Avoiding wasting time during studying tips?

dontstop

I've noticed that over the course of studying I've gotten into a bad habit of wasting time while actually studying. Where before I could get all of my study done in say 4 hours, I'm spending upwards of 6 hours for nearly the same amount of work. I'm not sure if this is just a byproduct of believing that more time studying = better or just the fact I'm currently on holidays so my work is expanding to fill my free time.

Does anyone have tips for effectively using study time? The list below are a few things I'm thinking about.

• If I'm not currently studying, leave my study and do other things (Computer is in the same room as my study) even if that involves taking my Laptop to another room
• Switching off from study once I've completed set tasks. I find that during my free time I'm also thinking about study material or researching topics (no clear break between sessions)
• Play more games as a well deserved study break
• Putting a limit on maximum daily study time, otherwise I could just study all day albeit not efficiently
• Limiting study session lengths to 45-90 minute blocks so I don't wander off into distraction.

CIO

Depending on what i am studying, i find that going to the library with just reading materials works for me. I leave my phone in my car. Once i am done with the reading materials, i would watch video series on the material.

Regarding allocating time, i usually set milestones. Ex..Complete ch1 this weekend

mgeoffriau

Schedule your exam just a bit sooner than you're comfortable with. Nothing like a little panic to get you to really buckle down.

NetworkingStudent

I'm trying to implement the 5 day study plan, here is the link to the PDF.

http://lsc.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/The-Five-Day-Study-Plan.pdf

dontstop

Thanks for the tips everyone! I made an effort during my study session today to push through the parts I didn't enjoy the most (Doing some Boson Labs which are tediously repetitive) and this seems to have shortened my study session. I guess I was procrastinating while doing these labs which blew out the length of my study session. The more I concentrated on knocking them out the more enjoyable the they became.