Ever had one of those days where you feel like a class is a million years long? Like, it’s 12:07, class started at 12 and you feel like it’s been going on for four hours now. Or maybe your professor stands in front of the board the whole time he lectures, so you never feel like you learned anything? Or perhaps the topic of today’s lecture just drags on and on? If you have encountered a moment like this, you’ve come to the right place.
Sometimes a class can feel like the most daunting task, especially if it’s centered on a topic that is of no real interest to you. For me, it’s any class with a focus in British literature. I spent an entire semester of my junior year dreading a class to the point where when I had used up my allotted absences; I had to make my mom call me each day I had this class just to make sure I was on the way there and not skipping.
While there’s usually no way out of class that you need for a major, sometimes there are ways to make it a little bit easier to get through. The following are my most frequently used methods of sticking out a class:
1. Break the class up into increments, and reward yourself every so often in order to get through. Say a class is 50 minutes long— every ten minutes, you get to check your phone or maybe sneak a bite of a snack. This way, you’ll be looking forward to those little rewards and are more willing to get through the rest of class.
2. Try a new note-taking method. There are hundreds of different ways to take notes and everyone is different with how they learn from them. Before you go to that awful class next time, research some new ways to take notes and try a few out. You may find that taking notes in a more creative or new way helps you to stay focused and on task in that class!
3. Engage in the lecture. This sounds hard, I know, but it’s a good way to get that participation grade while keeping yourself focused. Set a goal in each class of how many questions or comments you want to make, and try to stick to it. It could even be beneficial to write them down beforehand, so you have to wait for the right moment to get them in. Ultimately, you’ll only be getting more interested in the class by trying to work with the material.
4. Reteach what you learned. Though the subject may not be that interesting, your mom or dad would probably always love to hear from you and would listen to you talk about what you learned in class. This even works with friends or distant relatives who haven’t heard from you in a while. Pay attention to at least a portion of class, and then go home and try to reteach it to someone. This is both a great study technique as well as a way to ensure you grasp something each time you go!
College classes aren’t always the most fun, and they definitely aren’t always the easiest things you have to do. But having a good method of staying on task in these classes can be crucial to surviving them. Next time you’re in one of these horrible classes, find a way that works for you to see it through and still get that A!