Step 1: Create a study plan

A study plan is simply a timetable that you can draw up that helps you organise your time and prioritise tasks. 

This will help you achieve your academic goals. It can be a simple affair covering your academic day and campus life. Or it can consider other areas of your life to accommodate work or family requirements. 

A study plan is more than just a schedule – it’s a roadmap that guides you through your academic pursuits. So, let’s break down the essential components.

Goals and objectives 

The first part of crafting your study plan should include reflecting on your academic aspirations. Is there a particularly challenging subject you want to master? A dream internship you’re looking to land? There may be a specific career path you need to align your studies with.

Priorities and deadlines

As a student, you juggle many responsibilities and activities. Identify the deadlines associated with each task or assignment. This will help you allocate enough time to each of them and prevent last-minute rushes.

Time for different subjects

Each course demands a varying degree of attention and effort. Allocate dedicated time slots for studying different subjects based on their complexity and your proficiency level. Remember to factor in time for revision and practice exams, if needed.

Breaks and leisure activities

While the academic side of university is important, so is your wellbeing. And living your best life. Integrate regular breaks and leisure activities into your study plan to prevent burnout and maintain that study-life balance. 

These could be short breaks to do some deep breathing or yoga. Or longer things like walking in nature or getting together with your buddies. After all, uni is supposed to be fun, too.

Life admin

That means the sort of things that have to be done, even if they might not be right up there on the ‘I really want to do that’ list. Think chores, grocery shopping, visiting the podiatrist, etc.

Step 2: Use active learning techniques

Active learning techniques are an effective way of engaging in learning through various methods, such as classroom discussion, creating, investigating, and lateral thinking. They’re also a superb way of summarising complex ideas for studying. They help teach others and get students proactively involved in their learning.

Here are just a few of how these tricks can be used to great effect when developing study techniques: 

• Active recall: Quiz yourself on key concepts without looking at your notes. This helps reinforce fact retrieval and strengthens understanding.
• Mind mapping: Create visual diagrams to organise and connect ideas. Mind maps are particularly useful for visual learners.
• Group study sessions: Collaborate with classmates to discuss and review course material. Explaining concepts to others and hearing others’ perspectives can deepen your understanding.
• Flashcards: Use flashcards to memorise definitions, formulas, concepts or vocabulary terms. Keep them in your bag and do a quick review session when you have 10 minutes to spare.
• The Feynman Technique: Teach a concept as if you were explaining it to someone who knows nothing about it. This method helps identify gaps in your understanding.
• Visual aids: Create charts, diagrams or illustrations to visualise complex information and concept mapping. Visual aids can make abstract concepts easier to understand.
• SQ3R method: The Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review method — a strategy of reading and note-taking that helps students improve material retention. Surveying allows students to preview text to get a sense of what they’ll learn. Questions are written based on what the student wants to learn, and information is read piece by piece to find the answers to the questions. Students recite what they’ve read. Then, they review what they’ve learned within a 24-hour time scale. 

Step 3: Create a focused study environment

Studying in the right environment is essential. This allows students to improve their concentration and focus to make studying more effective and promotes successful learning. 

Here are a few strategies and study technique tips to create a conducive work environment:

• Create a study space to work in: This is vital. Have a proper study space to work in and keep all study aids in that space. It will keep you focused and prevent you from taking your work into other areas of your accommodation. 
• Remove distractions: When you’re in your workspace, you have nothing to distract you from the task. Put your phone away or on silent, and stay away from social media. Some people find listening to music helps them, but cutting out as much background noise as possible is important.
• Take regular breaks: Uni work is vital, but so is not being overburdened. Spacing out your study sessions and developing good study habits is key. For every hour of work, step away from your desk for a few minutes. Make a hot drink, or go outside. When you come back, you’ll feel re-energised. 
• Set study goals: Write down what needs to be achieved in every session and stick to it. This will help you stay focused, improve your study skills, and avoid distractions.
• Set study times: Each day, set the best study time for you. It doesn’t matter when it is. The important thing is that it’s right for your body and brain. If you do your best work early in the day, work around that. If you’re a night owl, do your work in the evening.

Step 4: Manage your time well

If it helps, experiment with different time management techniques, such as the Pomodoro technique. This technique involves breaking work into intervals, typically 25 minutes long, separated by short breaks. 

The Pomodoro technique can be an effective study tip as it forces you to create study schedules with regular breaks. It can work exceptionally well if you break it up with rewards, for example:

• Study session 1: Go for a short walk outside.
• Study session 2: Have a cup of coffee at home.  
• Study session 3: Meet up with a friend outside.
  
  You can also try time blocking, which involves allocating specific blocks of time for different tasks or activities throughout your day. Both can help optimise your productivity.
  
• ‘Study smarter, not harder’ is key with the Pomodoro technique. You might spend 25 minutes reading some course notes. Then, step away from your textbook to go and grab a drink or some fresh air. You’ll come back feeling refreshed and able to carry on. 

Step 5: Seek help when needed

It’s important to seek help when you need it. There are three main reasons for this. Let’s take a look. 

• Improved understanding: Asking questions and seeking clarification shows that you pay attention and improves how you take in and understand information. It’s one of the best ways to improve your knowledge. 
• Increased confidence: When your understanding improves, it has the knock-on effect of increasing your confidence. Then, you can tackle work proactively in the future. 
• Better academic performance: These two factors combined will produce the best academic performance possible. 

There is always help available on campus if you feel you need it. At Charles Sturt University, we offer the following:

• Academic coaching: For extra assistance and guidance on subjects and specialties. It can be used at certain times to help improve written work and grades or continually as required. 
• Peer tutoring: This is when students work together to learn from each other. Sometimes, an older student will be a tutor paired with a younger student. It can be done via the reciprocal method, known as a study buddy. In this method, students take on the roles of mentor and mentee. 
• Online resources: Lastly, you’ll have access to a wealth of online material. Rely on this for information about study support or where to get extra help if required. 

Another beneficial form of help is study groups. They’re a handy way of getting assistance with study techniques when needed. They’ll help you feel less alone as you’ll be with other students there for the same reasons. They can help you form new bonds with other people on similar pathways. If you find certain aspects of a course tricky, there will be an expert to help.  

Step 6: Maintain motivation and avoid burnout

Studying effectively and achieving your goals is important, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of your mental or physical health. There are ways in which you can maintain your study motivation at home without becoming burned out. Let’s discuss a couple of these now. 

Set realistic goals

Make your goals achievable and manageable every day. Write your goals down, then break each down into smaller steps. Every time you complete one, tick off as you go. This can help with feelings of overwhelm or the nagging doubt you’ve missed something.

Take breaks and look after yourself

Regular study breaks are essential for mental health. Make sure to set time aside for regular meals, hydration and time away from screens. 
Getting out into the fresh air for a walk and stepping out takes you away from the immediacy of deadlines. Mindfulness exercises and diaphragmatic breathing techniques are also very useful self-care tools.

Incorporate variety

Monotony breeds boredom. Inject variety into your study sessions by alternating between different subjects or study methods. You don’t want to get into a study rut as Charles Sturt education student Charlotte Groves found.

I would sometimes sit for a couple of hours studying, but not really achieving anything or meeting goals. I started calling these ‘study ruts’, where you sit and sit, but don’t do anything very productive. To break these, I’d go and do something (anything) else for an hour, then come back refreshed and ready to go.