7 Study Habits That Are Harmful to Your Progress
Why do you study the way you do? Studies reveal that students stick to the same habits that seemed effective in the past. This means you may be using studying habits that worked in high school but are not helpful in college.
College courses require more of you than high school courses. If you want to experience the same level of academic success you did in high school, you need to study differently than you did in high school. Below are 7 habits that harm your academic progress in college.
Creating and using flashcards
Students continually pass on this studying tip in college. While flashcards may have worked for a handful of classes in high school and continue to work for a narrow selection of college courses, flashcards are mostly a waste of your time in college.
Rather than spending the hours it takes to create flashcards, consider other more effective methods like these:
Creating a table of terms. Compile a list of terms and create a table in your notes that provides the terms alongside the definition. This method takes much less time and results in helping you memorize terms.
Rewrite your notes in a different format. If you write using bullet points or Roman numerals, consider rewriting your notes in a different format like paragraph form. This process helps you process the material in a different way.
Condense your notes. This opposite idea from the one above. Instead of writing your notes in a longer format, see if you can capture the detail of your notes in a more condensed space.
Pretend to teach. Find somewhere private where you can at least quietly speak your notes to yourself. Explain the ideas to yourself as if you were teaching a class. This can help you to identify weak points and areas where you still need to clarify concepts.
Attending group study sessions
There may be a few exceptions to this rule, but in general group study sessions are not a good use of your limited studying time. Why?
Other students can easily derail the studying.
Study sessions can quickly turn into social time.
If the group is too large, staying on task can be almost impossible.
If no clear leader is assigned, the studying can quickly turn into a free-for-all.
If no clear agenda is set, you can spend much longer studying than if you studied with a few people or by yourself.
Rather than going to group study sessions, consider these other methods of studying with another person or other people:
Create a list of questions about material you do not understand. Sit down and spend some time studying on your own. Identify what is still confusing or unclear to you and create a list. Try to find these answers on your own, and if you cannot seem to find the answers ask a reliable classmate to assist you.
Ask a reliable and focused friend to study at the same time with you. While you’re probably not in the same classes, having the accountability of a friend sitting nearby may help you stay more on track.
Create a study guide with reliable classmates. Rather than spending hours identifying what you need to know for a test on your own, ask a few focused, grade-conscious classmates to create a study guide with you via a platform like Google Docs. If you’re not able to be together in person, at least you can share material with each other.
Watching TV
Multitasking while studying is always a bad idea. The human brain only has the ability to focus on one task at a time with a few minor exceptions (which do not include TV). In reality, even listening to music while studying can distract your brain from studying and cause you to spend much more time studying.
If you want to complete your studying and master the course material, refuse to watch TV while you complete homework or study for a test. Instead, try these time management techniques instead:
Use the Pomodoro Technique. When using this method, you break up your studying time into 20-25 minutes of concentrated studying. After this time has passed, you give yourself permission to take a 5-minute break. This is enough time for a bathroom break, grabbing a drink of water, or a Youtube video. Then you get back to the next task. After repeating this process 3-4 times, you take a longer break for 20 to 30 minutes (enough time for an episode of your favorite show).
Make studying time concentrated and relaxing time relaxed. Refuse to study during times you’ve set aside to relax. For example, when you are eating a meal, simply eat a meal. Don’t study while eating. Similarly, refuse to relax when you should be studying. Remove distractions, stay focused, and get the work done so that you can relax. Creating boundaries in how you use your time is key to finding a school-life balance, but this choice takes a lot of self-discipline.
Set phone time limits on video apps. Don’t allow yourself to get caught in a Youtube hole or stuck binging a show on Netflix. Go to your settings and limit the amount of time you can spend on an app. This will help provide some accountability for how much time you spend watching content.
Skipping class to study for another class
This habit can become like the song that never ends. Once you choose to skip a class for another class, you become behind in yet another class. The chain reaction that results can leave you behind in several classes rather than just one.
While there may be times you need to be absent from class, this should be a rare exception and not the norm. The root cause typically of skipping class to study for another class is typically poor time management skills.
So how can you improve your time management skills?
Use a planner. Some students never properly learn how to manage time. They find themselves constantly overwhelmed or barely holding on semester after semester, and this all occurs simply because they’ve never bought into the idea of using a planner. If you are this student (who refuses to learn a planner), I want to challenge you to give planners a real try. I often find that students who protest the idea of using a planner (electronic or paper) have never actually tried sticking to a planner. There’s a reason so many people use them. (It’s because they work.)
Organize your daily and weekly schedule. Do you run your day or does it run you? If you don’t have a clear picture of what your day looks like, you likely feel like a cat chasing a laser, running from task to task until your head hits your pillow. If you want to stop this mad lifestyle, take some time to organize your schedule.
Get accountability. If you are motivated by people, this is key to you managing your time better. Find a person who will check in on you and ask about your progress. You will find you feel much more motivated to get things done in a timely way.
Studying somewhere comfortable
One of the worst things you can do as a tired college student is study somewhere comfortable. Exhausted from the pace of the semester, you are likely to fall asleep, get distracted, and be unproductive.
So what are these comfortable places you should avoid using as a studying spot? These are some places to avoid:
Your dorm room
A dorm study lounge
A quiet and warm corner in the library
A cushy couch in a coffee shop
Some of the places listed above should never be your studying spot, like your dorm room. Why? Your dorm room is full of comforts like snacks, your bed, comfy clothing, etc. These won’t help you stay mentally alert and focused.
Some of the other places listed above can work as good studying spots, like a campus library or a coffee shop. As long as you stick to places that include good seating that won’t tempt you to sleep or lounge, you can accomplish a lot of quality studying.
Studying with your phone in sight
Your phone may be one of your biggest barriers to studying well. With the constant buzzing or notifications, your phone constantly demands your attention. When you’re trying to study, this can be incredibly distracting.
So how can you be available to others while keeping your phone from distracting you?
Utilize do not disturb settings and airplane mode. If you’re honest with yourself, most of the notifications you receive do not need your immediate attention. You can put these on hold while you concentrate your focus on school work for a limited amount of time. During your studying breaks, you can take time to check your phone and respond to messages.
Turn off social media notifications. This decision may sound extreme, but turning off social media notifications will probably be one of the best things you can do to remove the distraction of your phone. As a side benefit, you will find yourself feeling less “addicted” to likes and comments.
Place your phone out of sight. Even if you aren’t checking your phone, having it face down next to your books can tempt you to check your phone more often. When you need to focus, removing your phone from your eyesight signals to your brain that another task needs your complete focus.
Studying for too long
You’re cramming for a test, or maybe you’re squeezing in a project right before a 11:59 p.m. deadline. Whatever the situation you might be harming your academic progress by studying too long.
Your brain cannot focus for lengthy periods of time with no breaks. You need to pace yourself. Just like you shouldn’t run a marathon without any previous training, you shouldn’t study all night to turn in a lengthy project without working on small parts of the project in advance.
Usually these situations occur due to poor time management (see tips explained earlier in this post), but sometimes these situations occur because of a tight deadline and a fear of getting distracted.
How can you take breaks without derailing your studying?
Limit the length of your breaks. Don’t give yourself a 2-hour break when you have hours of homework to go. Wisely designate a limited amount of time to get a mental break. Set a timer. When the timer rings, determine to get back to work.
Make your breaks enjoyable. Sometimes you need to have quick breaks that only allow you enough time to switch a load of laundry to the dryer or grab a drink from a water fountain. When you can, however, make these breaks something you actually want to do. Eat lunch with a friend. Grab coffee through a drive thru. Do something small that you want to do so that you feel like finishing a task is truly rewarded.
Be strategic about your breaks. Carefully prevent yourself from getting distracted or losing track of time by choosing wisely with whom you spend your breaks. The more people involved in your break activity, the less likely you are to stay on track. In addition,, the less control you have over the start and end of your break, the less likely you are to stay on schedule. For example, if a friend offers to drive you to grab some ice cream, you have little control over when you get back.
Studying well starts with studying smart. Putting in hours of semi-focused studying isn’t likely to help you perform well academically. You are more likely to earn good grades with a few hours of extremely concentrated studying. Learn to improve your academic progress by adapting your studying habits to the college setting.
