please help me manage my study time
By panicdude
@panicdude (456)
Philippines
June 12, 2007 10:21am CST
it has always been like this for me... i am always anticipating for a new term at school, saying to myself that this will be the term that i change my study habits for the best. but i end up disappointing myself because really, procrastination runs in my blood. waaah. i hate myself for this but i end up not doing anything about it.
its always like this for me, the first week of classes for me is the best. that's when i study ahead of the lessons in school. and that's when i am really "in the zone" to study. but when the succeeding weeks come, my study habits grow from good to bad. help me. it seems as if i am burned out from studying. please, please help me. i don't know the remedy for this but now i NEED and WANT to do something for this not to be a habit i carry until i work in the future.
i think that the problem with me is not just the time for studying but discipline. to the myLotters out there, please share your secrets to studying and what you do to keep the fire burning. the study fire, that is. ;)
2 people like this
13 responses
@Dugsmom (279)
• United States
13 Jun 07
I was in the same position when I was in college. During my first year, all I wanted to do was have fun. By my second year, I began to get serious about my studies. I think what keeps you from studying is that it's boring. Make it fun and you won't have to force yourself to do it. Here are a few things I used to do when I was in college:
1. Make study cards. Get some index cards and write out questions on one side and the answers on the other side. Whenever you have a few minutes of free time (like when your waiting for class to start, or you're in line at burger king), take out your cards and study.
2. Record your lessons on CD and listen to it while you're in your car. That's what I did when I took a theater class one year. I recorded myself saying the lines and left some space so that I could repeat what I heard. I learned the whole play just by playing it in my car.
3. Set up a study group but make sure it's with a group of kids who want to study and not with a group of kids who want to chat.
4. Make up a song. I know this sounds silly but I did this all the time whenever I needed to learn a bunch of terms. I used to make up silly songs...not only was it fun but I learned the material.
5. Study somewhere other than your home. I don't know why but I had a hard time studying at home. Maybe it was because whenever I looked up I saw something that needed to be picked up or washed or I'd hear the T.V calling my name. I was always so distracted at home. Go to the library and study there.
Good luck with your studies. I hope I helped.
1 person likes this
@panicdude (456)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
you're right. some of the lessons i'm studying is quite boring. and hey, i like your suggestions. pretty interesting. =D
@panicdude (456)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
you're right, majiwu. things don't just change overnight. and it should be a habit of mine, to study regularly. i should discipline myself first.
@majiwu (11)
• China
13 Jun 07
i have the same problem too. I sought many ways to solve it .but finially I find a way and overcome it. I used to play computer game almost all of my leisure time
I told myself many times to get rid of this habit . but every time I failed till
my english teacher told me that it is hard for a man to change at night and you alter a little everyday and you can find you really changed after you persit in doing this
@Anniedup (3651)
• Richards Bay, South Africa
15 Jun 07
Ok I think the best is to tell you what my son did when he was at university. In his spare time he loves sailing, and I found that after university breaks he use to be very slack and antagonistic towards his studies. And very unmotivated.
I bought him a small little glass boat ornament. When I gave it to him he laughed and said to me, I'm not a child anymore and I'm not a girl to have such fancy ornaments in my room. I told him I wanted him to place it on his desk and stare at it and start daydreaming, seeing this boat as is own one day, I wanted him to vividly see the first country he would visit, after this daydream session, I asked him to write down, the name of the country he visited. Take the piece of paper, roll it up and put it in a little box.
Then start studying, with the knowledge, that before he can afford this boat, he will have to finish his studies.
He did this every time he was discouraged, and by the end of his 7 year course, he gave me the box and the little glass boat back, I opened it and there were 26 rolled up paper. He said to me, mom this is how many times I have been discouraged but thanks to the day dreaming I made my dream come true and now I can seriously work towards my real dream and that is to work hard and buy my boat, and visit all 26 countries and more.
This is not a fairytale, when he started working he had were alot of study debt to pay off and he only started being successful two years later. He did buy himself a boat and has visited two of his countries in the box.
Sorry for the long reply, I hope you feel more encouraged and try and daydream about what you want to do when you are finished studding, and I see you mentioned your environment, this is something you will have to address because it will have a negative affect on your studies.
Please, except my apologies, for any grammar mistakes, as English is not my first language.
@panicdude (456)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
i am taking up an engineering course. industrial management engineering. i love my course but somehow i lack motivation to study. maybe because of the environment that i am in...
1 person likes this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
13 Jun 07
well, you are very right... i think the problem with you is not about studying but self-discipline... that's what you need... for me, i try to exercise self-discipline and stick with it... i set aside a fix studying time and i have to abide to it... when i have accomplished that, i treat myself by doing something that i like... but not before it... just treat studying like working where you have to do it for a certain amount of time... the only difference is you don't get paid for studying... :-) but it will teach you to be disciplined...
1 person likes this
@panicdude (456)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
waaah. i treat myself even before i finish a task. oh no. i should practice discipline and carry a planner with me.
@asmurthy (2461)
• India
13 Jun 07
Discipline is important. If you practice it half the problem is over. Go to bed early and rise early. Go through the subjects you were taught yesterday. In the morning your mind would be fresh and you can grasp the subjects very easily. Note down your doubts and ask your teacher in interval periods.
1 person likes this
@panicdude (456)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
yeah, i lack discipline. and i MUST practice discipline. thanks, asmurthy! =D
@anine19 (134)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
i am also a student, i am also like you. but this is my plan and i think this really works...
in doing assignments, make a list, journal, diary or something and list them all there so you wont forget.
in reviewing, get something, like puzzle. one peice for every correct answer and give yourself a treat after...
just have the will and youll make it... have anice day!!!
1 person likes this
@panicdude (456)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
anine19, thanks for your response. it works for you, it should also work for me. =D
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
12 Jun 07
First, I suggest working on managing your time by giving yourself a certain amount of time for each task. Make your college classes your priority. Many times, I had trouble with college classes when I didn't make a schedule of what I needed to do that day. Make a chart with each class and how much time you feel is needed to get an A in each class. Do your school work before doing the fun activities in your day.
@panicdude (456)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
ok, based on the responses i am getting from this discussion, i think that what i really need to manage my time is a planner or a diary to keep track of my work. anyway, thanks fishmomma! =D
@panicdude (456)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
hmmm.. i can't force myself to wake up so early. i think i'll stick to me studying at night time. but i like your advice. maybe it'll help too if i pray first before i study. thanks, azimsay. =D
@lzjilbb (425)
• China
12 Jun 07
I am suffering the same problem like you. But I have thought for several ways to overcome this,although I myself haven't done yet :)
1.To make a plan and stick to it. Since you can do well at first, you should write what you do daily according to that period. Then when you become not so good at it, just look at your plan and just force yourself to copy what you used to do. I think after several months, you'll get used to that and feel comfortable.
2.To keep dairy. Writing down what you have done a day will helf you to see how you have used the time. When you see that you have just wasted a lot of time, you will feel nervous and be more eager to change the next day.
These are my suggestion, hope you to secceed ahead of me by doing that:)
1 person likes this
@mean_queen (1713)
• Malaysia
12 Jun 07
Hey panicdude~!! Don't panic!! haha..
Well, I'm exactly like you too.. I always promise myself that my study habits will change with the coming of a new semester.. But I always end up not sticking to the plan by the 3rd week~! I don't know about you, but for me, I need lots of fun before I study! Like watching TV, or surfing the net. After that I'll be in the mood to study. Also, I can't study anytime of the day. It has to be in accordance with my peak time which is at night for me. How much I try to concentrate during the day, I just can't..
So basically, make a schedule for yourself and stick to it. Make sure the schedule includes time to watch tv, or MyLot-ing! hehe.. I hope it works for you~! Good Luck!!
1 person likes this
@panicdude (456)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
i don't know why but i am into panicing. and what i am afraid is that i can't really stick to my sched that i tend to waste a lot of my time. and i think i can't include time to watch tv or myLot because i tend to mess up my sched just to expand my time for those things. waaaah. i don't know how to prioritize.
@nadinetannous (138)
• Australia
13 Jun 07
Study, or read notes before you sleep and when you wake up helps tremendously. Also, while studying, write down questions about the tpic which you think you should know. For example, yesterday I had an ethics exam and a question I wrote down for myself was "identify and describe the four conditions of the Just War Theory". Works like a charm- except don't answer them as soon as you have finished writing notes or studying- I tend to answer the questions the night before.
Oooh- and tea. Tea helps a LOT! I'm like an addict- probably because of the sugar. Keep snacks with you- keeps the energy running.
Nadine.
@panicdude (456)
• Philippines
13 Jun 07
but what about math lessons? how should i deal with those kind?
@nadinetannous (138)
• Australia
14 Jun 07
Kinda do the same thing- formulae tend to have a name. So, you can write down the name of a formulae and then try and remember the actual formula.
When I did maths last year, I had a lot of calculus stuff and it was hard to remember which formula you were meant to use. So you basically make yourself a mini- test- get questions (easy and hard) on a range of math topics and try to answer them correctly. By putting in both hard and easy, it's more motivating because you will get the easy ones write and then you can work more on the harder ones.
@bestgirl2008 (183)
• Germany
13 Jun 07
u can make note cards and stuff like that too
1 person likes this
@7521186 (83)
• Malaysia
18 Jun 07
for me i prefer to study regularly. i study everytime just after my lecture. if i got something that's i'm not really sure about, i'll ask my lecturer the next day. as i heard before that if you do not review your lesson back in 24 hours, you'll forget everything that you have learned. to be a good student you need to have curiosity and interest. that will make your desire of studying and learning to be stronger. if you just ignore evrything and do your revision last minutes when the exam is just around the corner thre'll be more stress. you'll feel like you are totally clueless as you have forgotten what had been taught by ur lecturer/teacher. and this time u tend to become panic and you can't concentrate all your mind on your revision at all. laziness is the common bad habit that everyone have. the only differences between a good student and a bad student is curiosity, interest and desire. good student will not delay their work and they will try to get the answer for their question as soon as possible at all cost. and if you want something you have to work hard to achive that at all cost.
