What is the Best Way to Study?

[AThornquist]

I am lame at studying. Totally terrible. It's a matter of discipline above anything else, but I am quite fidgetty and often get distracted. My intent in making this thread is to gather tips and good ideas on how to study as well as possible.

Here are sample questions that could be answered, but please just let 'er rip and tell me what you have found helpful to your study habits.
1. Do you sit in the same place to study for long periods of times, or do you use various places and resting positions?
2. How often do you take breaks?
3. If you study a lot, do you break your studying up into chunks throughout the day or just do it all in one large time slot?

and so on....


Thank you for your help!

 

[Notthemama1984]

I can't sit still for much more than 45 min. Recognizing this I like to set a timer and tell myself that I will not stop until it goes off. I then reward myself with 10-15 minutes of doing something else, then jump back in for another 45 min.

 

[Christopher88]

I have troubles studying my self.
Its not that I dislike the subject but I just get board or stir crazy.
For me I do the following:
If I have a chapter to read by the end of the week I count the pages divide it by how many days I have, I than read that many pages per day. So lets say my History book has twenty five pages to read by Friday, I have five days. I will read five pages a day.
I do this for every subject.

I also have found I retain more information this way and by highlighting I retain more information.

I'm a bad note taker, but I sure can do a mean highlighter. Look at my college books you will see every page covered.

Hope this helps.

 

[Curt]

One needs to discern his/her own learning style and lean on that.

 

[21st Century Calvinist]

I have learned that I study better when not at home. So I go to the coffee shop or the school library. I tend to listen to some quiet classical music on my iPod/iTunes to drown out background noise. If I have a load of just reading to do I may stay at home at unashamedly lay out on the sofa and just read.
I tend to study between classes and then at night. Between classes I am more disciplined and allot x amount of time per subject. I usually take a break/goof around (on FB or PB) before studying and then just head right into it.
Tonight, I am at home finishing up a sermon for tomorrow. It's cold outside and I didn't want to cart a load of books somewhere else.

 

[SolaScriptura]

I'm kind of eccentric... and my wife finds my study habits kind of annoying.

I read, but I can only read for about 30 minutes and then I get up and walk around and think through - out loud - what I'm processing and I respond to or critique or argue with the author OUT LOUD until I have "peace of mind" and then I get a drink or go to the restroom and read a bit more and repeat the cycle. I should note that my chaplain assistants have thought I'm crazy.

But it works for me and I learn my stuff and in a face-to-face verbal contest few can hold their own with me (which results in them feeling overpowered and me feeling bored).

So I say - go with what works for you even if others think you're nuts.

 

[TomVols]

Some days I can sit for three hours (providing my poor back can stand it) and study minutia. Some days, I can only handle about 30-40 minutes without a brief break. Lloyd-Jones was helpful in this. You have to have some discipline, yet remember that the brain is a muscle. Some days it can lift more than others. So do what you can when you can. Make hay while the sun shines.

 

[AThornquist]

Thanks, all. Your responses have been very helpful.

 

[VictorBravo]

Believe it or not, my method is similar to Ben's. But I've figured out how to argue quietly so nobody knows what's going on.

If I'm working on something particularly difficult, I will walk fast while reading. For some reason it makes me more aggressive and I get it better. It is almost like a fight, a paced one, but I study best when I'm aggressive.

When I find that I have lost my fight--that is, I'm no longer fully engaged, it's time for a break. Each battle can last from maybe 20 minutes to several hours, depending on my state of attention.

I don't use the Pomedoro method, but I see that there is a lot of sense to it. The most important thing for study, or any intellectual work, is undivided attention. 15 minutes of focus is far more productive than an hour of half-dozed fidgeting.