# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Skip to main content

University Libraries are open. All student academic support services are available.

Tutoring, math lab, writing centers, research consultations and College Learning Skills consultations and workshops are available. Appointments may be scheduled online. General questions about student academic support services may also be sent to hub@pacific.edu.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Skip to main content University Libraries are open. All student academic support services are available. Tutoring, math lab, writing centers, research consultations and College Learning Skills consultations and workshops are available. Appointments may be scheduled online. General questions about student academic support services may also be sent to hub@pacific.edu.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Skip to main content

General Academic Tutoring Center and Student Writing Center services remain available to Pacific students

There are no plans to close the General Academic Tutoring Center or Student Writing Center. The General Academic Tutoring Center and Student Writing Center are still available and will continue to provide tutoring and writing support to Pacific students.

For more information about the General Academic Tutoring Center, please contact Janice Putman Gonzales, Manager, 209.946.2458, jputmangonzales@pacific.edu.

Writing Center email address: writingcenter@pacific.edu
Writing Center phone number: 209.932.2969

Ciara Swan, Writing Center Coordinator
Email: cswan@pacific.edu

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
General Academic Tutoring Center and Student Writing Center services remain available to Pacific students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Skip to main content General Academic Tutoring Center and Student Writing Center services remain available to Pacific students There are no plans to close the General Academic Tutoring Center or Student Writing Center. The General Academic Tutoring Center and Student Writing Center are still available and will continue to provide tutoring and writing support to Pacific students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
College is full of all sorts of new experiences and challenges. For many students, one of these challenges is getting used to open-ended lecture-style courses. Taking good notes in college isn't as simple as it was in high school, and there's a much higher expectation of individual initiative and discipline. Read on to learn the top notetaking tips to use in college.

How to Take Good Notes in College

Use the tips below to learn how to take good notes in college. With a little effort up front, you can simplify and organize the notetaking process to set yourself up for greater success.

1. Sit at the Front of the Class

Many students seem to have an aversion to sitting at the front of the class, but it's the best place to stay attentive. You might feel exposed or that your instructor will be able to tell if you're not paying attention. But if your goal is to take better notes, that's not such a bad thing, right?

Would you rather be in the front row at a concert or in the back of the balcony? Treat class the same way. For the most immersive experience, choose the front of the class.

2. Decide on the Best Strategy (Paper or Digital)

Taking effective notes in college well requires a strategy. The two best ways to take notes in college are on paper with pencil or pens, or digital, and we'll talk more in depth about both strategies in later points. First, though, you need to select the system that works better for you, your approach to learning, and the classes that you're taking this semester.

Most people can type faster than they can write, but some class formats might require a more visual approach to notetaking. If you're using a laptop, drawing even simple illustrations on the fly can be really tough to do.

There's also research that shows people retain information better when they handwrite it than when they type it. If the goal is to remember what you've learned-and isn't it?-then you might want to give taking notes by hand another try.

3. Keep Your Notes Short

It's tempting to try and capture every detail the lecturer says, but this is actually counterproductive. If you're an exceptionally fast typist, you might be able to capture nearly everything. But should you? Do you really want to head into an exam with six pages of typed notes from each lecture day?

It's better to keep your notes to a short summary, focusing on what seems to be the most important. You also don't need to write down stuff you already know. Focus on the information that's new. Make sure you get that down, and don't sweat the rest.

4. Write Neatly

If you choose to handwrite your notes, make sure you can read what you're writing. Write as neatly as you can so that you don't have to spend a bunch of time decoding yourself later.

Of course, many people struggle to do this, whether merely due to questionable penmanship or a physical limitation or injury. When writing quickly, if you can't write neatly enough to easily read your notes later, then you might need to consider switching to another notetaking method.

5. Get Organized

Disorganized notes can be a nightmare when it comes time to study. Whether you're writing by hand or typing into a laptop or tablet, set up a system before you begin. Microsoft OneNote is an excellent app that most college students already have access to. This notetaking app allows you to organize your notes into virtual notebooks and tabs.

If you're handwriting your notes, consider having notebooks for each class or a three-ring binder with tabs for each course. Within a course, you might further organize your notes by unit or discipline.

We can't tell you which plan is right for you, but we can tell you that it's essential to have an organizational plan before you get started.

6. Minimize Distractions

We live in an information-saturated age, and we all love to think we can multitask like a pro. There's just one problem with this theory: We can't. Both psychology and neuroscience have clearly shown that multitasking is a myth. When we attempt to multitask, all we really do is switch quickly from one task to another. And every time your brain does this, there's a loss in performance as the brain recalibrates.

What does this mean for taking notes in college and preparing for exams? Simple: Every momentary glance over to social media is a second (or 30) that you aren't actually listening. The same goes for every email, chat message, or even distracted glances at someone else in the room.

If you're taking notes on a device, turn off notifications from all but the most essential apps. You can't afford the distractions if you want to take good notes.

7. Develop a System

One of our favorite notetaking tips for college is to develop a system. Your brain craves routine, so finding a good one for notetaking will set you up for success.

For example, don't wait until the lecture starts to get your orienting information (date, class, topic, etc.) down. Take some time before the week begins to set up your notetaking space for the coming week so that when you get to class, you're ready to start taking notes as soon as the lecturer starts.

There's more to developing a system, of course. We'll cover those aspects in some of the other points.

8. Use Space Meaningfully

There's nothing so daunting at exam time as a notebook crammed wall to wall with tiny text that all looks the same. Whether you're handwriting or taking notes digitally, it's important to use space meaningfully.

Write the main points larger than the rest (or use built-in heading levels in OneNote, Word, or wherever you're taking your digital notes). Leave margin space for "rabbit trails" or asides that seem important.

Allow yourself space for a quick illustration or diagram, if that makes sense for your discipline. You can also highlight key terms to draw your attention back to them. (This works just as well digitally as on paper, by the way.)

9. Use Abbreviations

Abbreviations are everywhere and for good reason. They save time and can even work as memory aids. Whether you're typing or writing by hand, you simply don't need to write out everything. Find a way to abbreviate your course name, for example. (History of Civilization already gets cut down to History of Civ. But for your handwriting purposes, why not cut it down to HCiv?)

The same goes for frequently used terms, especially long or technical ones. Once you know the term, find an abbreviation that you'll remember. Save your fingers and your brain a little time.

10. Focus on Main Points

When it comes to taking good notes in college, you'll never capture everything-not effectively, anyway. It's far better to focus on the main points. Many lecturers are working from an outline, and even if they aren't, their main points may naturally follow one.

Note the topic of the lecture, then form the points into outlines. Not only will this help you avoid trying to write down absolutely everything, but it will also bring a structure to your notes that should greatly increase the quality of both your learning and recall.

11. Think While You Write

We mentioned above how mindlessly typing every word you hear doesn't tend to be very helpful. The same is true even if you're writing by hand. Make sure you keep your brain engaged and think while you write.

Think about more than the words your instructor is saying. Think instead about why your instructor is saying them and what the important themes are that you need to glean from what the lecturer is saying.

Good notetaking involves writing down your own conclusions from what's being said, not just writing down every word.

12. Use Visual Elements

Taking notes tends to be a pretty text-based affair. But with a little creativity and imagination, you can enhance your notes with visual elements. Some aspects of learning are far easier to sketch in a diagram or illustration form than they are to write out verbatim. If you have the ability, consider illustrating certain visual elements rather than just writing words about them.

Snapping photos can be another great tactic to enhance your notetaking. Now, some lecturers may be leery of this, so you may need to explain your intentions. But snapping a quick photo of a particularly text-heavy PowerPoint slide can save you a lot of mindless writing and help you focus on what you're hearing instead.

If you're using a notetaking app, you'll be able to drop these photos directly into your notes. Make sure to do so the same day, though, so you're not scrambling later on trying to figure out which photo goes with which section.

13. Highlight Key Points

Earlier, we recommended creating an outline in your notes and making the main points of the outline larger. But very often, there will be other standalone conclusions or takeaways that your professor mentions. These may not be the main outline points, but often it's clear from the presentation that they are important.

These are the sorts of conclusions that find their way onto exams, but they can trip up some students since they aren't top-level outline points. You'll want to distinguish these in some way from other subpoints or notes.

We recommend to underline or highlight key points like this in a specific color. If you're using yellow for important terms, perhaps use blue for these critical points.

14. Cite Sources

Usually, college students are advised to cite their sources only when a paper or research project is in view. Of course, we agree that you should do that, but that's not what we're talking about here.

Part of taking good notes in college is citing any sources that the lecturer cites. You never know when you might need to go deeper into the source material, such as for a paper that has not yet been assigned. You'll be in better shape than your peers if you know exactly which sources your professor has already tacitly recommended.

15. Number Your Pages

This tip is exclusively for those who take notes by hand. If you're taking notes in a three-ring binder, we can't stress enough how important it is to number your pages. You're just one binder drop away from having no idea what's chapter one and what's chapter six, and you have better things to do with your time than painstakingly piece your notes back together.

16. Write Down Questions

Another way to keep your brain in gear as you take notes is to write down questions as you think of them. Some traditional lecturers may not field questions until the end of the lecture, and it's tough to remember that point from five minutes in that you wanted clarification about.

Writing down questions as you have them is a great way to stay engaged, and it also provides you a resource for following up either in class or outside of class with your professor. Following this piece of advice will help you learn better, and it will also help you look better with your professor. And that can't hurt, right?

17. Handwrite, Then Type Later

We mentioned earlier the research that shows the value of handwriting your notes in terms of memory and recall. There are some downsides to handwritten notes, though. One of the biggest is that they are not easily searchable.

When you have a big exam looming, wouldn't it be nice to easily search all your notes for the entire course for a specific term? It certainly sounds better than flipping through pages upon pages of chicken scratch, looking for what's relevant.

If you want the best of both worlds, build some time into your routine each evening to convert your handwritten notes into organized, typed notes. Yes, this takes a little more time. But you gain much from it: The initial handwriting is valuable, and the process of re-typing it is your first level of review.

You'll naturally start to categorize and synthesize the information during this process, and you'll have a searchable database at your fingertips.

18. Consider Notetaking Apps

If you're taking notes digitally, be sure you're using a quality notetaking tool. We've already mentioned Microsoft OneNote as a powerful option. Many students swear by Evernote, especially those using an iPad for their notetaking. If you're a more visual person, you might appreciate Milanote even more.

19. Review Your Notes

Yes, this seems obvious, but don't forget to review your notes periodically-not just at exam time. Review your notes periodically to keep the content fresh in your mind so you're not cramming just before exams.
Thank you for reading! The views and information provided in this post do not reflect Post University programs and/or outcomes directly. If you are interested in learning more about our programs, you can find a complete list of our programs on our website or directly!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Notetaking Hacks: Supercharge Your College Experience with These Notetaking Tips

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sometimes it's difficult for college students to stay on top of the daily barrage of information. Here are 19 note-taking tips to keep you organized.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
VARK Questionnaire version 8.02
Choose the answer which best explains your preference and click the box next to it. Please click more than one if a single answer does not match your perception. Leave blank any question that does not apply.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
VARK Questionnaire: How do you learn best?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Fill in the VARK questionnaire to find out your learning style - do you prefer to use Visual, Aural, Read/write or Kinesthetic learning strategies, or a combination?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Why do you take notes? What do you hope to get from your notes? What are Cornell Notes and how do you use the Cornell note-taking system?

There are many ways to take notes. It's helpful to try out different methods and determine which work best for you in different situations. Whether you are learning online or in person, the physical act of writing can help you remember better than just listening or reading. Research shows that taking notes by hand is more effective than typing on a laptop. This page and our Canvas module will teach you about different note-taking systems and styles and help you determine what will work best for your situation.

In our Cornell Note Taking System module you will:

Examine your current note taking system

Explore different note taking strategies (including the Cornell Notes system)

Assess which strategies work best for you in different situations

The best way to explore your current note-taking strategies and learn about the Cornell note taking system is to go through our Canvas note taking module. The module will interactively guide you through how to use Cornell Notes - click on the link here or the button below. This module is publicly available.

Just want to see a bit more about Cornell Notes? You can view the videos below.

Watch: What are Cornell Notes?

Watch: Learn how students use the Cornell Note Taking System

The Cornell Note-Taking System was originally developed by Cornell education professor, Walter Pauk. Prof. Pauk outlined this effective note-taking method in his book, How to Study in College (1).

Pauk, Walter; Owens, Ross J. Q. (2010). How to Study in College (10 ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth. ISBN 978-1-4390-8446-5. Chapter 10: "The Cornell System: Take Effective Notes", pp. 235-277

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Why do you take notes? What do you hope to get from your notes? What are Cornell Notes and how do you use the Cornell note-taking system? There are many ways to take notes. It's helpful to try out different methods and determine which work best for you in different situations.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
7 Note-Taking Tips to Make Studying a Breeze | Grammarly Blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
People with photographic memories can remember every word from a lecture or book, but the rest of us can benefit from taking notes! Note-taking is a natural and quite effective method of learning where you write down only the most important parts of a lesson or reading to review later. But the value you receive from note-taking is only as good as the notes themselves.

Why take notes?

The more complex a lesson or topic, the more useful your notes are. For higher learning, like graduate school or when writing a thesis paper , you won't get far without note-taking. Moreover, the act of writing information down helps you remember and recall it later . The combination of motor skills, touch sensation, visual cues, and extra time all facilitate memory formation more than just by listening or reading alone.

Handwritten vs. digital note-taking
Pros of note-taking by hand:

memory formation

sketching or creating diagrams as visual aids

Pros of note-taking via digital device:

physical convenience (fewer hand cramps)

copying and sharing notes with others

Different methods of note-taking

With that in mind, there are a few different methods of note-taking for certain types of people or situations. We list five of the most common ones below so you can see if any options appeal to you.

Outlining

Note-taking outlines are divided by main topics, subtopics, individual points, and subpoints, with room for examples and quotes as needed. This method works especially well with digital word processors, since you can also go back and add new points later.

Typically, outlined notes follow a structure of Roman numerals, capital letters, Arabic numerals, and lowercase letters (in that order), as in this example:

Charting

Charting is a particular type of note-taking that works best when multiple topics are discussed simultaneously, as with comparisons, or when one topic is dissected into multiple parts (i.e., pros/cons).

Essentially, you just divide your page into two or more columns, with each column assigned to a single topic. Every time a pertinent fact is mentioned for one of the topics, jot down a note in the corresponding column.

Charting helps keep your notes organized during lessons that go back and forth between topics rapidly. However, in lessons where only one topic is discussed at a time, this method will only slow you down.

Mapping

For visual thinkers, it might help to take notes using a mind map, or simply "mapping." This note-taking technique utilizes branching graphs-like spider diagrams-to organize information in a way that's easy to group and comprehend.

Mapping has its problems, especially when you have to guess how much space on your paper the information will take up. It's best used when you're having trouble organizing your own thoughts; seeing ideas linked visually can help you understand their connections.

For this reason, you might want to take notes in a more conventional way during the lesson, and then create a mind map afterwards from your notes to assist in studying.

Cornell Notes system

Popularized by Cornell University professor Walter Pauk, the Cornell Notes system, also called the Cornell method, aims to make note-taking faster and more efficient by allocating dedicated space on a page for different types of information.

Basically, you divide your page into two columns: the recall column (left) accounts for one-third of your page, and the note column (right) accounts for two-thirds of the same page. In the recall column, you write the main topics, keywords, or questions, with supporting notes written directly across in the notes column.

At the bottom of the page, five to seven lines are reserved for a summary, where after the lesson or reading you reiterate the main points of the entire class, chapter, etc.

SQ4R

The SQ4R method of note-taking is exclusively for note-taking while reading, so it won't be of much use in a classroom. The name stands for the steps of the process:

Survey: Take about three to five minutes to skim or "survey" the reading, writing down all the major headings, subheadings, topics, and other key points.

Questions: Based on what you saw while surveying, write down any broad questions you have about the text.

Read: Now, actually read the text, section by section, keeping an eye out for the answers to your questions from the previous step.

Recite: After each section, write down all major ideas, keywords, and concepts-in other words, . Again, answer the questions you posed in the second step as best you can.

Relate: As a trick to enhance memorization, try to develop personal connections to what you just read. Can you relate to any of the topics discussed? Does the information remind you of anything in your own life?

Review: When you're finished, reread your notes to increase retention and help with studying.

This method was originally called SQ3R. The newest R, , was added subsequently after research showed a connection between personalizing information and retaining it.

7 advanced tips for note-taking

1 Add dates and topics at the top

Remembering which topics were discussed during which classes or chapters can get confusing, especially when you're taking multiple courses at once. To stay organized, write the date and topic at the top of each new note-taking session. That'll make it easier to find what you're looking for later.

2 Prioritize the speaker or text

We all want our notes to be as thorough as possible, but don't ignore the teacher or text because you're too focused on note-taking. Always keep the speaker or reading at the center of your attention, and take notes only to complement your direct learning, not supplant it. Prioritizing notes over the lesson is putting the cart before the horse.

3 Prepare beforehand

There's a lot going through your mind in the middle of class or during a reading session. Minimize the amount of distractions in your head by handling some of the busy work beforehand. This includes any reading or preparatory assignments that let you know what to expect during a lecture, as well as reviewing your previous notes so you don't accidentally write the same thing twice.

4 Review notes while they're fresh

A lot of people save their notes until study time, but it helps to review them once or twice shortly after they're written. For one thing, this greatly improves memory retention and imprinting the information. Other benefits are to see if you missed anything, or to clarify a typo or word written sloppily. If you catch these mistakes too late, you may not remember what you were trying to say.

5 Pay attention for signals in lecture/reading

Certain words or phrases mentioned by a lecturer or book can signal the information will be important, as well as certain of the lesson like the beginning and end. If you can recognize these cues, you can be ready to take notes on what follows. Here are some examples of signals:

6 Identify what is and is not worth writing down

The advantage of note-taking is that it summarizes what you learned for quick reference. If your notes are just as long and detailed as the source material, they're not exactly helpful.

Write down only what is essential, and leave out the rest. If you waste time writing down every tidbit or fact, not only will that distract from the actual lesson but also you won't be able to differentiate what's significant and what's extra later. Personal anecdotes and off-topic tangents are good examples of when you need to take notes.

7 Use shorthand if needed

Shorthand is just a fancy word for using abbreviations and other time-saving writing tricks. We use them all the time online and when texting so we can write more quickly, and that also applies to note-taking.

In particular, you can use "&" for , "bc" for and "ex." for , just to name a few. Feel free to invent your own shorthand for words that you personally use a lot-just don't forget what they stand for!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
7 Note-Taking Tips to Make Studying a Breeze

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
People with photographic memories can remember every word from a lecture or book, but the rest of us can benefit from taking notes! Note-taking is a natural and quite effective method of learning where you write down only the most important parts of a lesson or reading to review later.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Many students make the mistake of picking up their textbook and reading 50 pages straight through front to back and assuming they are done with their reading assignment.   These students will often struggle to participate actively in class discussion and may not do well on the tests.  There are better methods for getting the most out of your reading.

The basics:

1. Multiply the number of pages you have to read by 5 minutes.  That is the amount of time the average college student needs to spend on their reading assignment.  Keep this in mind as you schedule time to do your reading.  If you calculate four hours of reading, you might not want to read 7-11 p.m. straight through.  Consider getting an hour in before class in the morning or over the lunch break - spread it out a bit.

2. Divide the reading into 10-page chunks.  The system described below should be done on the 10-page chunk before you move to the next set of pages and start the method over again.

3. Have a highlighter in hand, a pen or pencil and paper or notecards (depending on your preference).  Writing in the book itself is highly recommended, but if you have some reason for not doing that, you might also want post-its and use those on each page in place of writing in the book.   If the book is already highlighted by a previous reader (not ideal situation) please use a highlighter of a different color.

The system:

P2R

1. Preview

2. Read Actively (includes reading, highlighting, note-taking)

3. Review

Let's take a closer look.  Feel free to grab a textbook to use as example as you read this portion.

Preview:

You would most likely not travel to another country without getting a lay of the land first.  Often we read a tourism book or look at a map.  We might try to learn a few words in the other language.   If the country is similar to our own (England speaks the same language as the U.S. so feels more familiar) we might do less preparation than if it is seems very different from our own (Japan has an alphabet/language quite different from the U.S.).   This advance preparation allows us to get off the plane and have a sense of what we know and don't know, what questions we will need to ask and where we want to head first.

Previewing a textbook accomplishes much the same thing.   Start by looking at the beginning of your 10-page chunk.  Read section titles.  If no titles, read first lines of paragraphs.  Read the last paragraph.  Glance over charts or photos used on the pages.  Read study questions or summaries that might be given at the end of the chunk of pages.  Now, take a moment to think about what you have just seen.  What do you think will be the main topic of that section?  What do you already know about it from your childhood, past courses or other readings in this current class?  What is your biggest question right now--what more do you need to know?

Now, you have a sense of where you are heading.  Hopefully, you are a bit curious about what you will be reading, have some questions in your mind and will be able to fit what you read into a bigger context of where it fits into the whole chapter.

Read Actively:

Do not take notes or highlight as you read; this tends to break up your flow and diminish your understanding.  It also isn't very productive, because you don't know if the first sentence is worth taking notes on until after you have read the third sentence, which might be the real point of the paragraph.  So, read at least one complete paragraph or a short section before you stop to take notes and highlight.

Your first step after you read the paragraph is to highlight  a phrase or two that were the important parts that you'll need to know for future reference.  Don't pick just words (too little) or whole sentences (too much).  Exceptions to this might be dates or definitions.   The idea is that you could re-read JUST the highlighted portion in a month and get the gist of the paragraph without having to re-read the whole paragraph.

Now go to the margins (or your post-its) and start writing a question or two for the paragraph.  This might be "What years were considered the Renaissance?" or "What is the meaning of metamorphosis?"    When you get done with the entire ten page section, you will go back and try to answer these questions without looking at the book . If you need to cheat and look at the book, you should underline those highlighted notes to show that you need to study that more.  If you could answer it, you are doing well on recalling that paragraph.

This is also a good time to make some notes for class.  Take a sheet of paper or a notecard and write down questions that you want to ask in class (to understand a concept or to ask how it connects to something else you've read,etc.).   Write down any observations or opinions you want to share with the class.  You may want to jot down page numbers and quotes that may be useful to discuss in class.

Some people prefer to also make these notes in their margins or at the end of the chapter.  That is fine.

Now read the next paragraph or short section (one column, for example) and do the same process as above.

Review:

At the end of the ten-page chunk, take a moment and think about the section you have read in its entirety.   Go to a clean sheet of paper or a  reading journal and jot down a summary (in your own words, not quotes from book) of what you just read.  Then make some broad observations about how it connects to other things you knew or have read or any feelings you might have about what you've read.

Go back and try to answer the questions in the margins.

Now start the whole thing over with the next 10-pages.

When you  have finished the entire reading assignment, finish up your reading journal and comprehensive thoughts and organize your note-cards or split sheet of paper so you are ready for class tomorrow.

Basic Things to Keep in Mind When Reading:

Faculty members do not assign reading as busy work.  They feel the material is valuable.  So, approach it with as much energy  and creativity as you can muster.  If it is not a class that particularly excites you, try to relate it to something that does.  A great example might be physics and baseball.  You'd be surprised at how much science can apply to things like the trajectory of a ball or the impact needed on the bat to make a ball go a certain distance,etc.   If you are in doubt, ask the professor to help you relate the topic to something you do enjoy and he or she might be able to help you connect the dots.   You might also consider your future career and whether you could make use of this knowledge in small talk or in background knowledge for that type of job.

If something is not making sense, try reading it out loud.  That can often help you process the material in a new way.

Try to keep your notes in your own words, not the words from the book.  This helps you avoid plagiarism in papers and helps you think more about the reading which will, in turn, help you retain the material for tests or when it comes time to write a paper.

If you run into vocabulary words you do not know, try to look up the important ones.  If there are concepts or the book refers to an event you've never heard of, look at credo reference or Oxford reference on the library's main webpage.

If you don't understand something you read, ask the professor via email, in person at class, or get a tutor!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Reading a Textbook for True Understanding - Cornell College

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Many students make the mistake of picking up their textbook and reading 50 pages straight through front to back and assuming they are done with their reading assignment. These students will often struggle to participate actively in class discussion and may not do well on the tests. There are bett…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The following strategy, SQ4R, is built around the idea that what you do before and after you read is as important as the reading itself. Learning is an active process which requires concentration and energy. Understanding and using the following strategies will increase your comprehension and your retention of the information.

SQ4R = Survey - Question - Read - Recite - Record - Review

Look over a chapter for a few minutes before studying it in depth.

Before reading:

While reading:

After reading:

Formulate questions in before you read the material.

Turn each heading and subtitle into a question. Form questions from all three sections of the "Levels of Comprehension" attached at the end of the packet (Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?). You should be able to answer these questions when you finish reading and studying the paragraph, section, or chapter.

Restate the questions from headings to help fix them in your mind. These questions give purpose to your reading. Remember that reading is thinking, and good students think while they read.

Read the material.

Read only the material covered under one heading or subheading at a time, and look for the answers to your questions.

Read ideas, not just words.

Take only minimal notes while reading.

Read aggressively, with the intent of getting answers, of noting supporting details, and of remembering.

Apply the 50/10 rule for studying; read for 50 minutes and then take a 10 minute break. You will be able to sustain longer study times with better concentration and retention.

Do "question-read-recite" for each subheading.

Answer the questions that you raised before you began to read. Answer fully, and be sure to include the reasons the author believes the answer is true. Recall the answer and do not refer to the book.

Tell yourself the major concept(s) of the section. Put the ideas into your own words. If you simply read a textbook chapter, you will probably remember less than one-third of what you read by the following week. In two months, you will remember about 14% of the material, hardly enough to do well on a test. In order to transfer a greater portion of the material you read from your short-term to long-term memory, you must do something active with the information to help "attach" it to your memory. If you take time after reading each section of the chapter to recite the information, you will ensure that more of it goes into long-term memory. If you recite, you are likely to remember 80% of what you read after a week and 70% after two months. Now check your answers by referring to the book.

Take notes from the reading.

After having read a section and reflected on what you have read and questioned yourself about the material, you are ready to take notes. Taking notes at this point in time will almost ensure that you are noting the important parts of the section. Go back over the paragraphs and highlight or underline only the main ideas and supporting details with no more than 10-15% of the page highlighted. Use marginal notations as a way to separate main ideas from examples and each of those from new terminology.

Review the material.

The more senses you use in storing your information,
the better your retrieval and retention!

Reference:- Francis P. Robinson,Effective Study, 1941

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Read a Textbook | Cuesta College | San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Arroyo Grande

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Read Your Textbooks More Efficiently - College Info Geek

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How I Manage My Time - 10 Time Management Tips

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How a student changed her study habits by setting goals and managing time | Yana Savitsky | TEDxLFHS

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On the first day of class your professor passes out the syllabus that explains what each class period will focus on. Look at the syllabus and notice:

How many tests are scheduled for the term and how far apart are they - one midterm/one final, three midterms/1 final. This information helps you assess how much information will need to be learned for each exam.

Ask your professor questions about exams on the first day of class so that you can adjust how you study for the class:

What kinds of exams are given - Objective, Essay, Multiple Choice, True/False, or Varied?

How many of each type of question if varied?

How much time is given to take the exam - the entire class period, half the class period...?

With this information you can set a realistic schedule for each class breaking down the readings and tasks in appropriate blocks for maximum learning efficiency. For example, if it is a course that only has two exams, one midterm and one final, you have a number of weeks to learn the material and your schedule for this class should:

Break down reading assignments in two/three parts each week

Allow time for daily review of notes and highlighted areas of text for better recall

Allow for time to create term and defnition cards as a memory aid

Time for study group discussions

Create test questions to help you actively think about the exam: use your notes, comments made in the margins while reading, turn the text subheadings into questions. Practice essay exams can cover large sections of information compared to practicing with objective tests that are detail specific.

If a number of tests are scheduled then you have a shorter amount of time to study for each exam and your schedule should reflect this. This also means the tests will demand more memory skill and recall of details.

You may have to read entire chapters per study block

You should immediately set up study groups and delegate chapters to each group member for outlining

Create study tools for recall. It is essential that daily review of notes and tools take place for better recall and association of material. With a short time between exams you must find ways to associate the material and consistently connect it to the previous day's lecture. You need to do more than recognize what is being asked, you must be able to identify it and give specific details (often times dates, names, places, examples).

The Day of The Exam

Get to class a few minutes early so that you can settle in and not feel rushed.

Before you start the exam, look at the entire test. How many multiple choice, short answer, and essay are there on the exam? For example, say it is a 60 minute test and there are 20 multiple choice, 10 short answer (fill in), and one essay (needing two examples). How much time will you need for each section? You need to schedule at least 5 minutes to write an outline for the essay, 30 seconds per multiple choice, and one minute per fill in. That gives you 25 minutes for the essay which usually carries the most points.

Start the exam, go through and answer all that is familiar. If you get to a multiple choice question that you are unsure of the answer, put a check mark next to it and move on. The key is to answer as many as you can in a set amount of time for maximum points. The more you answer the more confident you will become. Go from question to question - do not go backwards - you will answer those you are unsure of at the end of the exam if there is time left.

It is wise to answer the multiple choice first because these questions hold varied information that may answer the fill in and/or give examples for the essay.

Objective Tests - These are exams that demand one correct answer.

The Multiple Choice Exams

Many students fail multiple-choice exams because their expectations are that the questions will be straightforward and easily recognized. Most professors develop multiple-choice questions by synthesizing material from more than one source creating a dual layered question demanding analysis of the question rather than rote memory.

Read the question

If the question is long, underline the subject and verb to help you focus appropriately

Read each possible answer without bias. Do not stop and think about the answer - just read each answer

Now, focus on the answer you think is correct. If there is more than one (should only be two at the most) reread the question and make sure you understand the words and what they mean in the question. Look at the answers again and decide. If you can't, put a check next to it and move on. Do not stop and waste three minutes on one multiple-choice question that by itself is only worth maybe two points.

Evaluate whether the answer choices are giving general or specific information. If you can think of an exception for the specific statement then the general statement is usually correct.

Read the question carefully and underline negative (not, never, neither) or affirmative words (always, all only). This usually signifies that the answer must be specific fact rather than a general statement.

If you have time at the end of the exam, go back and answer those questions that you placed check marks next to. Do not change the answers to those already completed!

Periodically check to make sure the scantron question number matches the test number. It is very easy to get distracted and start marking the wrong test question. Stay alert!

True-False Questions

Look for open and closed words in the question. Open words like -often- or

-usually- are found in true statements whereas closed words like -never- and

-always- are often found in false statements.

Pay attention to statements with two clauses - both must be true in order to be the correct answer.

Subjective Tests

These are exams that are opinion based but answers may vary from student to student dependent upon examples used or details given.

Subjective tests are usually more general in nature than objective tests but specific facts and organization are expected. Recall rather than memorization is the skill used to answer these types of exams. It is better to understand the general concepts of the issue with a few well-learned details than a large repertoire of unorganized material that seem unrelated when presented.

When preparing for essay exams you should write down the main topics discussed in the assigned chapters of the texts and presented in your notes. Make sure you understand the general concepts of each topic (know the who, what, when, where, why) and provide at least two examples. Recite the material out loud in your own words to ensure recall and comprehension. Reread and review those areas in the text where there is limited understanding and comprehension.

Short Answer

These are similar to essay questions in that you should take a few seconds to write out the example or terms you want to use in the answer. If it is a fill in, you should move through them fast, answering those that you easily recall. Often times the answers can be found in the multiple choice area but you do not want to spend too much time trying to figure out the answer. Keep in mind how much each question is worth in points and how many points you will lose if you take too much time on one question.

Essay Exams

Carefully read the question. Break the question into parts so you know what you need to answer for full credit.

Note what type of question is being asked - compare and contrast, analyze and comment...

Take the time to create an outline on your answer sheet so that even if you don't complete the essay the professor can see where you were going and may give you points. Although you are taking a few minutes away from answering the essay, it will increase your chances for a more coherent answer with examples that flow and an essay that makes sense. Use the parts of the essay to help create the outline - this will help with organization and keep you focused on topic.

Follow your outline and begin the essay. Write straight through and do not vary from the outline. You took the time to write it out so trust it. If you try to change the direction of your essay, you end up with arrows etc. and a difficult to read finish. The easier your essay is to read and the better it flows, the easier it will be for your professor to follow your train of thought thus a better grade.

Reread the directions and make sure you answered the entire questions. And if you still have time, reread your essay and correct spelling and grammar errors.

The Exam Isn't Over When You Turn It In

Taking the exam is only the first part to knowing what you know. The second part comes with the handing back of the exam. At this time you have the prime opportunity to see what you knew and learn what you didn't. You should always go back and find out why you missed particular questions, what type of questions they were, did you answer the whole questions or only part, then definitely find the correct answer and write it out so you know you know it. This is especially useful if you will be taking a comprehensive final. Make sure you talk with the professor about how you can improve in a particular area or ask why they worded the question the way they did.

Test Anxiety

What is it?

Most students experience some level of anxiety but it is when it interferes with test performance that it is deemed excessive and labeled test anxiety. Test anxiety is often defined in physiological terms: sweaty palms, going blank, butterflies in the stomach...

But if it goes beyond the physiological and consistently interferes with performance then you may want to seek additional assistance from the College Counseling Center to gain a better understanding of its origin and how to cope with it.

What are ways to reduce it?

Assess your study skills and develop areas that are weaker to ensure successful learning efficiency

Be prepared. The more time you give yourself to prepare and learn the material the more confident you will feel the day of the exam.

Keep organized and on task. Keep to a schedule so that you know internally that you gave yourself enough time to study. Don't cram!

Get enough sleep starting two nights before the exam.

Keep hydrated

Exercise to eliminate stress

Eat well balanced meals. Make sure you eat breakfast or lunch before the exam with at least 20 minutes to digest. Do not eat greasy foods or drink caffeinated drinks they will upset your stomach.

Stay relaxed.

Test Anxiety and the day of the exam

Give yourself enough time to get to the exam and find a comfortable seat. Get your writing utensils out and blue book and scantron if needed. Take a couple of minutes to close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths.

Do not discuss the material with other students who may sway you to think you don't know the material.

Do not bring your class materials with you. Going through the test information will only make you nervous.

Test Anxiety and taking the exam

Remember your test taking strategies - review the exam...

Occasionally stretch so that your body stays relaxed.

If you go blank then put your pencil down, sit up straight, take two or three deep breaths, then pick up your pencil again and begin. If you don't immediately recognize the question then go to the next.

Stay positive and remind yourself that you studied appropriately and that you know the material.

Remind yourself that some anxiety is normal and that you know the material

Don't pay attention to others movements or if they turn in their exams before you. You do not get points for being the first one to turn in your exam.

Bibliography:

Pauk, Walter. How to Study in College. (2nd ed.), Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, New York
Ellis, David B. Becoming A Master Student. (11th ed.), Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, New York
De Sellers, Dochen, Carol, Hodges, Russ. Academic Transformation (1st ed.), Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey
Crawford, June. A College Study Skills Manual: Ten Tips for Academic Success, Cambridge Strafford, Ltd.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On the first day of class your professor passes out the syllabus that explains what each class period will focus on. Look at the syllabus and notice: How many tests are scheduled for the term and how far apart are they - one midterm/one final, three midterms/1 final.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Preparation For A Successful Exam Day

Attend class regularly

Avoid cramming spread out study sessions days or weeks before the test; you will have less stress.

Organize your study area to reduce interference. Make sure that you have all the necessary materials before you begin studying. Some students study better if they have a regular spot which they can go to.

Summarize notes for studying. You should have approximately three to five pages of key terms, ideas, and review material. It is also a good idea to draw diagrams, charts, maps, etc. for visual aid.

Study from old tests if allowed by the professor.

Ask about test format find out if it will be multiple choice, essay, true or false, or a combination of these so that you will know how to study best.

Form a study group not just for the night before the exam, but one that meets throughout the semester.

Teach it to someone if you can teach the material to someone then you can be sure that you know it.

Over learn it is better if you over learn the material because then you will be able to recall it more quickly on exam day.

Study your outline before the test use only your summary of notes to study so that you are not reading all your material again.

Relax for a little while before the exam.

Sleep being rested is very important. You are likely to recall more of what you have learned if you are awake and alert.

Eat well. Watch you caffeine and junk food intake. Small, frequent high protein meals will help energize you.

Strategies For Multiple Choice Tests

Narrow your choices down by eliminating obviously wrong answers which are almost identical.

Try to decide what the answer to the question is before you read all of the choices, but: Be sure to read all answers before selecting one. Sometimes two answers will be similar and only one will be correct.

Do not be afraid to change an answer if you feel strongly about it.

Do not be discouraged if you cannot answer a question. Leave it and go on. You may find the answer or clues to the answer in subsequent questions.

Beware of questions with "no", "not", and "none." These words easily change the meaning of questions.

If you have to guess:

Reject answers that use specific determiners such as: everyone, always, never, etc.

Look for grammatical inconsistencies which may help eliminate wrong answers.

Choose the longest, most precise answer.

Choose the answer that is in the middle.

Choose answers which use qualifying terms such as: often, most, etc.

Choose the answer which first caught your eye.

All of these hints work best when used together. It is important to note that nothing will help you do better than studying for a test.

A Test Taking Self-Analysis Key For Multiple Choice Tests

If you don't do well on multiple choice tests, it's important to find out why. Read the following statements and note which apply to you. It is important to identify the problem area before you can work to improve your test-taking skills.

Information Gap - I don't remember encountering this material at all or I glossed over it or did not have it in my notes.

Retention Gap - I studied this but could not call it up from memory.

Misinterpretation of Information - I incorrectly understood the information when I initially read the text or heard it in lecture.

Synthesis Gap - I did not make connections between pieces of information.

General Vocabulary Gap - I did not know the correct meaning or assumed an incorrect meaning of general vocabulary.

Course Specific Vocab Gap - I did not know or assumed an imprecise meaning of a term.

Inability to Decipher - I could not get past the grammatical structure of the question or response.

Jumping to Conclusions - I did not fully consider all the responses.

Rushed Response - I did not have time to consider the question carefully.

Over/Under Generalization - I eliminated too much or did not eliminate enough.

Misreading - I made decoding errors in reading the question or response.

Miskeying - I knew the correct answer but copied the wrong response on the answer sheet.

Memory Strategies Not Applied - I didn't consciously apply a variety of memory strategies to transfer information into long-term memory.

Test Answers Not Checked - I didn't use extra test time to review my answers.

Strategies For Essay Tests

Read all of the questions before beginning, making sure that you understand what the professor is asking. LOOK FOR KEY TERMS.

Begin by answering the easiest question. This will lessen frustration and build confidence.

Jot down ideas which immediately come to mind. Especially those which include specific vocabulary from the course.

Make a simple outline of what you will write about.

Be sure to keep track of time. *You should spend more time on questions which are worth more points.*

Try to write as neatly as possible and leave some space for added ideas or corrections.

Before turning your test in, read your answers a final time in order to check for grammatical errors and misspellings.

Words To Watch For In Essay Questions

The following words are commonly found in essay test questions. Understanding them is essential to success on such questions. If you want to do well on essay tests, then study this page thoroughly. Know these words backward and forward. To heighten your awareness of them, underline the words when you see then in a test question.

If any of these terms are still unclear to you, go to your unabridged dictionary. Thorough knowledge of these words helps you give the teacher what he/she is requesting.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Preparation For A Successful Exam Day Attend class regularly Avoid cramming spread out study sessions days or weeks before the test; you will have less stress. Organize your study area to reduce interference. Make sure that you have all the necessary materials before you begin studying.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Before delving into test taking strategies outlined below, we recommend reading and familiarizing yourself with proven test preparation tips and strategies for improving test performance, if you haven't already.

Once you have a solid command of the subject matter and material that will be presented on your test, it's time to put in play some basic test taking strategies that have proven effective for thousands of students. Remember, you must adapt test-taking strategies to the specific type of test you're taking.

1. Be prepared

There is no substitute for preparation. If you haven't studied throughout the semester. If you haven't reviewed prior to test day. If you don't know the test material, all the test taking strategies in the world won't save you. Preparation is key.

Spend as many hours as necessary to understand the material that will be covered on the test well enough to achieve a high score.

Since teachers often slightly modify information on tests to determine if students have a good understanding of concepts, spend time on honing test-taking skills.

2. Always arrive early and take a moment to relax

3. Listen attentively to last minute instructions given by the instructor

4. Do a memory dump

A memory dump can be a particularly useful strategy for improving performance on certain types of tests.

As soon as you begin the test, write down information that you will likely need to know for the test and you fear you may forget. (ie., formulas, equations, dates, lists, etc.)

5. Read the test directions very carefully and watch for details

6. Plan how you will use the allotted time

7. Look for cues

8. Answer all the questions

Even if you're running out of time and can answer all the questions fully, it's important to answer all questions. Many professors will give partial credit for partially completed questions or if you're able to show your work. (Note: There are some tests in college where you are docked points for guessing. This is rare and usually will be announced by the professor prior to the test.)

9. Maintain a positive attitude

10. Rely on your first impressions

The first answer that pops in your mind is usually the correct answer. Don't change answers unless you're sure the answer you've chosen is wrong.

It may be counterproductive to review answers and make changes - especially if you're struggling to get through the test.

11. Plan to finish early and have time for review

12. Consider every test a practice session - analyze your performance

It takes time and practice to develop effective test taking skills.

To determine whether your test taking strategies are working, take time to evaluate your performance after each test.

Be sure to take note of where you're struggling. Are you struggling with essays or multiple choice questions?

Arrange to meet with teachers to discuss low test scores to determine what you can do to improve. This is highly recommended if you struggle with essay questions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Study Skills: Effective Test Taking Strategies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Discover effective testing taking strategies that will help improve performance on a variety of tests.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Time management is a perennial concern for any student. Add work, family and social activities in the mix, and these responsibilities become even more challenging.

You're not alone in attempting to balance a chaotic schedule in earning your degree. According to a 2015 study conducted by Georgetown University, 40 percent of students ages 16-29 and 76 percent of students ages 30-54 years old work while in school. ¹ As you might imagine, if you're a student with competing priorities, it's incredibly important to focus on time management in college.

So, what can you do to better manage your time? We've compiled some excellent advice that can help you keep on top of your studies.

11 Time management tips for college students

Whether you're fresh out of high school or working two jobs while raising a family, these time management strategies and tips for college students will help keep you organized and your assignments on track.

1. Record all due dates and deadlines

Say you're sitting in class ready to leave when the teacher makes an announcement. There's homework due in three days and an exam in one week. As you leave class, you make a mental note to remember those days.

How often has that happened to you, only for you to panic the night before your homework is due because you forgot? Save yourself the late-night scramble and write everything down as you hear it.

"Even if you think you'll remember a due date or something you have to do at work, write it down," says Rebecca Holley, a full-time student and marketing associate at Edvisors.

Holley recommends going through course calendars and syllabi at the beginning of the semester and writing down all the important dates. Knowing what's coming up will help you better prepare.

2. Create a routine

Getting into a routine can reduce uncertainty about when and how you will fit in homework and study time on top of school and work. Create a routine at the beginning of the semester so you can adjust to it early, and then see if you have leftover time for other engagements.

Holley plans her day around work and school.

"It's not always perfect-sometimes you might have to stay up late or miss out on something fun to keep up with homework-but that's just how it is," Holley says. "It won't last forever and crossing that finish line will make it so worth it."

3. Use your tech for good

With millions of apps and games at your fingertips, your smartphone can seem like more of a time waster than a time manager. However, with some self-discipline, you can transform your phone or mobile device into an on-the-go calendar and scheduler. Set reminders to help you keep due dates and other important commitments in mind as you go through your day. Apps can be helpful too, with project management and productivity apps like Trello ® serving as digital to-do lists.

Tempted to check social media regularly during your study time? Try one of the many apps that block social media and other distractions.

But don't stop with your phone. Your computer and tablet accounts can also be organized to minimize potential distractions.

"Create three different users: one for personal use, one for work and one for school," advises David Bitton, chief marketing officer at DoorLoop. "On your work and school user accounts, have only the essentials you'll need to execute work and school-related tasks. Everything else relating to leisure and entertainment should be under your personal account. The fewer distractions you allow into your routine, the better you will manage your time."

4. Break down your workload with the Pomodoro® Technique

If you find tech increasingly getting in your way however, peer tutor and Nursing student at Rasmussen University Kristin Irvin recommends trying the Pomodoro Technique.

Invented by an Italian developer named Francesco Cirillo, this technique is named after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer Cirillo used to time his sessions ( pomodoro is the Italian word for tomato).

"The Pomodoro technique is like a high intensity-interval training (HIIT) workout," explains Irvine. "First, you choose the task you would like to work on, set a timer for 25 minutes and begin working on the selected task with no distractions. Once the timer goes off, set a timer for 5 minutes and take a break. Repeat these steps as many times as your like."

Of course, you don't really need a tomato-shaped timer to stick to this approach-any device that counts down from 25 minutes will get the job done. Even better? For those who like to have music while studying, you can even find playlists that stick to the 25-minute time allotment.

5. Take note-taking to the next level

Many of us take notes during lectures but leave it at that. Frank Buck, educational consultant at Frank Buck Consulting Inc, suggests students try thinking of their lecture notes as more of a rough outline or first draft.

"During class, don't worry about neatness, form or spelling," says Buck. "The magic happens that evening when you interact with those notes for a second time within the same day."

According to Buck, most forgetting happens within the first 24 hours of being introduced to new material. Re-copying and re-organizing those notes will increase your retention and understanding of new concepts. While doing this, you also pause to consider anything that didn't make sense during the original lecture.

"Look it up in the textbook or perform a quick Google search to clear the confusion," Buck advises. "Double-check spelling as needed. This practice is like spinning straw into gold. When it's time to study for the test, the notes are pristine. The time required for study is lessened."

6. Examine and limit potential distractions

Being realistic about your habits and preferences not only helps you establish a routine that works for you, but it can also help you when it comes to your distractions.

"If you tend to work best at night, there's no use trying to get all your work done in the morning," says Mike Grossman, CEO of GoodHire.®

Grossman suggests getting a clear sense of what activities you gravitate to when you don't feel like working, whether that's deep cleaning your study space, scrolling through social media or making plans with a friend who drops by. Changing your study location, putting your phone in another room or just closing the door can be the preventative measures you need to take to avoid wasting precious time.

7. Ask for help

One bit of time management advice that is often overlooked is to ask for help, says Stephen Light, chief marketing officer of Nolah Mattress.

"Immediately contact a professor if you don't understand something," Light advises. "Some feel awkward or embarrassed about asking questions, but it'll be worth it down the line. If you're struggling to understand a concept or lesson and don't ask for help, you could waste valuable hours trying to figure it out for yourself."

If you're feeling like your coursework covers concepts you already understand, it's a good idea to check if the program you're in offers competency-based education courses that can provide additional flexibility on where you spend your time in a course.

But time management means nothing if you're physically, emotionally and psychologically drained. Recognizing when you're overwhelmed and asking for help will serve you better in the long run. This may mean dropping an activity or reducing your credit load. Many schools also offer tutoring and other kinds of student support, so checking into any of those resources available to you is a must.

8. Keep yourself healthy

This may not seem obvious but looking after your health can actually play a huge role in successfully managing your time while in college. Practicing regular exercise can keep your energy levels up, resulting in a more engaged mind when doing schoolwork. Many also assert that getting adequate sleep at night can save college students time-this not only helps you avoid the time taken for afternoon naps, but it also can increase your alertness and decrease your stress levels.

9. Stay organized

Keeping your schoolwork organized can be a huge factor in saving you some time throughout the week, especially if you're taking more than one class at a time. If you have separate binders, notebooks and folders for each class, you'll quickly be able to find that sheet of notes for next week's test or the article you planned to reference for your big research paper.

Avoiding clutter isn't just important when organizing your notes and hand-outs. Be sure to keep your computer desktop organized in a way that always allows you to locate the files you'll need for each particular class.

10. Checklists are your friend

Printing or writing out checklists for each class or each day of the week can be a helpful way of remembering everything you need to get done. Try color-coordinating tasks by importance or subject (such as school or work) to help you better visualize what needs to get done.

"Make a checklist of all the major homework tasks for the day or week," says Vasiliki Baskos, teacher and founder of Learn Greek Online. "Prioritize them so that in case you run out of time, the less-important tasks will remain unfinished."

11. Find a balance

Life's stress happens to everyone. Being in school is no exception. Work gets hectic, family obligations increase and social activities become unruly. In times like those, it's good to step back and take a deep breath.

"Ask your family and friends to support you during these challenging times of juggling work and school, but also give them permission to confront you if they think you're driving yourself-and them-crazy at times," says Anita Thomas, senior vice president at Edvisors.

Giving yourself time to recharge is also an essential part of effective time management.

"Many people forget to make time for themselves, and this is a big mistake," says Cathy Mills, director at Net Influencer. Mills says that this time need not be lengthy-15 or 30 minutes a day-but it should involve doing activities you enjoy: exercising, watching an episode of a favorite TV show, listening to music, taking a walk.

"These activities that you enjoy will be a great motivation," Mills adds. "You will see that you will be much more productive and manage your time better."

Put these college time management strategies to use

Take the advice of experts and students who have been there. See if you can calm that chaotic schedule for a stress-free college degree. Of course, it'll take more than just solid time management skills to succeed in college. Our article " How to Get Ahead in College: 5 Tips for Success " highlights some of the other things you should do to stay on track for success.
¹Anthony P. Carnevale, Nicole Smith and Michelle Melton, "Learning While Earning: The New Normal" Georgetown University, Center on Education and the Workforce [Information accessed December 2021] https://cew.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/Working-Learners-Report.pdf

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was originally published in 2014 and has since been updated to include information relevant to 2022.

Trello is a registered trademark of Trello, Inc.
Pomodoro technique is a registered trademark of Francesco Cirillo.
GoodHire is a registered trademark of Inflection, LLC.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
11 Effective Time Management Tips for College Students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Take note of these tried and true time management tips from college graduates who were once in your shoes!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
With 24 hours in a day and 7 days a week, time is constrained. As such, time is a commodity and a resource that's well worth maximizing, especially when you are a college student. In this article, we are going to share some of the best time management tips for college students to make it feel like you have more time, or at least, just enough time to get everything you'd want to do.

What is Time Management?

Time management refers to the ability to use time effectively. Although there's a constraint on time, time management can make it feel like there's more of it in a day, depending on how you structure your schedule.

Since time management is considered a skill, it can be learned and strengthened. That's why we're sharing how to manage time in college.

Source: Unsplash

Time Management Tips for Students

Keeping this all in mind, let's take a look at some of these time management tips for students.

Set Goals

Perhaps one of the most important steps in being able to manage your time well is to know what you are using your time for in the first place. By setting goals and identifying time wasters, you can help to keep yourself on a more efficient track.

To set goals, take a look at what you spend your time on. For example, if you use the "Screen Time" app on a iPhone, you can find out how much time you spend and how you spend it using your phone. If you notice that you spend 5 hours a day on social media apps, then you may want to set a goal to cut it down to 2 instead. By doing so, you will free up 3 hours of your day for other activities.

Make Note of Deadlines

When you're in college, you will be taking several classes at a time. Within each class, you'll have assignments and tests with different due dates. While it can become overwhelming, it doesn't have to be when you are practicing time management. One thing you can do is to write down all your deadlines ahead of time in a clear chart, on a calendar, or even on a sheet of paper. This way, you can schedule study time and time to work on assignments according to what is due first.

Start with Small Tasks / Break Up Large Tasks

When you have a long to-do list, you may feel defeated just by looking at it. Instead, you can write it in an order that will work in your favor. To explain, consider placing all the small and low-level tasks at the beginning of your day's to-do list. By fulfilling these small and plentiful tasks, you gain momentum and already go into the day with a sense of accomplishment. Then, if you have large tasks or assignments that will take multiple hours or days to work on, break them down into smaller parts. Doing this helps you to stay motivated rather than stare at the task without knowing where to begin because the size of the task can provoke fear. Basically, you are making tasks manageable rather than allowing them to seize control of your mind.

Create a schedule

One of the biggest recommendations that you'll find when learning about time management is to use a schedule to your advantage. You can set up a schedule using digital tools like phones or computers using the calendar app. Or, you can even do so manually by writing your schedule down in a planner. Depending on how granular you want to get, you can break up days into blocks of hours or even minutes. Before you set your schedule, write down the aspects that you are looking to include, i.e. social activities, lecture hours, study time, cooking time, exercise time, family time, etc.

If you're attending an online college, then you will have a more flexible schedule as to when you attend class (if lectures are pre-recorded). This could make scheduling easier because it is totally within your control.

Use Checklists

A weekly checklist can also help to better manage your time when you are in college. Here's how it can work: At the start of each week, write down the assignments and projects that are upcoming for that week. You may even want to color-code them based on the subject. You can input this check(list) of items into your schedule. By referring back to the checklist, you will make sure that no item is forgotten or overlooked.

Use Breaks Wisely

A major aspect of time management is how you choose to use breaks. Besides taking intentional breaks to do nothing and recharge, the breaks that already exist in your schedule can serve as "extra" time. For example, you can complete tasks using the time between classes. Say you have to grocery shop for the week. You have an hour between two lectures. That could be a great time to knock grocery shopping off of your to-do list. When you start using breaks effectively to get things done, you will notice that it feels like you've made more time to do what you want to do, rather than what you have to do.

Leverage Technology

When it comes to time management, technology is your friend! There's an array of time management apps you can download to help you get things done. Here's a look at some of the best time management apps to choose from. Additionally, even simple and existing tools like timers and calendars on your handheld device can be used for time management, as already discussed.

Ask for Help

In terms of time management, asking for help often happens in the form of delegation. For example, if you're living with roommates, then consider devising a cleaning schedule where everyone takes turns. By doing so, you can free up some of your time to focus on your schoolwork (or social activities).

Reward Yourself

No matter how many strides you make on your journey of time management, take some time (no pun intended) to reward yourself. Your rewards should coincide with the time management goals that you've set. So, once you reach your goals, you have something to look forward to (a.k.a. the reward).

Closing Thoughts

By following some or all of the aforementioned best time management tips for college students, you may discover that it feels like you have more time in a day. The idea of organizing time can feel liberating as you'll be more productive. In turn, you will have more time to do the things you want to do because you've managed to get done the things you have to.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Best Time Management Tips for College Students - UoPeople

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Want to boost your time management skills? Check out this list of some of the best time management tips for college students so you can use time efficiently.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I can still remember the dread that would slowly set in after the first few weeks of a new school year. After the shiny excitement of new classes and new friends wore off, I was left with just one lingering thought: How am I actually going to do all this?

Unfortunately, a quick search for "time management tips for students" doesn't bring up much of value. Use a schedule. Prioritize. Get enough sleep. These high-level tips only go so far. To really optimize your time and get ahead on school projects, you need to be more tactical.

Time management for students (and everyone else) is about being purposeful with your day. It's about taking control of what time you do have and optimizing it for productivity, focus, and above all, balance.

To help you out, we've collected the best advice on how to stay focused, beat procrastination, and manage your time from student RescueTime users in both undergraduate and graduate programs.

How to master time management for students:

1. Use a daily schedule template to plan your day

2. Understand how you're currently spending your time (and where you're losing it)

3. Set proper goals to measure your progress

4. Break large projects into small, actionable tasks

5. Beware the Planning Fallacy (i.e. you probably need more time than you think)

6. Follow your body's natural energy highs and lows

7. Take breaks at the right time

8. Beat procrastination with the 5-minute rule

9. Optimize your study time for Flow

10. Build better habits and routines for long-term success

1. Use a daily schedule template to plan your day

Classes, seminars, and workshops might take up the majority of your day, but how you schedule your own time can make all the difference.

While much of the advice about time management for students centers around creating a to-do list, it's more important to master your schedule.

A to-do list only tells you what you'd like to do. A schedule tells you when you're going to do it. @RescueTime Click To Tweet

Having a daily schedule template in place puts you in control. It will help you stay organized, focused on what matters most, and even help you overcome procrastination.

The method of choice for many of the world's most successful people-from Bill Gates to Elon Musk-is called time blocking. Simply put, time blocking is when you create a template for how you want to spend every minute of your day.

This might sound overwhelming. However, it's more of a skeleton rather than a strict set of rules. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Step 1: Create "bookends" for each day

To maximize your time, you need to be purposeful with how you start and end each day. Think about your morning and evening routines and then "block" in time for your most important tasks. For example, academic Kevin Taylor has a recurring 2-hour writing block each morning:

Step 2: Set aside time for your most important projects

Next, you'll want to set aside time for your most important projects. This might mean research or writing or something completely different. The key here is that you're purposeful about what you're doing and when it's going to happen.

If you need help staying focused during this time you can now use RescueTime for Google Calendar to automatically trigger FocusTime sessions.

Simply use #focustime in the Google Calendar event name or description and we'll automatically block all distracting websites (like social media, YouTube, news, and entertainment) for the duration of that event.

Step 3: Schedule in breaks, social time, and catch-up tasks

Lastly, for a schedule to work, it has to be realistic. This means including time for breaks, food, exercise, social time, calling family and friends, and all the other "non-school" tasks that keep you happy and motivated.

2. Understand how you're currently spending your time (and where you're losing it)

Your schedule will give you an ideal version of your day, but in order to build better time management habits, you need to know how you're actually spending your time.

Without a clear understanding of where your time goes each day, it's impossible to build better time management strategies and stay focused.

When it comes to tracking your time, you have two options:

1. Spend a day or two writing a "time log"-manually tracking how you spend each moment of your day

2. Use a free tool like RescueTime to automatically log your time

The same way a dieter needs to track their food intake to see where they're sabotaging themselves, you need to know where you're losing time to the wrong things.

For example, after installing RescueTime, you'll get a clear breakdown of what apps, websites, and tools you use each day organized by category and productivity score.

Your RescueTime dashboard automatically tracks and organizes the tools, apps, and websites you use every day.

As Ph.D. Student, Jonathan K. told us:

"RescueTime has made me 100% more aware of my productivity. It's the best tool I've found for recording how you're spending your time, digging into the details, and building better habits."

3. Set proper goals to measure your progress

Goals are a great way to get motivated to do school work. Unfortunately, the way most of us set goals is completely wrong. The problem is that goals are just the end result. They don't tell you anything about how you're going to achieve them.

Rather than starting at the goal and working backward, focus on what needs to get done to hit and surpass that goal. In other words:

What can you do every day that will help you achieve your ultimate goal?

This means focusing on consistent progress and building better habits.

For example, let's say you need to write a 4,000-word essay by the end of the month. Rather than being overwhelmed by the end goal, set a daily goal of writing just 500 words. If you can keep this up, you'll hit your goal in just over a week (giving you plenty of time to edit and rework it).

Even better, every day you see progress will help motivate you to do more. When Harvard's Teresa Amabile looked into all the things that can boost our mood and motivation, "the single most important is making progress on meaningful work."

4. Break large projects into small, actionable tasks

Part of proper goal-setting is being able to break large goals down into daily tasks. Not only does this keep you focused, but it can even help you stop procrastinating.

It's easy to procrastinate when a project feels like such a huge task. However, taking that first step is usually all you need to build momentum. As time management expert Laura Vanderkam told us:

"The best thing you can do is to start very small. Decide what the smallest, most doable next step is on a big project and then list out all the next steps along with a deadline for each."

For example, if you need to write an in-depth essay, you might break that project down into a few steps:

1. Go to the library and find books on the topic

2. Skim their table of contents

3. Write out your paragraph headings

4. Do an abstract of the first paragraph

5. And so on...

Each of these steps is doable and can be scheduled into your daily schedule rather than feeling overwhelmed by the end goal.

Here's another example using RescueTime. Rather than set a massive goal of writing your thesis, you can set daily goals to spend 3 hours writing. This way, you're focusing on making progress, not just the end result.

5. Beware the Planning Fallacy (i.e. you probably need more time than you think)

When you start to schedule your tasks throughout your day, it's easy to be overly optimistic about how much you can get done. Psychologists even have a name for this: The Planning Fallacy.

This is harmful to your time management for a number of reasons:

1. You're more likely to get stressed when tasks take longer than you anticipated

2. Your schedule gets pushed back to compensate for the extra time you spend

3. You might take on too much work thinking you have more time than you do

To counteract the Planning Fallacy, work a buffer into your schedule based on your familiarity with the task. If it's something you've done before, give yourself 1-1.5X the time you think it will take. If it's something new, give yourself double the time or more.

6. Follow your body's natural energy highs and lows

We all have moments in the day where we're more alert and energetic. And if you want to maximize the time you do have each day, you can't fight against your body's natural state.

Researchers call this our Circadian Rhythm -a 24-hour internal clock running in the background of your brain that cycles between alertness and sleepiness.

Every person's rhythm is slightly different, but the majority follow a similar pattern.

So what does this mean for time management for students?

Simply put, you should do your most important work when you have the most energy. This means scheduling writing or more intense projects during energy highs, and scheduling reading or more passive activities when you're more naturally low.

7. Take breaks at the right time

One of the best ways to maintain your productivity over time is to take more breaks. But when is the right time to take a break?

According to sleep researcher Nathaniel Kleitman, our minds naturally crave breaks after every 90 minutes of intense work. Even if you don't keep a timer going, your body will tell you when you need a break by becoming hungry, sleepy, fidgeting, or losing focus.

When you start to feel this way, it's time to take a break. There are a few things you can do to make the most of your downtime:

Disconnect from whatever you were just working on. Step away from your desk or work environment and try to shift your brain away from your task at hand.

Get outdoors if you can. Fresh air and natural light are energy and productivity boosters.

Give your eyes a break. Counteract screen or reading time by using a simple exercise called 20-20-20. Every 20 minutes or so, stare at something at least 20 feet away from you for at least 20 seconds.

Refuel with the right food. Foods that are high in protein will give you a much longer boost of energy than caffeine or carbs.

8. Beat procrastination with the 5-minute rule

Procrastination is pretty much inevitable. But you don't have to let it take over your day. Instead, all it usually takes is a bit of determination to get into the flow of a task. As Ph. D student, Jonathan K. told us:

"I know if I can start working on a task and get invested in it then it's easy for me to spend 3 or 4 productive hours on it."

To get over that initial hump of feeling unmotivated, try a couple of these strategies:

Follow the 5-minute rule. Popularized by Instagram founder Kevin Systrom, this "rule" means telling yourself you're only going to do 5-minutes of work on a project. In most cases, that's enough to get you motivated.

Block distractions when you first start working. Procrastination is easier when you have social media and entertainment at your fingertips. With a tool like RescueTime, you can block distracting websites when you first start working or at specific times of the day so you're not tempted to procrastinate.

9. Optimize your study time for Flow (i.e. only do one thing at a time)

It's tempting to think you can multitask when your schedule is crammed. But the more you try to do at once, the longer everything takes. Instead, studies have found that deeply focusing on a single task at a time can be up to 500% more productive.

However, "single-tasking" like this isn't easy. If you have a hard time focusing on just one thing, try these steps:

1. Remove distractions (including your phone)

2. Start small and set a timer (even 5-minutes of distraction-free work time is beneficial)

3. Take a break in between each session

10. Build better habits and routines for long-term success

We are what we repeatedly do. The best time management strategy for students and everyone else is simply to develop habits and routines that promote the kind of actions you want to do more of.

For example, following a morning routine that focuses on getting an early win and setting yourself up for a productive day. Or, make sure your evening routine sets you up for a successful next day by setting your schedule and goals the night before.

Or, as Ph. D student Gary W explains, keeping on top of how you're spending your time:

"I didn't realize how much time I was throwing down the drain just from small things like watching videos on YouTube. RescueTime gives me accuracy when it comes to knowing how I spend my time. I get a much more detailed picture of what I'm doing so I can make the changes I need to my schedule and habits."

Bonus: Mobile apps that will help you stay focused. It's not always easy to stay motivated and focused when you're studying. If you're looking for a bit of an edge, the team at Brainly put together a list of 7 powerful apps you can use to help.

Thousands of students use RescueTime to help take control of their time

Time management for students is especially hard. With the pressure of school, projects, homework, and your social life, it's easy to let the day get away from you. But if you follow this advice, you'll end up with a system for making sure every day is the best it can possibly be.

To support you along the way, try RescueTime Premium for free for 14 days. If you find it valuable, get in touch with our support team to take advantage of our 30% educational discount.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Time management for students: 10 strategies and tips to build your focus

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I can still remember the dread that would slowly set in after the first few weeks of a new school year. After the shiny excitement of new classes and new friends wore off, I was left with just one lingering thought: How am I actually going to do all this?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Tips to Better Your Time Management | Michael Page

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Utilize these 6 time management tips, and you're on your way to fewer distractions and more productivity at work.