4 Make Time for Your Studies
Making time for your studies can be overwhelming. The following video introduces you to ways to use smaller blocks of time to get your tasks done. If you prefer reading to watching videos, scroll below the video to read the transcript.
Watch the video and answer the questions that appear on screen to continue down this pathway (click on the icons that appear throughout the video). After you have finished this video quiz, lick on the next section arrow to continue on and review another approach to managing your time in ‘chunks.’
Video Transcript: Making Time for Independent Study
You may have heard that you should budget 2-3 hours of study time outside of class for each hour you spend in class. How can you fit this into your week?
By the end of this video, you will be prepared to implement an independent study schedule that incorporates proven time management and learning principles.
Okay – so you think you need to budget 9 hours of study time for your class. How do you fit that all in? As you listen to the principles below, consider how you would implement them into your weekly study schedule.
First of all, a good principle to keep in mind is the value of regular review and repetition. Repeated shorter sessions are more effective for learning than one or two long sessions in a week. Why?
- Repeatedly encountering the same material more than once reinforces your memory
- With shorter sessions, you are able to focus well on learning for the full study session. Rather than losing focus and taking breaks within your session time, you able to commit your full session (for example, 1 hour) to study, before taking a well-deserved break.
Here’s some other tips for scheduling independent study sessions:
- It’s a good idea to allow time for a brief review session within 24 hours after your class. This avoids the problem of forgetting what you learned in lecture, and having to re-learn material later.
- On a similar note, schedule some time to prepare for each class before you go to lecture. If you’re able to pre-read the material that will be covered, you’ll benefit more from the time in class.
- Consider the times of day when you learn the best. If you’re not a morning person – no problem! Schedule your study blocks at times when you’re most able to engage well with the content you’re learning.
- If you have a longer period of time scheduled for study, consider alternating between subjects. For example, study Accounting for one hour, before moving on to an hour of work on your English class.
- Take breaks! You may find it helpful to set a timer for each study period. When the timer goes off, take your well-earned break.