Back to School: Study Tips

I have spent pretty much my whole life so far in education. I completed school and attended college for 4 years doing various courses.

In 2014, I signed up to a university course and I am now half way through so I thought I would share my study tips.

NOTES

Take lots of notes. Your future self will seriously thank you later!

You can note take in lots of different formats. Choose a style that suits you best. You can mind map, draw pictures, create your own shorthand code etc. Last year one of my lectures gave us the idea of using our phones/tablets to take pictures of notes from the boards or book covers we might want to refer to later. Following on from this, our class created a Facebook group page where we could all share pictures & notes. It's a great way of feeling supported and quickly getting help when you're stuck at home, ready to give up. 

DEADLINES

 As soon as you know your deadline, write it down. This is where I use my diary & sticky labels. You can then work out how many weeks you have to complete the task and use your time wisely – easier said than done, I know!

PAPERWORK 

My first day at uni was very overwhelming. We were handed 3 different project briefs, a course handbook which was about 200 loose pages thick and lots of other pieces of information. By putting this all into a folder, with dividers, it helped to prevent me loosing pages and I knew where everything was. This takes away a little bit of stress for me personally.

 SAVING ASSIGNMENTS

When you eventually begin writing assignments or creating projects, it is vital to save your work in numerous places. I will save my work to my laptop, a memory stick and to my One Drive/Cloud storage.

TIMETABLES 

Create a routine and stick to it – again easier said than done, I know. Use your time wisely but sensibly. Sometimes spending the whole day working can lead to you becoming unmotivated so try to do a couple of hours work daily then treat yourself to some time out watching Netflix or hanging out with friends. For me, it always feels better to know I've done some work rather than putting it all off to cram in one day, last minute. Little and often is so much more beneficial.

FEEDBACK

Once I got my first assignment back, I read the feedback and took the criticism really hard. I was really disappointed with myself when really I didn't need to be. It was my first assignment, my first time writing at degree/university level and I'd passed! I just didn't enjoy the examiners picking faults in me. After that I ignored all feedback and just looked to see what grade I achieved. Going into my second year I am definitely going to start reading my feedback because it can be so helpful for improving my next assignments. It might be hard at first but try to see the positive in the criticism and use it to your advantage.

HYDRATE

More often than not, I find myself switching off during lectures and trying my hardest to stay awake. This is why I always have my water bottle with me in class. I love my BRITA filter water bottle as it means I can fill it up from anywhere but still drink fresh water.

I was absolutely dreading returning to uni but this year as I know what to expect, I'm going to give it my all. It will (probably) be my last year in education too. I'm also hoping, if I stick to these tips, I’ll still get the time to blog alongside studying!

I hope these tips have been helpful! I'd love to hear any of your tips in the comments below!

Emma

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