Want to study for long hours? Here are 7 tips to get you started!

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University, for me at least, was a blast. I had loads of friends and every day was a party. I wish I were a better student than I was, but at the same time, I don’t think I would change any of my experiences. The friends I made then are pretty much the same friends I have today. Someone wiser than me once said that a good friend is the one who comes to bails you out of prison, but your best friend/brother is the one sitting next to you in jail saying, “dang! we are now in trouble”. These are the kind of friends I have today.

But in having this amazing experience in university I pushed studies to the background and would try and cram as much learning as I could a week (or a day) before the exams. But that never worked; I would get easily distracted, and what I did learn would slip right out of my mind the second I closed the book. Last-minute cramming sessions hardly ever work. Studying long hours, like everything else, is a skill that needs to be developed and fostered.

Learning to study long hours is especially important for mature students doing an online programme. Apart from the usual work pressures, there are also many other things around that demand our attention and can be an unavoidable distraction from studies. So, putting in the time when the opportunity arises, even if it is a marathon study session, can be very important, and learning to learn and retain during this time is critical.

But how does one go about studying for long periods? Here are 7 tips to get you started.

1. Break it down

Don’t feel intimidated by the amount you have to study. Break it down! Photo by Teslariu Mihai on Unsplash

Some of the study material you have to go through can get quite intimidating; there is just so much. This intimidation could lead to anxiety, which in turn could lead to your getting distracted, and finally, you will just end up procrastinating. Take a pen and paper and write down what you intend to achieve by the end of your study session, and then break it down to smaller targets that can be achieved. This list of achievable targets will be your guiding star; this will help you focus your efforts and concentrate on the micro picture, reducing overall stress.

2. Changing your frame of mind

Let’s face it; you will not come back from the office or a football game and get right into studying. Your mind is still at the office or at the game or whatever you were doing before getting to your studies. Give yourself some time to get into the right frame of mind, say 30 minutes. First, get rid of all distractions – tv, phone, tablets, etc., then use these 30 minutes to transition into a learning frame of mind – get your study set up, ensure all stationery required is on hand, eat something and keep drinking water close. Once everything is set up, just relax your mind – do some breathing exercises, listen to some calming music, or take a hot bath. And once the 30 minutes are done, get to studying!

3. Think positive

Photo by Katrina Wright on Unsplash

I know there are a thousand different things you’d rather be doing than studying. But this is what you must do to get ahead in your career, improve your knowledge, and earn that degree you always dreamt of having. So, keep thinking positive as you work towards your dreams, and don’t forget to celebrate the small victories. 

4. Unscheduled breaks

Schedule and time all your breaks. Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

AVOID unscheduled breaks! I get it; you have to take breaks but ensure that they are timed and scheduled. Don’t be tempted to check your phone or watch that match on tv in the middle of your study session. Once you get that ball rolling, it will just pick up speed, and the next thing you will be doing is studying during commercial breaks. Take the break when you schedule it and only for the duration it was planned for!

5. Study actively

Be engaged with what you are studying. Start reading the study material actively, making notes, asking questions about what you are reading, and answering them to better understand the subject. Don’t just read for the sake of reading; understand and learn by getting engaged with what you read.

6. Mix it up

Get a few extra hours of learning done by changing your location. Photo by Sarah Brown on Unsplash

While it is essential for you to have your own study space devoid of distractions, during an extended study session where studying can get physically tiring, you might get a few extra hours of learning done by changing your location. Try to keep distractions to a minimum, so maybe go out to a park or sit in your backyard, but if you end up in a café, make sure you take your noise-cancelling headphones with you.  

7. End it

Once you are done with your marathon study session, end it. Close your books and maybe go right to bed, don’t think about studying anymore, this way you will be fresh and rested for your study session the next day.

These study habits, like everything else, must be cultivated and developed; it is not something that will work right off the bat. You get into a habit of long study sessions by repeating regularly. Start with one full day of studying every alternate week. If you have the time, do it weekly, and before you know it, this one day a week study session will help you get ahead of your class. But please do not neglect your regular study sessions; this is just a boost to give you an edge in class and help you cement what you learnt. 

We would love to hear from you about what helped you with your long study sessions. Is an all-day-long study session something you would do?

If you are ready to start your online studies, chat LIVE on WhatsApp with one of our Education Advisors for more information on all the 100% online master’s degree programmes we offer and the application process.

6 tips to help you study better at home

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It is so easy to get distracted when studying or working from home. There are so many things to distract you – from your better half asking (some might say nagging) you not to eat unnecessarily to children wanting to play, from your neighbours knocking on your door asking for some sugar (again) to someone unexpected ringing the doorbell.

Studying from home. Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

Now that you have decided to do an online master’s degree programme, you must be prepared for the challenges that studying at home entails. Most people don’t take these challenges seriously, and by the time they realise they have fallen behind in their programme, it may be too late to recover. So, tackle these challenges from the start.

In addition to all the “normal” challenges of studying at home, COVID-19 has forced some of us to isolate and work from home and forced children to stay home all day too.

How do you stay on top of your schoolwork? What can you do to help yourself study better at home?

Here are 6 tips to help you get started:

1. Location, Location, Location

Have a dedicated area at home for your study. Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

The first thing you need to do is have an area at home dedicated to your study. Make the space comfortable; add a few personal items to this area that give you ownership. And finally, make sure all the study materials you require are with you in the study, so you have no excuses to get distracted. Remember, when you work in silence, success does all the talking! Set up the study in a place where the external distractions will be minimal.

2. Organise like a pro

Use organisers to increase efficiency. Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash

People who use a calendar know how useful it can be to increase efficiency. The organiser/calendar is a tool that can be far more useful than to remind you of your next meeting. Create a calendar that contains every minutia of your daily activities for the week/month/quarter (however long you can go), from household chores to study/work deadlines. Then populate the calendar with the schedule of your family. This will give you a good idea of your schedule, inform you when to expect distractions from your family, and help you plan for it.

3. Chewing Gum

Photo by Pete Alexopoulos on Unsplash

According to an article published by the National Center for Biotechnology (NCBI), chewing gum can enhance attention and promote well-being and work performance. The impact of chewing gum is said to be more than that of coffee, the catch being that the effects of chewing gum will last for only about thirty minutes. So, make sure you use the thirty minutes of heightened focus wisely and stock up on sugarless, flavourless gum.

4. Cutting the noise and setting boundaries

Having your family and friends around can get a little noisy. Getting your family, especially kids and pets, to understand that you are studying and not just sitting back and relaxing while reading your favourite LITRPG novel (Gnomes Rule!) might be difficult and, at times, heart-breaking (I know it is hard to say no to kids). But once they understand your schedule and that you are not to be disturbed when you are at your study, they will learn to give you your space.

Another way to reduce the noise is music. Put on an over-the-ear headset and, in low volume, listen to some classical music. It will also have the added advantage of keeping you calm.

5. Engage all your senses

Photo by Solstice Hannan on Unsplash

You are already listening to online lectures and reading articles, so why not make notes and ask questions? One of the best ways to learn is by being engaged in your studies, so try to increase the number of ways you can be involved with what you are studying.

Another good way to learn and retain more information is to teach, so once you have a handle on a subject, start by pretending to teach it to someone. Prepare for questions you might get asked by students, maybe join a study group with your fellow students and have a go at teaching them.

If you are not the teaching kind, then doodle. According to an article by Harvard Health Publishing, during an experiment on memory and retention, it was found that people who doodled were better at paying attention to the message and recalling the details. They recalled 29% more information!

6. Celebrate the accomplishments

Celebrate your success with a couple of squares from that bar of chocolate. Photo by Keriliwi on Unsplash

When you have successfully completed a task, realise that you have, and acknowledge this fact! Stand up and dance like nobody’s watching! Have a couple of squares from that bar of chocolate. You will find that celebrating your success will lift a weight from your shoulders that you did not even know you carried, which will help you focus better and remain motivated.

If you have been thinking about doing a master’s degree, and are ready to challenge yourself, look at our list of programmes and see if we have anything you are interested in earning your master’s degree.

You can also chat LIVE on WhatsApp with one of our Education Advisors for more information on the programme that is right for you, the application process, and for information on discounts we might be offering at this time.

5 habits of successful students

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Getting back to being a student is not easy, especially if you have been out of school for a while. But since you have decided to get your master’s degree, there are a few simple habits that, if developed, can help you become a better student as well as have a positive impact on your life in general. Acquiring these habits can help you become more productive, organised, and efficient.

Some of these points might sound obvious, and they are, and you might be under the impression that you are already implementing them in your life. But I urge you to think about these points and analyse if you are genuinely implementing them – the answer might surprise you.

The 5 habits

Do not procrastinate

We have covered this point to death in our blogs, and here we are writing about it in another blog. And the reason we are doing it is that this is a significant point, the importance of which cannot be understated. Procrastination is also one of the most common habits developed by human beings. My colleague, Vidhi Kapoor, has covered procrastination and tips on overcoming the habit in one of our previous blogs – Procrastination.. Saving for tomorrow…….

Read ahead

Depending on the programme of study, you may get access to materials before the module starts for real – use that time to prepare. Make a list of the topics covered in the module (mind-maps are a great tool for this), try to get your hands on as many of the recommended/required readings as you can, and even start reading about the concepts in advance. Doing a first pass before watching the video lectures will help you prepare the ground for sowing, as it were – and it may be that questions that you come across while reading solo will be answered by the lecture, or not – in which case, you’ll know what to ask using the class discussion when the time comes! 

Plan

Organise your notes in such a way that it is easy to find when the time comes to refer to them. Use a calendar, keep track of your class and fee payment schedules, know when your assignments are due and ensure that you complete your tasks before they are due. Time management is probably one of the biggest reasons students fall behind or stay ahead in their classes. We have covered time management as well in one of our previous blogs. Being organised can also relieve stress because you know what to expect and can be prepared beforehand.

Let’s file “seamless cloud back-ups” under being organised. Even with intermittent internet access, you can still organise cloud back-ups (or external drives if you prefer) – computer crashes do happen, but they are seen as the equivalent of the “dog ate my homework” of yesteryear. 

Teacher’s pet

Traditionally, being thought of as a teacher’s pet could make you really unpopular with your classmate. You are all grown up now though: stop thinking like a child!  No man is an island! But as usual, we keep forgetting this. If you have a question or do not understand something, ask! The professors are there to help you learn and study better. You can also ask your classmates for help, and hopefully, you will also be able to help them, if asked. There is no better way to truly understand something than trying to explain it to someone else. Active class participation can have several positive impacts on your student life. Teachers notice the students who are engaged in class and will, in general, be more positively disposed towards these students. Don’t be afraid to “raise your hand”, virtually as that may be, and ask questions. It is always better to come away from a class with a clear understanding of the subject.  And finally, take notes while you watch the videos – it is the best aid you can have during your revision of the subject.

Use active study methods rather than passive study methods

I will explain to you my understanding of the differences between active and passive study methodologies using a simple example.

When I was in school, I had a teacher that made us study by rewriting something repeatedly. For example, and this is just an example, let us take Newton’s third law of motion, which states that for every action in nature, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This teacher would make us write the law repeatedly until it became muscle memory. There may be a time when this works, but I have found that there is no understanding of the law here, and this is a passive way of studying.

An active study method is to summarise your understanding of the topic in your own words. This method enables long term retention of the topic and, more importantly, understanding of the subject matter, which will help you to practically implement it at work in the long term.

These are just a few points that will hopefully help you become a better student. There are probably many ways to achieve this more effectively and efficiently. If you know of any, please list them in the comments.

If you are ready to start your online studies, chat LIVE on WhatsApp with one of our Education Advisors for more information on all the 100% online master’s degree programmes we offer and the application process.