2.2: Developing Successful Study Habits

You have probably already noticed that in college you have much more freedom to structure your time, as compared to high school or other structured environments you may have experienced.  In contrast, if you have already been in the workforce and/or parenting children of your own, coming to college may not feel like you have more freedom but, instead, like a new way of thinking and operating in your life. Either way, with the experience of college comes the responsibility of managing your time and priorities in a new way.     

Daily Goals: To-Do Lists  

Without goals, we aren’t sure what we are trying to accomplish, and there is little way of knowing if we are accomplishing anything. Sometimes students do not realize the power they have over the decisions they make and how those decisions can affect their ability to accomplish the goals they set for themselves. You are in the driver’s seat for your life, so identifying your goals and managing your daily decisions about the use of your time is very important so you can get to where you want to go! For practice, make a list of all the things you want to accomplish for the next day. Here is a sample to-do list:  

  To-Do List for Today  

• Do laundry  

• Do English homework  

• Arrange babysitter  

• Get haircut   

• Get groceries  

• Schedule vehicle maintenance  

Your list may be like this one or it may be completely different. It is yours, so you can make it however you want. Do not be concerned about the length of your list or the number of items on it. You now have the framework for what you want to accomplish the next day.  

Prioritizing Daily Goals  

After you make a list of goals for the day, you should then prioritize those so that you can work on the items that are most important first.  One way to prioritize is to give each task a value using the “ABC” method.   

• A = Absolutely necessary to do  

• B = Important to do  

• C = Could postpone.   

Then, map out your day so that with the time available to you, work on your “A” goals first. You’ll now see below the sample daily goal list from above now has been prioritized with ABC labels:  

• Do laundry--C  

• English homework--A  

• Arrange babysitter--A  

• Get haircut --C  

• Get groceries--B  

• Schedule vehicle maintenance--B  

Obviously, spending your time on “C” tasks instead of “A” tasks won’t allow you to complete your most important daily goals. However, the easiest things to do and the ones that take the least amount of time are often what people do first.  For example, starting laundry might only take a few minutes but doing it prior to studying means you’re risking getting off track with the time and energy you allotted for studying, a primary goal.   

  

Estimating Task Time  

Part of making a realistic study schedule and planning daily goals is estimating the time that your homework assignments will take.  For example, you might think you will be able to finish your math homework in an hour, but what if it takes three hours instead?    

When/if this happens to you, you will need to adjust your priorities and schedule for the day, deciding how to handle the other responsibilities you have for the day.  This might mean staying up later to complete another important assignment that is due the next day, or it might mean emailing your professor and asking for additional time on an assignment. Either way, the responsibility for the work is yours.   

It takes practice over time to be able to estimate homework task time more accurately. You will get better at this as you become a more experienced college student.  In the meantime, it is best to leave some flexible time in your schedule in case it takes longer than you had anticipated.   

SMART Goals  

Making daily to-do lists helps you reach longer-term goals because you are prioritizing your use of time.  Longer-term goals look at a bigger time period, such as a week, month, semester, or even a year.  Take into consideration how the best goals are created. Developing your goals into “SMART” goals is an effective strategy.  

 SMART is an acronym for:  

• Specific   

• Measurable  

• Attainable  

• Realistic   

• Timely  

To put SMART goals into practice, here is an example.  If your general goal is “To achieve an ‘A’ in my English class,” to make this into a SMART goal you should include details that make it specific, attainable, realistic, and timely.  You could say, instead, that your goal is “To do English homework from 6 – 7:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays.”  This goal is specific because it is about English homework rather than all homework.   It is measurable because it includes specific times and days.   It is attainable because it fits into your weekly study schedule.  It is realistic because it budgets ample time for studying this subject.   Also, it is timely because it is about the current semester and needs. This goal would allow you to realistically work toward your goal of being successful in the class.   

Exercise 2.2a: Smart Goals  

Now it’s your turn to develop some SMART goals.  Make a list of goals you have for the semester—these are the first draft of your goals.  Then go back and develop them more so that they are SMART goals.  Remember, SMART =   

• Specific  

• Measurable  

• Attainable  

• Realistic  

• Timely  

Use the example above this exercise as a guide to help you do this.  After doing this, reflect on what you did by answering the following questions:  

• Which characteristic of SMART goals (from the bulleted list above) seems most helpful or meaningful to you as you consider your goals?  

• Which characteristic of SMART goals did you find hardest to apply and why?  

• Who else in your life might benefit from your telling them about SMART goals?  

Making a Weekly Study Schedule  

Most students easily know their class times, work hours, and specific hours that are unique to their lives, such practice schedules for sports/activities or their own children’s activities.  These are easy to plan for because they are usually predetermined. However, study time is the one area that is often left out of a student’s schedule. It takes determination to include it in a busy week and self-discipline to stick to it.   

Making a study schedule is important to do this because it’s easy to skip a study session or say to yourself, “I’ll do it later.” To make a study schedule, write your study time into your weekly schedule or calendar, starting at the beginning of the semester.   There are many ways to do this—a planner, your phone, Outlook calendar, a wall calendar, a white board calendar, for example. The important thing is that you use a method that you will get in the habit of checking & using.   Whatever method you use, it is going to take time and practice to get used to using it.  Experts recommend that you use a planner that includes weekly and monthly calendars so that you have enough room to write down your individual assignments on the weekly calendars and can also write all your upcoming essay, project, and exam dates on the monthly calendars.   

Here is an example of a college student’s weekly planning:    

Monique, a college freshman, is enrolled in 4 courses this semester: Fundamentals of English, Fundamentals of Algebra, College Reading I, and Study Skills.  She has color-coded her class times, review and study time, work hours, and personal time in the weekly schedule below.