Hi friends,
I’ve been encountering an old high school problem of mine since I started my university journey. I can’t bring myself to study as much as I’d like to. Even if I try to study for several hours a day, I still don’t manage to fulfil my goal. So I asked myself: “What can I do to change it? Where am I wasting time?”
I sat down and thought, the ideal amount of studying for me on a regular day would be 8 hours. I feel like this is the perfect amount of studying, because any more would mess too much with my head. However, I still find it very hard to study for 8 hours consistently everyday. I looked at my usual study structure and tried to figure out, where it’s leaking. It’s safe to say that it probably took me about 5 seconds to figure out the issue with my routine. Because I didn’t have one.
Usually I would just start and see where I end up. And this worked very well in high school. But times have changed. I think that the keyword when it comes to studying long hours consistently indeed is “routine”. As soon as you know how you are going to structure your work hours, the whole process is made easier. You don’t have to think about what to do next, because everything is manifested in your agenda. I came up with a simple 3 phase plan on how to create your study routine.
Phase I: Start with something fun 🎮
⏲ about 1/6 of your study routine
The major hurdle of studying is to get going. You just have to get the machine rolling. And this is made easier, when you start with something that won’t stress you out from the jump. For me personally, my first hours of the day would always be Anki cards. Going through flashcards doesn’t require as much of your brain as in-depth, out of the book studying would. Furthermore, I only need my computer and no additional resources. However, there are tons of different ways to make the start easy, you have to figure out by yourself what works and what doesn’t. This phase should not take any longer than 2 hours each day. Once the first heap is made, I go into phase 2.
Phase II: Going in-depth 🤿
⏲ about 4/6 of your study routine
Now the real studying begins. This is the phase that will demand most of your brain capacity. Firstly you plan out the topics you want to cover and then, you get going. Especially in this phase, it is important to regulary make breaks and recharge, but make sure you don’t lose track of time, because then you won’t be able to reach the amount of studying you want to accomplish. Additionally, too long breaks will put you out of your workflow again. This phase should take as long as possible, as you will most likely make the most progress here. At the point where you realise that your focus decreases, you enter phase 3.
Giving you a glance what an extract of my personal enjoyment list would look like:
Phase III: End with something fun 🏁
⏲ about 1/6 of your study routine
giving you a glance how my ideal day would look like, based on those 3 phases
