Sydney Life

It is always a lot easier to talk the talk than walk the walk when it comes to study. I have come to realise that although I work hard when push comes to shove, it still takes a lot for me to actually settle down and hit the books. But you know, there are plenty of things that I know about studying and how to maximise a study session / essay writing session that, when I do put them in practice, are very effective. Obviously I am, at times, too lazy to put them in practice - which leads to assignments being handed in just in the nick of time (or a little late... oops! don't do this!) - HOWEVER I do this knowing that I could have followed my easy steps towards effective study / essay writing, and consciously ignoring these easy steps means that I only have myself to blame for a dud mark.

So.

Let me teach you how to study, when you can be bothered...

Highlighters and biros are quality gear in the world of study

1. Make sure that your study space is clutter free. Whether you study at home on the dining room table, at a desk, in the library, on the lawn... make sure that it's as neat as possible when you start. If you are like me, you might study messily - so it's always good to start off neat with some hip desk feng shui in place.

2. Are you going to be hungry or thirsty in the next couple of hours? I probably will be, so when I settle down for a study sesh I make sure that I always have some water in arms reach, and maybe a light snack. Almonds are particularly good, because they make me feel smarter (they do that, right?) - grapes are good too. Avoid chocolate! I used to make the mistake of settling down with chocolate and the inevitable tummy ache / guilt trip isn't worth it. Something healthy is a lot better because you should always look after your body and your mind.

3. Do you need to use your laptop? Will you need to use the internet? I do on both accounts. I also tend to check Facebook all the time, which is deeply uncool on my part. Although this may seem hard, but actually try to only use your laptop when you need to. A big mistake on my part when I study is to have my laptop on and rarin' to go before I have even started to do research... the lure of the screen often becomes all too much for me and then I implode and fall into this disastrous web of lies, deceit and facebook stalking. If you think that you'll always need to use your computer - and actually, I tend to put notes straight onto the laptop these days instead of the ole handwriteroony - then there is little hope for you, unless...

4. Work on a timer. I learnt this skill from a friend of mine, and found that it really worked for me as well. Put the alarm on your mobile phone on for... say... 30 minutes time, and get down to work. In 30 minutes the alarm will ring - PUT IT ON SNOOZE! A good snooze time is around 9 minutes. Your alarm will then ring every 9 minutes. This will allow you to firstly keep track of how much you're writing and in what amount of time, but ALSO to jolt you out of any procrastinatory activities you may be up to. BONZA.

5. If you are reading from a reader (reading brick, photocopied reading, some text that you're allowed to highlight - note, this is frowned upon in library circles if it is in a book) - highlight with discretion. It's always tempting to go the whole hog and highlight a whole passage because it's totally awesome. Don't. You will end up with a page of yellow, which is still not helpful. Highlight key words and phrases, and jot down observations in the margins or on a pad of paper. This is called ACTIVE READING, and it takes a little longer than regular reading does... but it really helps you to get to know the next.

Oops, well, my alarm has now gone off - so it's time for me to return to my essay!

Adios amigos. Enjoy your studies.