Common Studying Pitfalls

Have you had a study time at home before and ended up either sleeping or doing something else, that you went to class the next day unprepared for the exam or recitation? It could be anything – maybe you received a phone call, fell asleep or ended up playing a game on the internet. Take a look at the following list of some common studying pitfalls. Once you become familiar with them, you will know how to deal with them properly in order to have a fruitful study time at home.

Access to the Outside World

The minute you open your textbook to study, your mom comes knocking at the door telling you someone’s on the phone waiting for you. A few minutes after that, your younger sister screams that dinner is ready while banging at your door. The solution for this is fairly easy: before you enter your room to study, tell everyone in the house you are not allowed to be distracted as you have an exam to prepare for the next day. While you’re at it, place the “don’t disturb” sign on your doorknob.

Having a Full Stomach

Try this: go to the dining table, eat a heavy meal, then go to your study table and try to do your reviewing. The moment you grab on to a textbook, you will feel sleepy, especially if you have had starchy or sugary foods. Both are a form of carbohydrates, and too much carbs in your system will definitely make you feel very sleepy, so you will find it hard to concentrate. If you feel hungry before studying, then go grab some chow. But remember to eat lightly – limit starchy or sugary foods; focus more on having protein from various meat and dairy sources.

Studying in Bed

Okay, so you just had a light meal as previously advised. You went to your room to begin studying but woke up some hours after, surprised that you instead had fallen asleep. While you may have had a light meal alright, you must have studied stretched out on your bed. Studying in bed is a no-no, since at any instant at all you could get forty winks even without meaning to. It’s best to do your studying seated on a comfy chair, matched with a spacious study table where all your needs are to be placed – textbooks, pens, notepads, highlighters and others.

Internet Hookup On

Having an internet can both be a boon or bane. Of course the internet provides a resource of additional information which could supplement your studying. But at the same time it could also tempt you to just chat, visit forums, drop by your social networking site, or even just play online games – instead of focusing on your lessons. For some students, it may require lots of self-control to focus on their studying and not be tempted to do other things with the presence of an internet hookup. If you think your textbook, dictionary and notes would be able to give you all the info you need, better switch off the computer, to avoid temptation.

Chatty Study Partner

It’s good to have a study partner because you can divide the workload and share information with one another. It makes studying easier and it saves time. However, not all study partners will be of help, especially if they’re not that serious with studying or getting high grades. If you think you can benefit from having a study partner, pick well someone who is as earnest as you to having an effective study time. But if there’s no one else to pick aside from someone who is not as serious as you are about getting high grades, better study alone.