Do you ever feel like no matter how much you study, you’re just not learning the information? If this is the case, you may be a victim of PSH―Poor Study Habits. The good news is with a few small changes, you can overcome PSH and achieve your academic goals. It’s as simple as training your brain to study in a more effective manner by making some study habit adjustments like the ones below:
- Discover your personal rhythm. Before you plan a study session, you may want to consider your personal rhythm. If you’re a night owl, it doesn’t make much sense for you to plan your study sessions early in the morning. Likewise, if you’re an early bird, studying late at night probably won’t earn you the best academic results. To earn the best results from studying, study during the hours in which you are naturally most alert.
- Determine your learning style. There are three main learning styles: auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Discovering your learning style can help you change your study strategies and study more effectively for your next exam. For example, if you’re a visual learner, instead of learning from a podcast, it would be more effective to watch a Youtube video. To discover which learning style works best for you, take a learning style quiz on the Internet. The Office of Undergraduate Student Success has a quiz available at nova.edu/yoursuccess/resources.html under the “Learning Styles” tab.
- Create a study routine. Improving your academic fitness is a lot like improving your physical fitness; you must establish a routine to see results. A major benefit of an established study routine is that it ensures you’re making time to study a little every day, which is more effective than an all-day cramming session. An easy way to help yourself build a study routine is to set alerts on your phone and write your study schedule down in your weekly planner. The key here is consistency. Just like working out at the gym, if you want to see results, you must push your mental muscles and stick to your schedule as much as possible.
- Find a quiet place to study. Studying at home can be very distracting, especially if you’re trying to write an important paper or study for a mid-term or final exam. To improve your study sessions, try to find a quiet place with as little distractions as possible. For example, instead of studying at home or in your dorm room, you may want to try studying at the following locations:
- Alvin Sherman Library
- Resident Hall study rooms
- Second or third floor of the University Center
- Flight deck cabanas
- A quiet coffee shop
- NSU’s healing and medicinal garden
It’s never too late to change your study habits; just find what works for you, and you’ll be on your way to better habits in no time.
