Everyone has his or her own way of studying. Whether it’s
flash cards, excessive note taking, or reading everything aloud to yourself
till you’re positive you can’t forget it, your study habits are what work for
you. We asked various members of LAMP to give their own study skills and advice
on what helped them be the best student they can be. Here are some of the
responses:
Anna Mouchref told us
a skill she used and continues to use is
removing distractions. “You truly cannot focus by multi-tasking. There is a
difference between walking while listening to music and carrying a coffee vs.
mentally managing three different topics on your iPad, iPhone, and Macbook Pro;
it just doesn't work that way. Setting priority and committing/guarding that
priority and time is crucial.” She also recommends the book ‘The One Thing’ by
Gary Keller as a good read.
Heidar Albandar told us that
eating healthy, and particularly a good breakfast, was key to having a good
study day. “I found that if I had a good source of protein, and ate enough to
remain hunger-free for a solid 4-5 hours, then I was going to better retain
what I read.” It is not uncommon to encounter many people who say that ‘I don't
eat breakfast because I'm not hungry in the morning’. Developing a habit is something
that takes a concerted effort and dedication and is definitely worth when it
comes to having a sound morning diet.
Mohamed Ramadan added that
the best study habits he found to be successful were to always start projects,
assignment, exam prep the day it was assigned. “Procrastination is an easy trap
for college students and I found that if you start right from day one you were
one, more likely to have the material relevant to the assignment fresh in your
mind, two, less busy relative to peak times during a semester when you had
midterms/finals/several assignments due from different classes, and lastly, come
exam time you feel less stressed and overwhelmed because you've been engaging
the work all semester rather than pushing it off till the end.”
Other skills or habits that were recommended were organizational and interpersonal relations
skills such as reading before class, reading intelligently by learning how to
skim, get a class buddy to take notes with, and using your professor’s office
hours. Again, a person really has to find what works best for your lifestyle
and way of learning. Focus on the skills that give you the best results and
push you to be the most successful you can be.
-- LAMP Team
