Description
You Can Improve Your Study and Learning Skills
Maximizing your ability to learn should be one of your most important lifetime educational goals. It involves continually trying to improve your study and learning skills. Here are some suggestions for doing so:
Develop a passion for learning. As the famous physicist and philosopher Albert Einstein put it, “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”
Get organized. Becoming more efficient at studying gives you more time for other interests.
Make daily to-do lists in writing. Put items in order of importance, focus on the most important tasks, and assign a time to work on these items. Because life is full of uncertainties, you might be lucky to accomplish half of the items on your daily list. Shift your schedule as needed to accomplish the most important items.
Set up a study routine in a distraction-free environment. Develop a written daily study schedule and stick to it. Study in a quiet, well-lighted space. Work while sitting at a desk or table—not lying down on a couch or bed. Take breaks every hour or so. During each break, take several deep breaths and move around; this will help you to stay more alert and focused.
Avoid procrastination—putting work off until another time. Do not fall behind on your reading and other assignments. Set aside a particular time for studying each day and make it a part of your daily routine.
Do not eat dessert first. Otherwise, you may never get to the main meal (studying). When you have accomplished your study goals, reward yourself with dessert (play or leisure).
Make hills out of mountains. It is psychologically difficult to climb a mountain, which is what reading an entire book, reading a chapter in a book, writing a paper, or cramming to study for a test can feel like. Instead, break these large tasks (mountains) down into a series of small tasks (hills). Each day, read a few pages of a book or chapter, write a few paragraphs of a paper, and review what you have studied and learned. As American automobile designer and builder Henry Ford put it, “Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.”