Project - Study Skills Review
Step 1: Set Goals
Split your goals to make a plan Set LONG, MEDIUM and SHORT term goals for study and life
- Example 1
- LONG: I want to run a marathon!
- MEDIUM: Run 5km without stopping by the end of Semester.
- SHORT: Run 1km tomorrow. Eat only healthy bento this week.
- Example 2
- LONG: I want to do a Masters degree in a good US university
- MEDIUM: TOEFL iBT 100 by 4th year. Save money.
- SHORT: Buy a TOEFL book. Get a part time job.
Discuss! Ask your partner
- What is your long term goal?
- e.g. What is your dream?
- e.g. Who do you want to be like? (your role model)
- e.g. What do you want to AVOID becoming?
- What is your medium term plan
- e.g. for this semester
- e.g. by 4th year
- What are your short term actions
- tomorrow
- this week
Step 2: Manage Time
- Time management is the main reason students fail courses
- If you keep forgetting your homework (or doing it at 4am), something is wrong
Discuss!
- What is your time management system?
- A diary you check regularly.
- Reminder apps with notifications
- Post-its on your bedroom wall
- Whiteboard on your bedroom wall
- Calendar apps with reminders
- Email yourself a task, try to empty your inbox
- Ask your partner
- What is your time management system?
- Is it working? (Or are you doing homework, stressed, at 4am)
Stay Motivated
- Above, you learned to make a plan and manage time.
- However, when your diary/plan tells you to do something, you often don’t want to.
- Here are some tricks
- Trick 1: Set a Timer
- Set a timer for 10/20/30 minutes
- Study for at least that long
- Take a break when the timer goes off
- Trick 2: Starting is hardest. So just do easy step 1 and stop.
- Trick your brain into starting by pretending you’re not doing anything difficult.
- e.g. Make a plan to open your essay and ONLY write the title.
- Promise yourself you can stop after the title
- But you might find it’s easy to keep going
- e.g. Pack a bag and go to the Library (or Gym)
- Promise yourself you ONLY need to go, you don’t need to stay
- But after you get there, it’s easy to continue
- Trick 3: Don’t Break the Chain.
- 1) Get a Calendar
- A big paper calendar that goes in front of your desk
- An App for tracking several things.
- 2) Cross off every day you study
- 3) Do not break your streak! Link in Japanese: (link)
- 1) Get a Calendar
- Trick 4: Compete
- Compete with yourself
- Track your important scores (QW word count, time to run 5km, study time)
- There are apps for exercise: steps walked (FitBit), cycling distance (Strava)
- Keep a chart. There are lots of apps for this, but paper is sometimes easier.
- Every week, try to beat yourself (less TV, faster 5km, more words)
- Also compete with others!
- Every week, try to beat your friends
- Trick 5: Form a Study Group
- If someone is waiting for you, you have to go study.
- If you don’t understand, someone else does
- Combine it with tracking (Trick 4)
- Compete with your friends! Who can study the most?
- Compete with other groups! Which group can study the most?
- If you can’t meet in person, try an app e.g. Memrise
- Trick 6: Reduce Distractions
- Put your phone in Airplane mode (no notifications)
- Go to the library.
- Give your game machine controllers to someone until after the exam
- Use a browser plugin (NoScript) to break distracting websites
- Don’t go too far with this - you need to relax occasionally.
- Just make it more difficult to get distracted
- Trick 7: Speak to someone
- Speak to your seniors
- Speak to a more motivated friend
- Visit me during office hours
- Trick 8: Stay healthy!
- Sometimes you feel unmotivated because of your physical condition
- Get some exercise
- Cook a healthy meal
- Go to bed early
- Stand up and move around
- Have a coffee (if you’re sleepy)
- Stop drinking coffee (if you’re getting stressed)
- Tricks collected from other classes
- Take a bath
- Listen to some heavy music
- Reward yourself with sweets
- Have a nap.