1) Go to class. Yes, this sounds easy. No, that does not mean people do it. Professors saying things like “I don’t care if you come to my class” or “attendance isn’t mandatory” is not immediately a carte blanche to start skipping whatever classes you don’t feel like going to. In the first week specifically, it’s important to attend all your classes to make sure you’re getting all the syllabus information and getting to know the people sitting around you, if that’s something you’re focused on. You’ll miss a lot of information by skipping the first few classes.
However, you might find that in some classes, especially ones with professors telling you attendance isn’t mandatory, you believe that you can more effectively study material and use your time when outside of class. I personally would recommend giving the professor a few weeks of in-class attendance (at least the first week or two), because you may find that maybe the first few classes were just slow, and the rest of them are much more helpful. If you find that you’re exiting class with no more material than you learned time and time again, then make the decision that you feel uses your time most effectively.
2) Use a planner. This can be a paper planner, or a calendar, or a whiteboard, or whatever else you want, but use a planner. Nobody but yourself is going to remind you of quizzes and due dates, so to ensure you don’t lose track of them. I have a paper planner that I record everything in, and as an added bonus, I get to cross things out of it when I’m done of them. I love crossing things out.
3) Set out specific times to do work or study. I use Google Calendar to block my time out, and this works very effectively for me. As an added bonus, it automatically tells me how much time per week I’m spending on certain categories (I have mine set up to schoolwork, study time, and recreational activities like sport practice time).
Setting up a specific block where you will spend that entire time getting things done is an effective strategy for getting chunks of work out of the way. If you can just sit down and work for an hour or two, you’ll get more done than you think you will. This is also more manageable than longer study sessions for me. I can do a study block, then something like lunch, then do another study block more effectively than I can study for several hours in a row.
If you need help blocking out time or maintaining a calendar, see if you have an academic success center for students. They often have helpful resources. I got a weekly schedule blocked by hour from mine that I colored in with all my classes and study times, and it’s helpful to keep me on track.
4) Find study spaces that work for you. This differs for everyone! I, personally, need total silence if I’m going to get any math done, but I like a bit of background noise for science and humanities. For math, I like to book out a library room (see if your university or college has these!) or sit in one of the quieter floors of the library. I also tried a few different buildings for studying the rest of my time, and found some with a level of noise that I liked.
In your first few weeks, give yourself some time to try out different buildings or study areas. It will take time to find a few you like. Just make sure you’re not replacing studying with walking around looking for a place to study.
I also like shifting around to a few different areas every week, it keeps any one area from getting too tedious and helps me concentrate. However, some people I know are the opposite, and like to study in the same place every day. As with many things in college life, figure out what works for you and stick to it.
5) Take breaks. You will get nothing done if you overfry your brain. Take some time to stand up, stretch, move, and relax your mind.
A good rule of thumb for taking breaks when in the midst of studying comes from the Pomodoro method, which states that you should take a 5-minute break every 25 minutes, and then a long break after 4 chunks of 25 minutes (each chunk of 25 minutes is called one Pomodoro).
Go forth and good studying!
Stay stellar,
Venus