Personal effectiveness for students

[Deuz]

How is / was your day as a student / what would you recomend a student to do to be the most effective?

• Get the most energy to learn
• Get the right motivation
• Manage his time correctly
• Which schedule (at wich time to wake up, to sleep, to eat, to learn,...)

Thanks for your responses! I'm currently figuring out what's working the best but i'm still wasting a lot of time & not working as productive as I should be :-/

[cftwo]

I think responses will vary depending on the person. I have always been a morning person and I have the most energy to learn in the mornings. So for me, it was better to give up on studying when nothing made sense any more, go to bed, and get up early and finish then. That won't work for some people. The schedule would work around those biological tendencies, I think. I got the most motivation out of simply learning - as long as I felt I was learning, I was still invested in the class and still interested. Managing time - for me, that meant starting on assignments soon after I got them so that I wouldn't be rushing at the last minute. (Some of my students, though, seem to prefer the last-minute approach.)

[RT Wolf]

I posted something in another thread that may be of interest:

Struggling at University

Pavlina's also got two articles about his college experience and tips for college students, which may also help if you haven't read them already.

Being excited about what you're learning is pretty key. From that, you'll find more motivation to not only learn, do your work but also to manage your time.

Setting clear goals is very important. When you say you're not as productive as you could be, what exactly is your image or description of being extremely productive? What you consider perfect productivity?

[Wanderer]

Stay healthy (e.g. dont get fat) this will help you with increasing your energy

Enjoy what your studying

Try hard

[ahimel]

Originally Posted by Deuz

Get the most energy to learn
Get the right motivation

If you're motivated, energy should come. I think the most important thing here is to determine why you're a student. A lot of people these days graduate high school, go to college, and never stop to think about whether it's a good idea for them. I personally LOVE academic life, and don't regret going to college for a second. But my brother detests school. He left high school early (with my parents' permission and assistance), attended Denver Automotive and Diesel College, and now repairs busses making twice as much as I do. *sigh* So much for the benefits of a college degree.

So if you're in school because you want to be, use that reason you're there to provide motivation and energy. If you're in school because you have to be (legal issues, parents, etc) then do what you have to do in order to meet your requirements, but don't stress about it. (And find a way to get out and live your own life ASAP.)

Manage his time correctly

Time management will depend on you (see below), but I would make sure you have some trustworthy system to ensure that you remember your assignments for classes. This can be a calendar, a day planner, a filing system like GTD, or as simple as a 2"x3" notebook that you carry with you everywhere (my personal favorite). At any time, you should be able to sit down and write out a list of all assignments you need to do, and what date they're due. Makes planning and prioritizing so much easier!

Which schedule (at wich time to wake up, to sleep, to eat, to learn,...)

This will depend on you; schedule hard classes like multivariable calculus for the hours when you're most alert. Those times should also be used for studying and homework. Schedule easier classes like music appreciation for times when you're alert, but not at peak capacity. Schedule eating and sleeping for your drowsy times.

The easiest way I've found to determine your own personal rhythms is to take a week and track your energy levels hour by hour. After a week, you'll start to see patterns (Wow! My ass is just draggin' every day from 2-4. Maybe I should try a biphasic sleep schedule!) PM me if you'd like the spreadsheet I use (complete with fancy graphs!)

[Tabs]

Just wanted to drop a note, a hindsight story of sorts: If I could do college again I would say the following to myself:

1. Take a little time to read Brian Tracy's Maximum Achievement.
2. Realize that the seeds you are planting today is creating your future. Which do you chose? Unemployment or never having to even think about not having a source of income.
3. Plan my life in more detail and ask questions, lots of questions (research your goals)
4. Nothing is more important than being able to motivate yourself, you just have to have a good enough reason, and isn't your future good enough?
5. Believe me you will have time to do everything else later, please stay focused, you are already on the right path with your question: stay healthy, manage your time, be motivated and associate with progressive people (yes, the quality of friends you have do matter).
6. Do the work now and ten years from now you will not be sorry.

Cheers

[Cassie]

There are many excellent suggestions here. Your first semester may be a trial and error period as you figure out what works best for you in terms of productivity. I'm in my junior year at uni and can personally vouch for the fact that the company you keep really does matter. Here are some of my suggestions;

* Find like-minded people who are motivated and goal orientated.

* Remember that your professors are also excellent resources for networking and building connections. Work responsibly in their courses and they will most certainly repay you for your effort.

* Remember to become involved in activities you are passionate about. Currently I contribute to the college newspaper, and volunteer my free time with Journey's End (a refugee center) and Habitat for Humanity.

[Maciek]

If you have any gaps between lectures/tuorials or whatever, lets say 1 hour, try to use this time for example to start doing assignment or at least do some planning, or read a book you always wanted to read but somehow never found time at home, just make a best use of this time, that's what I observed with myself, because I used to spend whole time either chatting or browsing web which weren't any effective...

I would be grateful for more andvice for "young" and inexperienced students ??

[Deuz]

Thanks for all your reply's! =)

Pavlina's also got two articles about his college experience and tips for college students, which may also help if you haven't read them already.

Being excited about what you're learning is pretty key. From that, you'll find more motivation to not only learn, do your work but also to manage your time.

Setting clear goals is very important. When you say you're not as productive as you could be, what exactly is your image or description of being extremely productive? What you consider perfect productivity?

Thanks, there was 1 article I haven't read yet for me, perfect productivity is reaching your goals & not wasting to much time while sleeping, msn,... A few weeks ago I was sleeping till 10am & I didn't take breakfast before I went to my classes

The easiest way I've found to determine your own personal rhythms is to take a week and track your energy levels hour by hour. After a week, you'll start to see patterns (Wow! My ass is just draggin' every day from 2-4. Maybe I should try a biphasic sleep schedule!) PM me if you'd like the spreadsheet I use (complete with fancy graphs!)

Good idea I'll start with it tomorrow so I can adjust my schedule to my personal rhythm

# Realize that the seeds you are planting today is creating your future. Which do you chose? Unemployment or never having to even think about not having a source of income.
# Plan my life in more detail and ask questions, lots of questions (research your goals)
# Nothing is more important than being able to motivate yourself, you just have to have a good enough reason, and isn't your future good enough?

Being excited about what you're learning is pretty key. From that, you'll find more motivation to not only learn, do your work but also to manage your time.

I realy like what I'm studying, it is very interesting, but also difficult :-/ When I was in high school, I took the most difficult science / mathematics direction & graduated without studying to much. I thought university would be that easy ... big mistake. I studied not that much & failed for a few courses wich I have to do again this year & now I'm scared to fail again =/ Even when I've never faired bad results before.


This is what I'm going to try:

Wakup at 7.30 - 8h have a good & healthy breakfast
** go to classes if any**

8.45 - 10.45h** study an easy subject for 2h
10.45 - 11.05 take a powernap (20 min)
11.05 - 12.20** study a more difficult subject 1.15h
12.20 - 13.20 lunch 1h
13.20 - 14.20 difficult subject (formules witch I skipped in the other study times) 2h
14.20 - 14.50 big break 30min
14.50 - 16.50** less difficult subject 2h
16.50 - 17.10 20 min break
14.10 - 18.10** exercises / easy subject
18.10 - 19.20 dinner + break 1.30
19.20 - 21.00 review/exercises 1.40h

** In these timeblocks, I'll skip difficult proves if any, I'll study them around 13.20 when I'm most concentrated. In the other study timeblocks, I'll -fast read- them. Six steps for learning difficult subjects quickly
Because I have dyslexia, I don't want to "waste" to much time on reading.

I'm also going to record each day my improvements / mistakes & post them on a blog so I can use it to force myself to keep my "promisses" Do it now!

I currently use a palm zire to manage my time but because it takes sometimes to much time to typ everything in it I also use normal papers.

@Marciek: Study Guides and Strategies is also a great recource to improve your study skills =)

*sorry for my bad english

[SamBeaven]

Seems like a good system Duez. I'd suggest paying attention to your body's natural energy levels too - we all peak our energy at different times, so I find it's best to schedule with that (I do more challenging stuff in the morning, easier stuff in the afternoon when I hit a slump, and challenging stuff again in the evening).

[beroy]

Deuz.

Every now and then let us know how you are doing. That might also provide you with a little motivation.

Good luck.

Ben

[Minsc]

If you're in normal school:

Sleep:
Assuming you're in school from 6AM to 4PM, you would sleep from 4PM to 4:20PM, 8PM to 8:20PM, 12AM to 12:20AM, and 4AM to 6AM. That's pretty hard to follow and you'll need a good diet for it to work, ect. Try to sleep in school, too(if you're tired)... You'll be pretty sleepy during school but awake at home, and will have 11 hours of free time on a good day(all homework done in school). You might be able to sleep at lunch and knock an hour or half off the schedule. Don't spend too much time sleeping during school or you'll be tired.

Studying:
You don't really need to do this(get better at taking tests instead)...

Big projects:
Procrastinate these as much as possible in case you have an opportunity to do them in school. If not, you'll do them faster if they're due in a couple of days.

Homework:
Do as much of it in school as possible. During a class, either do homework or go to sleep. If you get told not to do what you picked, do the other thing. If you get told not to do that, do what you're expected to do for 10 or 20 minutes before picking something(you'd be better off picking sleep and make sure the teacher's doing something else now). Also, set deadlines when you're doing it and find a clock. Set the deadline for a third or so of what it would normally take you. You should do it quicker but shouldn't meet your deadline, or it needs to be lower(but if it's too low, you'll get discouraged). You should also get good at guessing what you'll have for homework, especially in the later classes since you'll have less opportunities to do it during school when it gets assigned. Do the homework that's due the soonest first. Also, if you have homework due the next day, you should do it this day, since you might not have time the next day to do it.

Free time:
Pick a project for something that you're good at and spend at least two hours working on it per day(mine would be a coding project). I guess the two hours varies. Spend some time learning skills every day, too. For the rest of the time, I read(which involves learning skills) and play video games; one's relaxing and the other's fun. Keep a log of what you do during your free time(put about 10-20 entries per day in it). You should have some time to do stuff after 6AM and before 4PM. I don't log those and try to do the same things then since they're pretty short.

Other stuff:
You might miss some instruction when you're sleeping or not paying attention. You should be able to know what happened during your sleep after some time. If not, guess what you should do. You're better off sleeping or doing homework when the teacher's out of the room or sitting at their desk than when they're standing up and talking, but you can still do it during the latter. You'd probably be better off not telling people that you sleep three hours a day.

That's assuming that you think school is a worthless waste of time.

[The Protagonist]

I like this topic, but I don't have the time to read it ATM.

One thing that has helped me is blocking my self access to certain time consuming websites and restricting the tiem I allow my self to the internet