Well, summer is at its end, and fall is upon us. That means it’s also Back-to-School season. Now regardless if you’re taking classes online or in-class, and no matter your age, getting into a routine for healthy study habits takes a lot of work. You have to willing to stick to it if you’re going to succeed.
As adult learners, it can be an even greater challenge to manage your education on top of life’s other demands, especially family. However, you can find a way to make it all fit into your day with some work.
Making A Study Plan
If you start on the right track, sit down and figure out what your study plan looks like, you can integrate your school load into your life. Having a clear strategy and sticking to it will quickly become a routine that you will be able to manage as the program continues. Having healthy study habits and recognizing when you need to take a break are both keys to managing a fast-paced college program.
As adult learners, it is crucial to have a clear plan when adding school to your life. You need to recognize the time you will need to devote to the videos, slides, textbooks, and lectures and plan accordingly. Look at how your day to day time is spent and schedule yourself the time for school.
For example:
- 8 am: Wake up, shower, brush teeth, etc.
- 9 am: Breakfast
- 9:30 am-Noon: Watch videos on Pharmacology
- Noon: Lunch
- 12:45-3 pm: Watch videos on Medical Terminology
The point is, you want to ensure you devote the time needed. Whether that be during the day, the evening or broken up throughout the day or week, you are making school part of your daily routine.
Healthy Study Habits
Having healthy study habits can help reduce your overall stress that attending school can add to your life. Learning to recognize when your brain is tired and taken in the most information it can for the day is a useful study habit that benefits your overall health.
Ever been reading a book or article and suddenly find yourself reading the same few lines over and over again? Realizing that your brain can no longer focus on the story, no matter how engaging it is, but you’re not actually tired. This feeling is brain fatigue.
The human brain is an amazing and extremely complex organ. It is functioning 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Awake or asleep, watching Netflix or performing surgery, your brain is continually taking in vast amounts of information and processing it. And it gets tired. When you recognize that you cannot focus on whatever you are watching or reading, that is a sign, and you need to take a mental break.
I stress a mental break because it’s the brain that needs to relax and wind down for a bit. Do something that takes minimal brain activity. Watch a fun movie or TV show, go for a walk, take a bath–anything that you find relaxing and de-stressing. If this happens early enough in your day, you can re-approach the work with a refreshed mind. If this occurs at the end of the day/evening, you are likely done for the night. When you re-approach the work, and the same feeling of fatigue happens, then that is your brain’s way of saying, “I’m done.” You should take a break, get some rest, and let your brain recharge and finish processing the new information it took in.
Try to avoid studying late into the night and never “cram.” The artificial light we use at night very hard and tiring on your eyes, and that can impact your studying. This light also interferes with proper the production of Melatonin–our natural sleep hormone. When you cram for a test/exam late into the night, we do not sleep well. Your eyes are overworked, and you might find yourself fixated on trying to remember the information you just read, putting your body into stress mode.
Instead, you need to manage your time more efficiently, study small amounts frequently throughout the week before your test/exam, and get a good night’s rest.
Do not take a test or exam on an empty stomach. Your body needs a healthy balance of nutrients to function efficiently and effectively. And this includes the brain function and memory you need to ace that quiz. Feed your brain before asking it to perform academically.
These are just a few tips that can be relatively easy to add to your routine to help you be as successful as you can be with Heritage College.
Stay Healthy and Safe Everyone!
