If you are a full-time student, taking an evening course or returning to school, one of the keys to success is the ability to concentrate amid the myriad of distractions at home, work and in the classroom. Here are five time management principles that apply to schoolwork.
1. Study with a purpose. Just as the course you are taking should have a purpose, so should everything you do within that course. Know the objective of each class and each chapter in the textbook. This allows you to listen and read actively. As little as ten percent of what the instructor says is essential information. If you know the purpose of the class to start with, it is easier to recognize this information and get it into your notes.
2. Study in chunks. Attention span can still differ from individual to individual so don’t force yourself to study for two hours at a time if your mind tends to wander after forty-five minutes. Take a brief five or ten-minute break and resume refreshed.
3. Recognize your prime time for studying and take advantage of it. A person’s prime time is that period of the day when he or she is at peak form mentally. Concentration is easier and energy is higher during this time. Most people are early persons and schedule their more difficult tasks to coincide with this peak performance time.
4. Plan your study time. Lack of concentration could be just as well labeled lack of self-discipline. And self-discipline is easier within a structure. If you have ever gone to work with no idea of what you wanted to accomplish that day, chances are you accomplish very little. Without a plan, distractions come easy.
5. Develop your power of concentration. Success in school depends on a little talent and a lot of hard work. This hard work is made easier, though, through self-discipline. A brilliant student who never develops self-discipline finds it tougher and tougher to achieve those same grades as he or she progresses through college or university.
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