How to organize study time in 12 steps

Many students, especially during exam and delivery times, ask themselves how to organize study time better.

Everyone assumes that improving their own study plan is synonymous with better academic performance, but few are able to apply it in their day-to-day lives.

That is why this article, in addition to helping those students who have the hardest time passing the exams, serves as an assessment of time and its importance when dealing with the educational curriculum.

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The importance of properly managing time

By all it is known that, the ideal, is to organize the day in three slots of 8 hours each: 8 hours to sleep, 8 hours to work / study and 8 hours of leisure. However, this magic rule of the three eight is very difficult to fulfill in practice.

That is why it is vitally important to organize the time we dedicate to our obligations, and in this case, to study, either for exams or to write a work that is must deliver.

Although students, unlike workers, have a certain advantage because they have some freedom to organize their time, this is sometimes more of a problem than not a help.

As we grow, the hours of study centers are more variable, a clear example being the university, having morning and afternoon shifts.

The organization of study time is the responsibility of each one. The problem for many is that, despite having a lot of time for it, they have acquired bad study habits. That is why, and especially in high school and university, that the stage of exams and deliveries is lived in a very distressing way. In the absence of a good study plan, the test results are negatively affected.

How to organize study time?

To be able to perform in the best way in the exams and have the best possible score, it is necessary to have a meticulous study plan, properly organizing the time devoted to each topic of each course. Here are some tips to help us organize study time better.

1. Have a calendar

This advice, which is perhaps the most basic, is vitally important to get an idea of ​​how much time is left before facing the much dreaded test or delivery of a job. Having a calendar, be it digital or paper, is the tool that can give the most help to the student.

In it you can not only record the exams or deliveries, other events can also be noted and made aware of them, such as after-school activities, dates, or other chores.

2. Create study routine

Once done, it is very important to establish a study routine, preferably daily. Each one has its own biorhythms and, therefore, some people are more productive in the morning while others are more productive in the afternoon or even at night.

Be the moment when one is most productive, you should try to study every day from the same time; this way the body gets used to getting down to work every day.

Like any habit, studying is a matter of sticking with it until it becomes automated. Once it is done almost instinctively, it will not be so heavy and unmotivating.

3. Prioritize goals and avoid multitasking

There are tasks that have to be completed before others, and therefore they should be given higher priority. This may be because the delivery or exam date is approaching.

It must be understood that, although human beings can carry out more than one task at the same time, in study subjects this is not recommended at all.

For example, trying to study math and language at the same time is very difficult, since Both subjects require a high degree of concentration and, if you switch from one to the other constantly, the agenda will not be assimilated.

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4. Set realistic short-term and long-term goals

A main objective may be to pass a competitive examination, but, This great objective has to be broken down so that it can be achieved.

A good way to achieve this is to keep in mind how many subjects must be studied, and how many are the subjects that constitute them. Having seen this, you can set more realistic goals, both short and long term.

For example, if you have three months to study 40 topics, a good way to approach them is to take charge of learning 4 each week. Thus, each month it will be possible to have about a third of the entire agenda, fulfilling the ultimate goal of seeing the entire agenda.

5. Plan breaks and leisure

Studying is fine, but doing it consistently leads to inevitable burnout. Everyone needs to relax and unwind while having fun. However, these breaks can be very risky, making you decide to stop studying and move on to the next day.

That is why, in the same way that the hours in which the lirbo is opened are planned, you must decide when to pause, and that it always lasts the same time.

6. Willpower

The attitude with which the study is approached is something fundamental if you want to be successful. Motivation when studying and willpower are aspects that influence our way of learning.

If it is seen as something tedious and boring, it will always be seen as something undesirable and you will not be able to acquire the habit of study properly.

7. Plan ahead

You will only be successful if you are well prepared, which is why planning your study session in advance is so important.

Whether studying from home or going to the library, all material must be prepared well in advance, preferably the day before, since this will avoid improvising at the last minute and forgetting an important note or book.

It is also advisable to write down on a piece of paper what you are going to study. You may believe that you have a good memory, but if you write down what you should do, you make sure you do not forget.

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8. Study in the right space

The place where you study can be a source of concentration or, on the other hand, an environment full of distractions.

But the most suitable place will always be the library, preferably alone. If you decide to study with friends, you should make a joint effort and not entertain each other.

9. Avoid interruptions

If you decide to study at home, we must be careful with interruptions from family members or roommates, in addition to making sure you have the mobile on silent or, better, off.

Also, if you study with a computer, avoid social networks or pages that may involve some kind of entertainment.

If you listen to music, it is best to choose either ambient sound, of the rain with thunder type, or melodic music, more than sung. If it is a song, you may run the risk of being more aware of what is being sung.

10. Consistency in the distribution of tasks

Not all subjects require the same study time, given their different difficulty and length. It may also be the case that one subject costs more.

Subjects must first be classified according to their difficulty, and decide to spend more time on the more difficult ones to save the easier ones for the end of the day or the week.

The time to dedicate to each subject will depend on the proximity of the examination or delivery dates.

11. Go from more complex to simpler subjects

The brain, as with the muscles, ends up fatigued after doing an activity. That is why it is better to go downhill, from the most exhausting to the least, since doing it the other way around you run a greater risk of not reaching the end.

If you are a person who is productive both in the morning and at night, the best thing to do is save the difficult for the beginning of the day and the simplest thing before going to sleep.

If this is not the case and you are more productive at certain times of the day, it is best to start with the most complicated agenda to leave the easiest for the end of the session.

12. Review, review and review

And, of course, the final advice in this article is to review what has been studied over and over again.

The review not only serves to establish new knowledge, but also makes you more aware of its details and, if any, detect possible errors that have been made when preparing notes.

Bibliographic references:

• Ausubel, D. P. (2002). Knowledge acquisition and retention. A cognitive perspective. Barcelona: Paidós.
• Martín, E. & Onrubia, J. (Coords.) (2011). Educational guidance and processes of innovation and improvement of teaching. Barcelona: Graó.
• Mayer, R.E. (2002). Educational psychology: learning in the areas of knowledge. Pearson / Prentice Hall.