How to Focus and be an Effective Studier

With a new semester just ahead of us, what better time to create new study habits that will contribute to our success. During this time of mainly studying from home, it is important to learn how to minimize distractions and study effectively. As a part of the first ever fully online D1 class, I have learned some tricks that have been helpful to maintaining focus while studying within the comfort of my home. Here are some ideas to make studying more effective.

Study at your desk: It may be difficult to maintain full attention in class or on an assignment while working in your bed or on the couch because those are places associated with leisure. An alternative would be to opt for a desk with a comfortable desk chair instead. Make sure your chair is supportive enough that you can study in it for many hours of your day. Additionally, make sure you have bright lighting so you won’t be put to sleep, especially while studying at night.

Reduce Distractions: Put your phone in another room while you study so you are not tempted to use it unnecessarily. Turning your phone on airplane mode or turning off notifications for social media applications is also a helpful alternative. You can also delete social media apps from your phone during exam periods so you can focus fully on your school tasks. It also may be useful to study in a room without food temptations, roommate or family conversations, or TV playing.

Change your study habits if they are not working: Don’t be afraid to try out something new if your current technique isn’t working well for you! You can try out known techniques such as the Pomodoro method, or modify any technique to make it work better for you. Once you find something that works for you, stick to it and make it routine.

Break up your studying by changing subjects: If you are getting tired of looking at the same information from one class, it may be time to switch over to a new subject. It can be helpful to switch subjects every 2 or 3 hours to keep yourself engaged and to not get burnt out by any one subject. This also allows you to review material from a variety of your classes through the day so you don’t get behind.

Listen to calming music or no music: Your favorite songs may put you in a great mood, however they can hinder your study productivity if you’re focusing on the lyrics and not your class information. To prevent noise distractions, try listening to classical music, music without lyrics, or white noise.

Plan out your day with breaks for exercise and meals: Keeping a set list of things you need to get done during the day can help motivate you to get them done. It also is useful to plan out the amount of time you will need to accomplish certain tasks and make sure you are keeping to your schedule throughout the day to monitor your productivity.

Organize your study materials: Knowing where to find your notes is extremely important. Whether you use a physical or an electronic notebook, you should organize your notes by different subjects and subsections so you won’t spend valuable time looking for any particular note.

Take good notes during class: For some classes, it may be easier to take notes during the live sessions, especially when the information is easy to follow along with. For more difficult subjects, it may be easier to take notes while listening to the recordings of the classes so you can pause and fully process the information before moving along with the following information. Find out what works best for each class you’re in and stick to that method of note taking.

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This post was contributed by Alexis Catalano, Website Director at ADEA COSRF District 2 and student at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine ('24).