Tips to develop good study habits:

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Study Habits Guide:
Developing good study habits is important so that you can get good results in exams. You should be able to score good marks by cultivating good study habits in yourself.

Develop effective study habits and practice them till it becomes habitual. The following are some important suggestions:

1. Take responsibility of yourself:
In order to succeed at studies you need to put in the required effort, time and patience. You need to make a few sacrifices and assume responsibility for your actions. Are you prepared to do all the above?


2. Know what is important to you:
Dont lets others dictate what is important and what's not for you. You should know your own values and priorities and act accordingly.


3. Discover when you study at your best:
Is it in the mornings or evenings etc. Discover key periods when you are most focused and productive so that you can use such periods for your most difficult study challenges.


4. Always try to do one thing at a time:
Give undivided attention to one thing at a time. Set a time period for one important task and during that time do only that without letting your attention wander to other things. When the time is up, leave that work even if you have not completed it, you can go back to it later but now for habit's sake leave it.
Doing one thing at a time can help you concentrate better on the important tasks and you tend to do the tasks better this way rather than trying to multitask.


5. Look for better alternatives to problems:
Suppose you have read some course material and do not understand it fully, don't just re-read it. Try something else - like consulting with your professor, discussing the subject with others, research on internet etc.


6. Continually challenge yourself:
Consistently challenge yourself to do better. Competing with yourself is and more productive than competing with others.


7. Study and work within a specific length of time everyday:
Set aside a specified time each day and stick to it. This can help in making you more self-disciplined and immensely help in your studies. You may want to try devoting some time after school/college to studying your lessons.


8. Be positive while studying and preparing for exams:
Being positive helps in avoiding stress and panic before exams.


9. Take an active role in studying:
Rather than just reading the book, try the following suggestions to make studies more interesting:

• Use a highlighter to mark important points,
• make notes of significant points in a notebook,
• record questions about items you don't understand,
• try to predict what will be on the next page and connect what you're reading with other things you've read,
• convert the sections or paragraph headlines into questions and compose their answers after reading the paragraph or section - for example, if you are reading a section called "The Causes of the American Revolution," ask yourself, "What were the causes of the American Revolution?" Reading and answering questions aloud will help you understand and remember the material.

10. Read for fun and knowledge:
Many people may like reading but hate studying academic books. I am one of such people - I like reading books and browse information sites on internet but dont like reading academic books. One way to deal with this problem is to pretend that you're just studying for knowledge and fun and not for exams. This helps in removing exam stress from our minds and making us feel relaxed so that we can concentrate on gaining knowledge from the text we are reading.

11. Tips to Develop interest in a subject:
If you find that you lack interest in a particular subject, then the following tips may help in generating interest for that subject:

• (i) Think about why you want to learn about a given subject : List out as many valid reasons as you can think of and keep the list handy with you. This list can help you to get motivated in studying that subject because it shows you why this particular subject is important and you cannot avoid it.

• (ii) In order to develop interest in a subject, gain more information about it. The more information you gather about something the more likely that you will become interested in it.

• (iii) In order to develop interest in a subject, exert activity toward it. Keep reading about it, do research on that subject, try to help someone else in that subject etc. All these activities help you in strengthening the interest further.

• (iv) If you find a subject too difficult as a result of which your interest is dwindling then it might help to find an alternate textbook to study the subject, or to take the help of a professor.

For more detailed explanation of the above tips you may read my previous post by clicking here : Become Interested in Any Subject

12. Overcome Procastination:
If you are in the habit of procastinating (putting things off to do later), then the following tips may help you: overcoming procastination tips


13. Finding a suitable Place for Studies:
It is important that the place you use for studying is comfortable and free from distractions. Here is a checklist for selecting suitable study place:

• Is your study place accessible to me whenever you need it?
• Is it free from distractions?
• Does your study place have enough storage space to keep all your items - books, pens, rulers and other things you require?
• Does your study place have enough light and comfortable temperature?A
• re you comfortable sitting at that place for longer periods of time while studying?

14. Physical preparations while studying:
Have a bottle of water with you while studying and keep drinking from time to time. Remember that water helps electrical and chemical reactions in our brain and it is recommended to drink 8-12 glasses of water a day.Also use appropriate lighting that does not strain your eyes.


15. Remember to take frequent breaks while studying:
Breaks are important in order to give your mind much needed rest so that it can come back fresh. If you study continuously without breaks then you may find your concentration and energy levels going down. Hence it is not a good thing to study continuously without breaks as it decreases your productivity and at the same time causes feelings of fatigue. Break times can be 10 minutes or a little more.


16. Follow SQ3R Strategy:
While reading any course material or textbook follow the SQ3R strategy. The SQ3R technique is a simple and effective tool to grasp the subject and remember it better. Read about it by clicking here: SQ3R strategy



17. Use Teach technique to study better:
After you have studied a topic, you can use "teach" technique in order to better register in your mind what you have just read. Read about this technique here : Learn Any Subject Better

18. If you are looking for specific strategies for studying maths or physics then click the below given links:
maths studying strategies,
physics studying strategies

19. To remember the information you studied better, check out - Memory training for students

Learn how to get good grades at college or school. Click here now.

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4.SQ3R strategy for reading textbooks


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