With one month of classes behind us, there’s no debating whether the academic year is in full swing. The leaves are changing, midterms are looming in the horizon, and cortisol levels are on the rise: stess. …but that doesn’t have to be the case. By keeping these tips in mind, you’ll be on your way to the Dean’s List in no time.
1. Find something that wakes you up in the morning. Something other than coffee.
Know your goals, and understand that you’re working toward something worthwhile. When the caffeine wears off and the clock strikes 2 am, what will motivate you to finish that philosophy paper? Short-term goals like maintaining a high GPA are excellent- crucial, even- but it helps to remind yourself why these grades matter in the first place. If you dream of becoming the CEO of Nike, use that vision as further motivation to ace your microeconomics exam. If you want to be a neurosurgeon, keep that aspiration in your mind’s eye whenever you complain about Gen Chem. (The problem sets will pay off when you receive admission offers to medical school.) If you can see an end in sight for yourself, you will always have an answer when that nagging voice in the back of your mind asks, “Why do you even bother?”
2. Budget your time, and manage it well.
You wouldn’t waste your money, so why waste your time? It’s much more precious! The approach to time management can become much simpler if you think of the hours in your day as funds in a bank account. One usually starts making a budget by taking an inventory of all the assets available; in this case, your assets equate to the hours in your day.
You have a maximum of 24 hours to spend, and each activity you do has a specific price tag requiring a specific amount of time to be spent. Some activities are more “expensive” than others, and you need to be sure that you have enough time to spend on each activity, or you’ll need to either remove or rearrange some activities in your hypothetical “time shopping cart” in order to rebalance the “budget.” For example, you might have twice as much time on Monday nights as you do on Tuesdays. To compensate, you would spend more “funding” on accomplishing tasks and assignments due for Wednesday and Thursday because you would not be able to afford as much time on Tuesday night. Here’s a closer peek at what that might look like:
Make use of a monthly/weekly planner on Google calendar to keep track of important assignments, exams, and meeting. Brace yourself for more difficult weeks by planning ahead, and establish a regular routine for knocking these tasks off your to-do list. You can dramatically lower the risk of falling behind by working ahead on assignments, and making it a goal to have an overhead view of what your week will look like.
3. Be introspective.
What type of learner are you? One theory popularized in educational psychology over the last decade has been Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, which has given rise to research of various learning styles and teaching methods.
While no scientific evidence proves that human beings have a set of fixed learning styles, several studies suggest that different individuals tend to internalize information in different ways, and this assertion makes sense due to the wide variety of interests, backgrounds, and aptitudes that each person possesses. In class, students typically absorb information through three methods: visual (reading bulletpoints on a PowerPoint), audio (hearing lectures), and tactile learning (writing notes). However, in a discussion based class that does not involve diagrams, or in a mathematical skills based class that does not involve much dialogue, students who do not learn best in the styles typically used for teaching these classes may struggle.
It is important to understand that your personal learning style will differ slightly from that of your classmates, and it’s possible that you might be more productive at certain times of the day than you are at other times. Movie buff or literature fanatic? Chances are you’re more of a linguistic/visual learner, and would benefit from drawing diagrams that explain processes you learn about in classes like biology or chemistry. Auditory learners may benefit best from making songs or jingles to remember certain methods or proofs. One way to investigate these unique attributes and how to cater your studying to your style is by taking personal assessments like the one developed by the George Lucas Educational Foundation. (Take the assessment here!)
4. Know the difference between being an active and passive student.
The University of Minnesota’s Center for Teaching and Learning makes the distinction that, “Active learning is an instructional approach in which the students engage the material they study through reading, writing, talking, listening, and reflecting. Passive learning is a traditional instructional style that involves teachers lecturing and students taking notes.” By reading ahead, you can develop questions before and during class, get them answered afterward, and view your course lectures as review sessions of material you’re already familiar with. The more senses you involve in studying material for exams, the more likely you are to remember it.
5. Help others.
At their core, truly successful individuals seek to help their communities and benefit those around them. During basic training, members of the air force learn the mantra, “Good enough is not good enough when better can be best,” but they do not live by these words for their benefit alone. Military tactics and academic programs alike do not succeed if the whole team cannot function as an effective unit; it is not enough to be the best if you do not help those around you to improve themselves as well. Establish study groups with friends and attend collaborative learning sessions! Whether or not you can explain a concept to someone else is a great gauge of your own understanding of the course material.
6. Get support.
If you find that you’re struggling in a subject or overwhelmed by classes and commitments, do not hesitate to seek guidance. Speak with an academic advisor or counselor openly and honestly about your concerns, and develop a plan of action to get back on track. When you feel not only accountable to someone other than yourself, but genuinely supported by someone other than yourself, the route to success seems easier to navigate. Notre Dame’s own Dr. Philip J. Sakimoto is one of many individuals who specializes in developing such programs for academic excellence, and he is even available to meet with students for personal consultations.
7. Take care of yourself.
It’s a vicious cycle: the more tired you are, the less productive you will be. The less productive you are, the more stressed you’ll be. The more stressed you are, the more exhausted you’ll be, the more likely you’ll be to get sick (throwback to the coughing plague that swept through ND last week). Set aside time on the weekends for a healthy balance of rest and fun, and you’ll ultimately boost your academic performance.
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Images: 1, (2, 3, 4, 5 provided by author)