Study Techniques I use

How I study

 So I previously created a blog post on how to motivate yourself whilst working from home but this blog post will go into more detail about specifics. My work style might not be for you but I thought I'd share them in case they're helpful for anyone else. 

1. Motivation and studying begin when you show up. Show up for yourself and show up for others. This means be present during lectures whether they are on zoom calls or attending a lecture.  By that I mean give them your full attention, it's not enough to just be there, you have to be engaged so make it a priority to pay attention to everything been said. This makes everything that follows after easier. If you haven't showed up to a zoom call or aren't giving it your full attention then you aren't going to get the full benefits of them. Lectures are there to help us and they're how we learn so when you fail to attend them then the work is going to feel less familiar. 
2. When you don't show up or can't for whatever reason, it's fine but make it your responsibility to catch up. Copy the notes from the slides, read all the materials properly. I do this after every class because it helps me remember what we've just covered. Even if you show up it's a good idea to go over it again, you're going to retain the information better and that's important for when you're quizzed later. 
3. Be inquisitive, you should learn because you're passionate not just because you think you'll be assessed on it so make an effort to understand everything you come across in classes and if you don't understand things, ask questions.
4. Getting the work done straight away is going to make you feel at ease so my work tips for mastering this is an academic diary or planner. Have goals for every day and be intentional with your time. Manage your schedule by planning what you want to be doing with your time and you'll feel less overwhelmed.
5. If the work is too easy or too difficult then try to see the positives in it. Easy work will give you a solid foundation and difficulties will challenge you and sharpen your mind so focus on this instead of complaining. If the work is too hard then emailing your lecturer or asking them to go over it is your responsibility so please take charge of your learning so you don't fall behind.
6. Structuring your work, I have a weird workstyle. I'm quite a creative person and my subject is creative so this might not work for you depending on what you're studying. I like things to flow and I prefer to work super hard whilst I'm inspired. Waiting for inspiration is a dangerous game so I do force myself to be productive everyday with positive affirmations and uplifting music so that I'm pointing myself in the right direction. I also set up study zones for myself. You have to set yourself up for success and you do this by having a good space that optimizes this for you. If you need music or noise to study then ensure you have this. If you need quiet then you need to work somewhere peaceful. I'm personally a quiet worker. I'm very easily distracted so I set myself up away from anything that kills my focus. Now onto my work style, I feel some tasks write themselves and others don't. So once I'm familiar with what my objectives are, I let my imagination take over a bit. I do this because creativity is a strength of mine so I feel letting myself write and write without monitoring it too much is fine as I hate that little tick list of what I have to write so much. I'd rather just run with it then look at the learning outcomes later to see what I've covered then going into more detail and seeing what else I can add to hit the requirements is more effective for me. Now, this only works if you either don't have a word count or a really big word count. If you have a smaller word count, you can find yourself editing down a lot and it's maybe not the best technique for keeping your work concise but for overwhelming projects it could be a way for you to just start.
7. The main reason I like to do things straight away is because you will keep being handed tasks and I find it pointless to complain about the workload when I could just get the job done then I'm ready for the next challenge. I look forward to challenges because I feel when I get too many accommodation's made for me, I find it insulting and just not as rewarding. I like to work hard and reward myself for it.
8. Rewards. Please congratulate yourself and be proud of your achievements. Tell other people when you've done well and let them compliment you as well. This also reminds you that you have encouraging friends and family and if people aren't pleased for you then you might want to surround yourself with people who motivate you and make you feel good about yourself. I also like to spoil myself when I do well. If you have achieved a good grade or have passed a semester or an assessment or whatever then why not buy yourself a present for the hard work? It will associate a good feeling with hard work and you'll keep working hard for those treats you deserve. 
9. Hype yourself up for the day, the week, the year just everything. When I got accepted for college, it was such an exciting and humbling feeling for me so I made sure I didn't forget how I felt. Be delighted with your decisions. Take pride in yourself. Be organised, I bought my college resources, clothes and stationary, equipment etc as soon as I was accepted and it meant I could enjoy myself until I eventually started my course. This passion is so important, you can really feel when someone loves what they do so be that person and choose a course you enjoy! Do your absolute best because you deserve the success and life you want. I keep myself hyped. Look forward to your day, your week and just keep that alive. If you love your job or your course then it won't feel like work so don't make everything feel and look like a massive effort. In the kindest way possible, don't be lazy and enjoy all the hard work.
10. Structure, so sometimes it's good to plan what you're going to do even if you don't necessarily want to do the work yet. I do this by mapping out how things are going to look. I do the titles and subheadings where I want them to go so I have a guide of what I want to incorporate into my piece. If you get some inspiration, keep a note of it on your notes or diary etc. Run with inspiration. Always have a notepad on you etc. Being an organised person means things won't just escape your mind. The most successful people do these things trust me. I believe I even seen a video of Nicole Sherzinger with a white board in her shower to write down all those bright ideas. There's a reason we always have good ideas in the shower and that's why I have a lot of showers, they ground me and keep me mindful. They set me up for the day and keep me motivated. 
11. I'm one of those people that just can't stop working sadly. My work is never complete until the day I hand it in and I'm okay with that because I can always add to it and reword it. It's healthier to hand things in straight away but I love my course that much that I don't feel overwhelmed so I don't care too much about my style of working. I have handed things in then emailed a replacement afterwards and the best thing to do about this is call it a draft so that you aren't annoying your lecturers too much.
12. Don't worry about being a hassle. Ask for help and if you ask for help then people will want to help you even more for having the initiative. Trust me, I email my lecturers a lot more than I email my class mates and I'm never made to feel like a pain so don't feel like you're annoying them because you will be annoying students before you will ever annoy them. Anyone who wants to teach will be delighted you contacted them. Another point, students aren't teachers. Yes it's good to ask them for help and I encouraged it but lecturers are choosing to teach therefore it's their job and they probably love it more than you give them credit for so don't be afraid of asking them.
13. There's no shame in using google for help. Watch tutorials and youtube videos on anything you're struggling with because sometimes we need a fresh perspective. Don't think there's anything you can't familiarise yourself with because you can do anything you put your mind to. 
14. If you're struggling with motivation then take it upon yourself to watch life coaching videos. Anything you're struggling with can be dealt with. If you need counselling then there are services and websites for this if you know where to look. You don't even need to pay people for these resources, people just post content for followers and subscribers now a days so take advantage of this if you need it. I personally don't struggle with this myself but I know they're out there and I do however use quotes so I guess I'm coaching myself in my own way. There's no shame in seeking therapy or life-coaching loads of successful people do this to reach their full potential and those people that have their life together are that way because they've decided to seek help. I'm mentioning this because you'd be surprised by how many people have personal issues that you'd never know about. Some of those successful people you look up to so much might of battled with a lot of issues so be open minded and do your best to combat any obstacles in your way.
15. Remember why your doing it. You will feel stressed and you'll be pushed so always remind yourself why you're doing what you're doing. 
16. I purposely don't look at other peoples work because I don't find it motivating in the slightest. I'd rather focus on what I'm doing and work with my instinct. Others are different and like looking at examples and yes for structure they may help but if you know what you're doing there is really no need to take too much inspiration because it will probably have the opposite effect and send you down a path you wouldn't of intended on going. 
17. Keep studying fun and colourful and use all different methods until you find something effective as everyone studies differently. These all work for me but your style could be the complete opposite.
18. Study zones. Set up your work station in a manner that compliments your way of working. 
19. Just do it. The hardest thing sometimes is starting so just write the first sentence and don't be afraid, do it imperfectly. You can delete everything then rewrite it.
20. Take regular breaks. I used to fixate on what I had to do all day and admittedly sometimes I do get hung up on tasks that I forget to enjoy myself or destress. Don't do this, you will get the exact same amount done because there's only so long we can concentrate for so locking yourself away and avoiding social interactions or distractions until everything is turned in isn't the answer. Get outside. Go for a walk. Do something else for a bit or you'll exhaust yourself.