Study Tips for you to get 4.0!

Noor Nathasyeena Seth

nnathasyeenaseth@gmail.com

16 July 2021

1. Organize yourself

I may have procrastinated a lot, but one thing that always worked in my advantage was my organisation.

The most common way for students to miss assignments and fall behind is to be unaware of them or to forget about them. When you don't have a proper structure in place to stay on top of your work, this happens. So here are some of the methods I use to keep organised:

Obtain a Planner.

Planners are a wonderful method to plan out your semester's assignments and chores. You may also keep track of your extracurricular activities and events. Take a look at this!

Make use of Google Calendar.

For my assignments and events, I recently switched from paper planners to Google Calendar. While I prefer to write everything else down, I prefer an online calendar because it allows me to keep track of everything.

2. Take thorough notes, but don't go overboard!

Taking good notes is another habit to develop if you want to be a great college student. However, don't try to transcribe everything verbatim.

Create a note-taking technique that allows you to maximise your note-taking abilities while also allowing you to listen in class.

To be a successful college student, you should use the following note-taking techniques:

1. Go over the notes you've already received.

One common blunder I see students make is copying notes verbatim from a presentation that is already available online. A word of advice: don't do it.

If your lecturer provides all of the notes, the best thing you can do is print them off or keep them on your laptop so you can take notes. If they're repeating themselves, don't take notes; if they're adding to the material, you should.

2.  Make your notes unique.

Just because some people's notes are immaculately structured and appear to

belong in a museum, doesn't imply yours must be.

Now, I'm not suggesting that you make your notes look like they're written in Greek or that you make them all over the place (unless you understand it better that way).

My notes are sometimes neatly arranged, and other times I use slang and acronyms to keep up with what the lecturer was saying. However the point is that I comprehend all sides of the argument. Someone else might not agree, but that's fine because my notes are only for me.

3. Keep everything in order.

If you want to be a successful university student, organisation is essential. You'll have a difficult time if your notes are spread across 12 separate binders and notebooks.

OTHER ADVICE: DATE YOUR RECORDS!

I made the mistake of not date my notes on a few occasions, and it was a nightmare trying to go through them when they dropped out of my binder while I was studying. Make sure you don't make the same mistake!

Use headings: trust me, it'll help. It will greatly simplify your life.

3. Strike a Balance

One of the best pieces of advise I can give is to make sure you have a good balance between your academic and social lives. You will eventually burn out if you overwork yourself, as I did. You may also become less productive and develop poor time management skills as a result of your procrastination.

It is acceptable to go out and have a good time with your pals.

It is absurd to expect students to work on schoolwork 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Take a break and enjoy yourself so you don't have FOMO (fear of missing out). When you take a break, it recharges you, so you don't feel fatigued when you return to studying or working.

4. Maintain consistency and avoid procrastination.

I'm sure you were anticipating this one. This is something we're all guilty of.

Leaving all of your work until the last minute is one of the worst things you can do. Because of how busy and unmotivated I was this semester, I tried that a few times and it always backfired.

Keep track of deadlines in your planner and schedule time to work on your assignments.