Saturday 27 April 2013

Study Skills - Get Organized Today

By Lachlan Haynes


Do you struggle to have assessments submitted on time? Do you discover that the greater the number of items you have to achieve, along with the increase in pressure, leads to the greater amount of time you waste? Have you become aware that things you genuinely wants to take part in - for instance that diet program and exercising strategy you just located online (you know the one that absolutely 100 per-cent ensures great results) continually fall into that endless and eternal pit of "things I should have done"? Well, that is now the past. This is the now. It's a brand new day along with a brand new possibility for getting your life organized. Nothing is greater than a brand new day to create some genuine determination!

If your organizational ability has been out of control in your past we can use that information to accurately predict that things are likely to always be out of control in your future. Pretty uncomplicated stuff isn't it? Do you want to see your long term future? Examine your history. Unless of course you decide that today is definitely the day to produce a change for yourself! You decide you'd love to get yourself super organized. You decide that you'd prefer to have a bunch of free time and get rid of all of that rushing, stress and worry? Does any of that seem good to you? I hope it does. We are going to take a look at some strategies you can actually put in place straight away to create a brand new organized you.

Get Control of your Time

What can you do to get control of your time?

1. Use a weekly planner to be able to write in when tasks are scheduled and when any assessments are taking place. It's natural to tend to forget when tasks, assessments and examinations are scheduled so get rid of the anxiety by jotting all of it down.

2. Identify the times you feel you are most productive and schedule your study times then. This could be in the morning before school or even late at night. It is different for everyone.

3. Keep up with assignments and other tasks from the start because studying small amounts over the whole week, the whole month or the whole term is a far superior strategy than delaying your study for one huge dose at the end. In other words, 30 minutes a day for 30 days is better than 15 hours in a row the day before your assignment is due!

Your Study Area

1. Always place items away whenever you are finished with them so you will know exactly where they are. This can help save you a lot of time later which you can use to complete extras (like mind mapping) or just create additional free time as a great bonus for being organized. Seinfeld re-runs anybody? A show about nothing you say? Surely you jest.

2. Make sure your zone is neat and tidy and an enjoyable place to be. Get rid of old sandwiches (and old socks) and clear the area of all known distractions (Oh One Direction poster - you are the ultimate distraction - stop looking at me with those dreamy eyes). If you choose not to do this, you will no doubt find distractions are just around the corner no matter how hard you focus.

Plan Your Existence

We all need and (I presume?) desire a functioning social life (whether that means seeing friends and family, sending e-mails, or making calls or sending text messages - or whether it means playing Angry Birds for 6 hours on end).

1. Make sure you have some time to connect with others every day and plan that time around your school and study times (note that we do not advise you plan your study around your social life - it must be the other way around).

2. From time to time the "peak study hours" - time throughout free periods at school and in the first few hours right after classes are done for the day - get wasted away by conversation and also the blab component (as in you are squandering time with directionless and largely pointless gossip). After that you find yourself too worn out or uninspired to study.

Utilize To-Do Lists

1. Design lists of 3 to 5 tasks that allow you to visually look at what you'll need to complete to obtain the outcome you want. Write down the items along with the deadlines.

2. Put the items on a bulletin board, fridge, bathroom or some other space that you often pass and will constantly remind you of your real priorities and what you need to accomplish.

3. Tick the items off as you go. Humans love to tick things off, it makes us very happy! Tick!

4. In the event you can, place your schedule in your mobile or cell phone, in your laptop as well as in your email planner - and set up just as many reminders as is possible. This is a very useful technique.

Ultimately organization is all about the wise allocation of your time. If you master that you will master organization. Good luck!




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