Study habits

When you value what you are doing you will commit to it - you will dedicate more time to it and less time to what is less important to you. Ask yourself “Is this work (study or degree) important to me?” If the answer is “Yes”, then it deserves your full attention and commitment. Focusing on high value activities will ensure you do not mis-locate your time.

To reconnect with your values, try this:

• list 3 main reasons why you decided to undertake university study - stick it on your wall so it is a visible reminder to you
• list your core values e.g. career, family, health - reflecting on this regularly can help you prioritise what’s important and what’s not
• visualise your future life with the degree - this visualisation could motivate you to achieve your goal

Working out your priorities can help you manage your study, work and life as this ensures that you get the important things done first whilst still having time for the little things you would still like to do. For example, you may have a couple of exams coming up and may need to prioritise subjects that are more challenging for you and allocate time on these first. But how do you decide on what the most important task is when everything feels important?

There are a number of techniques to help you prioritise but always find the one that best suits you.

• Priority matrix (Stephen Covey)
• Pareto Principle
• Focus on the most important tasks (MITs)

The key to keeping on track of your studies is to organise yourself - carefully organising your study time so you can juggle family and other personal commitments. Here are some tips on how to get organised:

• Write notes or a to-do-list - tick each task off as you complete them, but remember to keep it manageable!
• Use diaries, timetables and calendars - write down all your commitments (assignment due dates, work, sports, social events etc.)
• Create a time audit to track your time. There are many apps and study techniques to help you stay on track, e.g. the Pomodoro Technique, which uses a timer to break down work into 25 minute intervals with short breaks in-between.

Note: Get into the habit of referring back to these at the end of each week to track your progress and see if you need to make some adjustments.

You’ll be taught new material through lectures, readings and other assigned materials. By actively engaging in the content will help you comprehend and retain that information better. Active engagement with your learning includes:

• Discussing your learning with others (including pets!),
• Completing hands-on tasks, like organising data into a table, or representing an idea in a drawing.
• Problem-solving
• Finding and unpacking real-world examples
• Making and completing your own quizzes
• Doing practice problems, questions or cases studies
• Teaching others about what you’re learning
• Collaborating with others on study projects.

Instead of cramming, evidence shows that studying in ‘chunks’ over longer periods of time can improve retention more effectively. You should find time to review previously learned material regularly throughout the semester.

It’s important to increase your recall, which is the practice of retrieving information from your brain instead of just re-reading it. You can do this by making flashcards or self-quizzes to regularly test yourself on key concepts or theories. Testing yourself gives you an idea of what you do and don’t know. This allows you to make your study time more efficient by targeting and improving the parts you don’t know.

Use a variety of different resources to study the same concepts. For example, in addition to completing readings and watching your lectures, seek out videos, draw mind maps, read charts, listen to podcasts, or chat with Gen-AI tools on the same topics. Finding variety in your learning can help to reinforce the material.

Switching between different topics (e.g., anatomy and theoretical ideas) during study sessions can help to deepen understanding and improve problem-solving skills.

Metacognition, or thinking about your own thinking, is crucial for effective learning. Use techniques like explaining or summarise material in your own words, and refer to “Active learning’” and “Test Yourself” items above to assess your understanding. Once you’ve done this, you can adjust and tweak your study strategies.

Having a ‘growth mindset’ means believing in your ability to improve and learn. Embracing challenges, persisting through setbacks, and learning from mistakes is key. You can cultivate a growth mindset by focusing on the effort you are putting into your study and learning from any errors, without dwelling on any ‘failures’. On that point, failure is how people learn and improve. View it as a learning experience - reflect, unpack, review and understand feedback, and try again.

If you are ever concerned, seek out support. This could mean attending workshops, booking a consultation with a mentor, or reaching out to teaching staff for more feedback.

Collaborative learning can enhance understanding and retention, especially when students explain concepts to each other or engage in discussion. Find others in your units who are keen to improve, and form study groups where you can discuss ideas, quiz each other, and solve problems together. This will also help you make social connections and build a sense of belonging, both of which can help to improve your university experience.

Investigate study tools and software that may help make your learning more engaging. Talk to successful students about what they use to stay organised, summarise and connect content, do mind-maps, or improve content recall. Take the time to explore apps or websites that offer quizzes, videos or other productivity tools. These resources can help you tailor your study materials to your individual learning preferences and help you monitor your progress.

Your study performance and engagement with learning materials can be affected by emotional, physical and mental wellbeing. Practices like mindfulness can reduce stress and improve concentration, while good sleep, nutrition, and exercise are essential for your brain to work at its best!

People work best at different times of the day so try and find your ‘Einstein window’ - the time of day that you function the best (mental peak) and where you feel energised and productive. For some, it may be the mornings whilst for others it may be during the night, so get to know your peak time and schedule your study time accordingly. It is better to perform your most challenging work (e.g understanding abstract material) at your peak time as this is when you are most alert and efficient. The least challenging tasks can be done when you are not functioning at your peak level.

Finding places to study (on campus, at home, park etc) that suit your personality and learning style is important. Choose spaces that make you feel comfortable, focused and productive so that you can study effectively. If a space no longer suits you, switch it up for another working space.

Good concentration is essential when studying as it allows you to optimise your study time and avoid time wasting. However as our concentration span varies (depending on the person and the task) it is useful to understand your level of concentration.

Some tips to help you develop good concentration:

• have a plan so you know exactly what you have to do
• practise mindfulness - actively engage in what your are studying (e.g take notes while reading)
• eliminate disruptions and interruptions that you know will cause you to lose focus
• take short breaks to refresh yourself and get back on track
• adopt a healthy lifestyle through eating and sleeping well, and exercising.