• Congratulations to the Class of 2024 on your results!
    Let us know how you went here
    Got a question about your uni preferences? Ask us here

How to set up an effective study routine? (1 Viewer)

jazzzod

Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2009
Messages
135
Location
Perpetuity
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
HI,

How would you suggest to set up a study routine which is actually effective? Do you recommend timetables, or just study during freetime? How do you go about organising breaks?

I would like to improve my study habits.

So please help :)
 

lpodnano

5eva alone
Joined
Mar 6, 2008
Messages
1,561
Location
;)
Gender
Female
HSC
2011
I wouldn't recommend a timetable because you don't know the exact times you'll finish a certain thing and this can throw things into hiatus. I would recommend a list of achievable goals for the day instead of a list.
 

ValentinesM

Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2007
Messages
103
Gender
Female
HSC
2009
  • make realistic goals and be flexible with your plan
  • include breaks in your timetable
  • if possible, allocate specific times where you would devote your time to homework, assignments, exam revision, writing dot points, etc. for example, work on HW first from 5 to 7pm, then write dot points from 8 to 9pm, etc
  • prioritise your tasks, work on the most urgent first
  • continuously evalute your timetable, find ways to improve it to maximise efficiency
and the perhaps the most important of all is that you've got to stick to the timetable!!
 

lychnobity

Active Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2008
Messages
1,292
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2009
1) Screw timetables.

2) Know when you have chunks of time free (this means, where you don't have unbreakable engagements/events w/e).

3) Know exactly what you do and don't know.

Don't know what you know? Skim over 3 past papers very quickly (no more than 30 mins per paper). Circle questions you can't answer.

4) Intensely work on understanding and and knowing what you don't know, and roughly go over what you do.

5) Breaks are only given under the following circumstances:
- lunch/dinner
- tired eyes (doesn't count if you didn't sleep properly the night before)
- after 3h of constant study (allow a 10-15 min break, in which time you may listen to 4 songs, have a nap, wash your face, eat a snack etc)
 

philphie

Banned
Joined
Jun 1, 2008
Messages
2,187
Gender
Male
HSC
2009
really it all depends on effort, if you want to put in the effort you just will. yimetables rarely ever work unless you want them to work. the best and most easiest thing to do in terms of studying is not to let things build up, do things in moderation. doing a little bit everyday is much better than piling it up all in one night. everyday has some time left over where you have nothing to do, you just have to realise it. you might only get half an hour to study one day, but at least you still studied.


as for me, i didn't do any of that. i cram and it works well for me but it kills me badly studying like 8-10 hours straight into the early morning before an exam.
 

mitchy_boy

blue
Joined
Jun 8, 2009
Messages
1,464
Location
m83
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
try and keep a theme going, don't let things get all over the shops. this is where time tabling can help.
 

simi07

New Member
Joined
May 19, 2008
Messages
8
Gender
Female
HSC
2009
Well I would say timetable
Throughout my hsc, my mentor always gave us templates to use and trust me they helped. Try to make them flexible and try to do most of the homework in free periods if u can. It makes life whole lot easier when u go home or else u can say it gives u more time for assignments and summary notes and stuff. And also another important thing, always try to devote equal amount of time to each subject. Trust me it matters a lot when u get ur ATAR...you dont want one subject to bring u down or anything. And be realistic...saying u will study four hours after skool everyday is not possible (well- it seems really hard. u could do it if u want) but u'll burn out soon. Try to have breaks, and know the times when u r definitely not going to study (ur favourite shows or sports) so u know u r not going to miss out on work that was supposed to be done then.

Also, try to alter ur timetable according to ur needs and wants

At the end of the day, just REMEMBER- ur effort matters the most.
 

twistedrebel

Active Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
1,502
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
Just set a goal, e.g today i do x, y and z and make sure you fucking do it
 

duckcowhybrid

Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2008
Messages
959
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
Shut the fuck up and do it. Write a list of things to do today, then shut the fuck up and do all of them. Don't care about how long it takes you, but thsoe things must be done.
 

Shadowdude

Cult of Personality
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
12,145
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
I force myself to do it. There's a quote in the sig of someone which reads, "I hated every minute of training. But I said, 'Don't quit, suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'" - I keep that in mind when studying.

For me, I force myself to do two 45 minute sessions every day. Unlike others, I include assessments and past papers in the 45 minutes. By timing it, if I go over - I get that as 'extra' time, and when my 'extra' time gets to 90 - I can, if I wish, take a day off. Although I probably won't use them.

It's nice now in that it's holidays, but when I get to school... managing the hours from 4pm to 10pm including a new two hour chunk of stuff will not be pretty.
 

H S C

Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
78
Gender
Male
HSC
2009
Just make sure you leave enough time to study for the goal you want to achieve.
 

domoku

Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2008
Messages
34
Location
Sydney
Gender
Female
HSC
2009
doing a timetable is ok, but only as a brief outline to help you manage your time... from my own personal experience it was very hard to stick to a timetable - sometimes you spend more time on a certain subject or less and it would just mess up your timetable and you feel guilty :(

i would recommend doing a to-do list and sticking it up right infront of you on your table so you can see the work you need to do over a day/week. then you can just work through the list and if you see theres too much left.. work harder so you finish it in time! somehow this works better than a timetable for me

and as for breaks, i take a break every 2 hours for about 15minutes, plus meal times...just dont get overly distracted in your breaks and end up breaking for too long :p
 

Shadowdude

Cult of Personality
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
12,145
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
I don't like timetables either. I "timetabled" 45 minutes of 4 unit - ended up going over 60 because in the 44th minute I was like "I am gonna get it! Yes!" and then 15 minutes later still going down that path <_<
 

ninetypercent

ninety ninety ninety
Joined
May 23, 2009
Messages
2,148
Location
Sydney
Gender
Female
HSC
2010
timetables don't work for me..
anyway, make a list of what you have to do a day. and just do it!!! also, get off the unofficial Bos if it's too addictive
 

Tofuu

Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2008
Messages
319
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2010
don't do timetables, instead have flexibility, make sure you do x hours of study, and finish x amount of work by the end of the day and DON'T leave things till later, because chances are if you do, you wont get everything done in time
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top