It’s weird to be in the last semester of my academic career. I feel like I’ve been here so long that things should be easy by now. I should know how to get things done and get them done correctly, but I still have a hard time sometimes. My classes are still demanding and it’s even harder to manage my time with post-college life looming in the near distance. Because of this, I thought I would talk about study strategies that work for me.
Thank goodness we’re out of zoom classes and concentration in class is easier in person, but I still would suggest getting out of your room to study. For me sometimes I just need a new environment to feel productive. I like to study in the library or I’ll even just organize my entire room and turn on the lights or open the window to make my own study space feel like a better environment for productivity. After I have my space prepared, I also like to listen to some study -music. I will often play lo-fi study beats while I read or work. I’m learning to be less hard on myself and not give myself time restraints. There are always distractions and sometimes I find myself picking up my phone and scrolling through TikTok, but I don’t want to get mad at myself for doing so because this only causes me to become discouraged. So instead I incorporate those distractions by, for example, allowing myself to watch 3 TikTok every 4 pages I read or send a text back every few pages. It makes getting through the reading feel more rewarding and I’m more motivated to do it. I also love lists so I make lists for everything, even the little things. I will write out everything I have to do including little things like taking a break to make myself a cup of tea after completing a list of tasks. I then feel accomplished when I am able to cross them off my list.
I’m so close to being done, but I still have so much learning to do before graduation. I’m trying to take it day by day and not feel guilty that some things still feel new and hard even though I’ve been in college for 4 years. It’s important to learn new strategies that help you get through the day and these are a few of mine.