As the new semester commences, it’s important for all students new or old to have good study essentials in place. I believe number one thing to keep in mind is organisation. You can have all the study tools in the world and it won’t help you one bit if you don’t organise and use them.
Many things fall under organisation such as time to study, and study resources. Some of those essential resources include having a few pens, highlighters and a notepad handy for tutorials or even group meetings for assignments. A lot of us use laptops for all our notes and assignment writing, but you never know when you’ll forget to bring your charger, or when you just don’t have time to wait for your laptop to turn on and log in. Having a USB handy for the quick sharing and saving of files is a great help too.
Another thing that is essential is buying the textbook, workbooks and/or recommended readings for the course. It’s easy to talk yourself out of buying the course textbook, but I’ve found that I have been able to much more clearly understand the course when I read the textbook, which leads to getting better marks in the end.
I find ensuring I have the time to study is obviously very important, so setting aside study time is essential to making sure I actually study instead of procrastinating. This means that you need to have a place to study. This is different for every person. Some focus best when they are at home at their desk in their room. Others can sit in front of the TV with music playing and still do the work that needs to be done. And there are some that need to get out of the house and do their assignments in the uni library to get away from distractions. Ensuring you have the necessary resources also really helps when you are ready to sit down and study.
As new classes are starting I find it good to get to know those in my tutorials and lectures so that when it comes to studying I can catch up with friends to talk about the subjects. Not only do you manage to make great friends, it makes studying more enjoyable.
I know how easy it is to get distracted and procrastinate and therefore I like to ensure I have a break every hour or so. I will either go for a walk down the street or make a snack. This helps to make you feel ready to smash out a good amount of work.
The last thing that greatly helps me get through the semester is to have a wall calendar with all my assignment due dates and exam dates. This is a great way to get a visual representation of how the semester is going to play out, and gives me an idea of when I have to start doing assignments.
Most of all enjoy it – it will be over way too fast!
by Nadija Hawthorne – Study Sunshine Coast Student Ambassador
