- Don’t waste time finding the perfect environment.
Many students think that learning will be easy once they find the best learning environment, so they spend a lot of time looking for and trying different places, dormitory, coffee shop, library, lawn… A lot of time is wasted on that. Worse, you may feel like you can’t study at all unless you find the perfect place to study. Is there any good way? Find a relatively quiet place to start your study. Once you get into learning, you’ll feel good about your surroundings.
- Don’t mistake preparation for learning.
Some students often “ready to learn ”, but never really began. Don’t clean up the table and organizing computer files and “ready to learn ” for learning. Even where you’re studying, if you’re just hanging out on Facebook and tweeting that You’re learning, it’s not really learning.
- Don’t start with the simplest assignment.
Some students think that starting with the easiest or best assignments will make it easier for them to get in the zone. The problem is, after you’ve done this, you’ll have to spend more energy on overcoming the problem, and by then you’re already tired. My advice would be to start with the most difficult and challenging tasks and finish with the easy ones.
Don’t multitask.
Believe it or not, some students take 5 different courses at the same time, spend 15 minutes on one, 15 minutes on another, 15 minutes on another, and I’m sure you already know what’s going on. It is much better to study only one subject at a time. In this way, you can gain a deeper understanding of the material, improve your learning efficiency, and the more involved you are, the easier the course will be. The worst thing is cross-learning, 10 minutes of math, then 10 minutes of economics, then 10 minutes of math… This will only confuse you.
- Don’t ignore hints.
Many professors include after-class questions in the readings, or highlight the course in class and on the syllabus. Be sure to consider these very important suggestions carefully before you start studying. It will save you a lot of time. If you have math or proof problems, be sure to solve them before the end of the course and chapters. Often, homework is a variation on or extension of a knowledge point.
- Don’t be too thin.
Some students think that the best way to learn is to study very slowly: read word by word, write the paper word by word, show word by word. But like all cognitive behaviors, learning is a long process that increases performance by improving learning efficiency. If you focus on a single factor, you lose the big picture and learning becomes a waste of your life.
- Don’t cram.
It is no use remembering what you don’t understand. If you really understand what you’re learning, you can explain the main idea of the course in your own words to an outsider (try it with your roommate or friend). Take some time to think and digest what you’ve learned, instead of just being prepared to parrot back in exams.
- Don’t be fitful.
You can watch 140 characters or a lot of videos in 20 seconds, but learning isn’t the same as on Twitter or YouTube. You need to pay attention in order to understand the material or solve the problem. Don’t let yourself be interrupted all the time. As a rule of thumb, it is best to study for 50 minutes and then take a break for 10. We know it’s hard to break old habits, but when you do it, you reduce resistance by not breaking them 20 times an hour.
- Don’t forget to take notes.
Take careful notes on all readings so you can review them for the midterm and final exams. Although everyone has their own note-taking methods (do you think of the most effective method should you use), but we found on a laptop or tablet to take notes (so you can review these notes), than in the blanks with a word or two books or with 6 different color pen mark up each word in a book is much better.
- Don’t take two days off in a row.
No one would ask you to, but you should study every workday. Assuming that you average two hours of preparation for each course and that you take a total of 15 courses, you will have 30 hours of preparation time per week. It’s going to be hard to fit those 30 hours into three days.
- Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Many students make elaborate daily schedules, and when things don’t go according to plan — maybe some work is taking longer than expected, maybe there’s some extra material to read to finish the homework, maybe it’s a too tired or distracted day — they feel frustrated. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t go completely according to plan. Remember, learning is made up of many parts, and homework is much more important than other parts, so stay optimistic.
Don’t play a lone hand
If you find that despite your best efforts, you are spending a lot of time preparing for a class or falling far behind the rest of the class, see your professor or TA. They have a lot of experience and can give you practical advice to get you back on track. If you read our guide and have trouble with your studies, find professors and teaching assistants. They can be your real saviors.
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