Studying can be hard, especially when you have to combine it with a full-time job and a family life.
Other things often feel more important than your study. So you spend less time studying.
That is what I often hear. Studying is one of the last things people do. The order is usually Work, Family & Friends, then nothing… and then there is study.
Let’s have a look at how you can create a realistic study routine. One that doesn’t take up too much time. But also one that helps you to study at a good pace and get good results.
Studying can be hard, especially when you have to combine it with a full-time job and a family life.
Other things often feel more important than your study. So you spend less time studying.
That is what I often hear. Studying is one of the last things people do. The order is usually Work, Family & Friends, then nothing… and then there is study.
It is important to create habits. The moment you have the right habits, you will be able to achieve better results. The beauty is that these habits don’t make it feel like work. You are simply doing things because… well… because it is like that!
Right now you have a habit for studying. Your routine most likely includes the following actions and tactics
- you study at night (after a long day of work)
- other people around you don’t study, so you are doing this all by yourself
- you take notes by highlighting and writing that on paper or a sheet
- you highlight important notes (again) in your note book
- you read and find yourself forgetting what you read the previous line
- you feel your memory is failing you
The result of this is most likely that you feel studying is not your thing. How were you able to this when you were young? Why do you allow yourself to lose so much energy on this? Why don’t you quit?
All these questions and feelings are understandable. But, you don’t need to feel this way. You have a study routine that is not helping you.
Let’s have a look at what you can do to change to your study routine. The results will be amazing! I am sure!
5 Simple Changes to Your Study Routine
change when you study
You may be an evening person who loves to read and study in the evening. Getting up earlier may be very hard for you. It may also be the other way around.
You have to investigate when you can memorize and read better. Is this in the morning or during the evening?
DO THIS: Change your study time to make sure you create a more optimal study experience!
change how long you study
What I often advise people is to study not for hours upon hours. I tell them to have shorter study sessions.
When you had 1 hour of study before, I would say study for 45 minutes from now on.
Interesting things will happen. One of the most interesting ones is that you may be able to get the same amount of work done. This is because you know you have less or limited time. The result is that you will focus a lot better.
What you can do is change the number of times you study during the day. Take 15 minutes in the morning. Then during your break take 5 to 10 minutes. In the evening you have a final study session for the day of 30 minutes.
Working this way is easier to maintain and it will not give you a lot of study stress. Your brain also has time to process the information better and help you study faster.
DO THIS: Limit your study time per session to improve your studies
change how often you study
It doesn’t help if you study one day per week for 8 hours straight. This is like going to the gym and going berserk! You have muscle pain for days, and the likeliness of you going back to that place is not that high.
When you study, study a little bit every day.
At the end of the week, you may have studied for 8 hours (or more), but you still have your weekend for yourself 🙂
DO THIS: Make studying a daily habit!
change what you do during a study session
As I said before, you may be able to memorize information better in the morning. When you know this, you should change your study session.
Make sure you memorize information in the morning. You might get up a little earlier and go through your notes.
Are you better at taking notes during the evening, do it then! Listen to your brain and create a study session that fits you!
DO THIS: Your brain tells you when you should do what, listen to it!
change the tactics you use
Besides doing the previous changes, I have something important for you.
You are most likely studying with the same tactics as you did when you were 12 years old. You take notes the same way, you read at about the same speed. You memorize by repeating information many, many times over.
As you probably know, this isn’t the best way of going through and managing your study information.
My advice to you is that you should learn more about studying. Tactics like reading tactics and memory techniques are important to understand and use. Of course, you should dive deeper into mind mapping and learn how to use that.
I trained thousands of people. What I quickly noticed is that learning only a few practical tactics like this has a huge impact. It saves time, reduces stress, and helps to get better grades.
DO THIS: Learn study methods like reading, memory, and mind mapping
What you should do with this information
When you continue to study as you do right now, you will not become at studying. Sure, you will graduate… but how much time and energy will it cost you? How much time away from your family is it worth?
Put in place some of the changes mentioned above. Start with easy ones, like studying a little bit every day. Or limit the time you study each session for more focus.
Then, when you want to take giant leaps in studying smart, have a look at other tactics. Tactics like reading, memory, and visual mapping.
Studying can be easy. A lot easier than what you experience right now.
Enjoy your next study session!
