1. Set aside a place for study and study only!
- Find a specific place (or places) that you can use for studying (for example, bottom floor of the library, vacant classrooms, bedroom at home, music practice rooms, back seat of a '57 Chevy, etc.)
- Make a place specific to studying. You are trying to build a habit of studying when you are in this place. So, don't use your study space for bull sessions, writing letters, daydreaming, etc.
- Insure that your study area has the following:
- good lighting
- ventilation
- a comfortable chair, but not too comfortable (you don't want to wake up next Tuesday).
- a desk large enough to spread out your materials.
- Insure that your study area does not have the following:
- a good view (for example: pretty girls or handsome guys walking by)
- a telephone
- a loud stereo
- a 27-inch color TV
- a sociable roommate or friend
- an Amana refrigerator stocked with scrumptious goodies
2. Divide your work into small, short-range subgoals.
- Don't set a goal as vague and large as ... "I am going to spend all day Saturday studying!" You will only set yourself up for failure and discouragement.
- Take the time block that you have scheduled for study and set a reachable study goal (for example: finish reading 3 sections of chapter seven in my Psych. text, or complete one math problem, or write the rough draft of the introduction to my English paper, etc.)
- Set your goal when you sit down to study but before you begin to work.
- Set a goal that you can reach. You may, in fact, do more than your goal, but set a reasonable goal even if it seems too easy.
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