and studying system preferred by many educators.

• "S"= Survey - Before you actually read a chapter, or go over a particular section of notes, take five minutes to survey the material. Briefly check headings and subheadings in order to understand the author's organizational pattern of ideas to be discussed. Scan all visual material. Read introductory and summary paragraphs.
• "Q"= Question - Create interest in the material by asking: What are the main points of the chapter? As you read, keep the question in mind and figure out the most important points.
• "R"= Read - Read the chapter actively for meaning. Go through the paragraph before underlining, and then underline key words and phrases to help you recall the main points. Be selective, you don't want to highlight non-important points or miss anything that can help your comprehension. Summarize main concepts in your own words in the margins.
• "R"= Recite - After every few pages, close your book and recite aloud the main points to the questions you posed in step two. Try to recall basic details as to the author's intent by putting them in your own words. If you don't get it now, you won't remember it for a test. Take as much time as you need to answer your questions.
• "R"= Review - Finally, review the chapter every so often to fix the material in your mind. Keep rereading your margin notes. Review once right after you've finished reading and then every couple of days.

Remember, there are only 86,400 seconds in the day. Make them count, what you don’t use, you can’t ever capture again!

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