Make a Schedule for Studying

I have never felt more need for organization with my studies than in these last few weeks of class. I got a little bit into organization with my last post on Dropbox, but there is definitely more to be said on the subject.

My school stresses being organized, and for good reason. You can't have stacks of notes all willy nilly everywhere and expect to be able to study efficiently. After just a few weeks of classes, here are a few tips that I have picked up.

1. Take notes in the same format each time you go to class. If you hand write out your notes one day and then type them the next day, you're going to be going back and forth from your computer to your notebook when you study. Obviously, this is not efficient.
2. Stay at school to study. If you're able, stay at school after class and study either by yourself or with classmates. If you go home, you'll get a phone call or your dog will be barking his fool head off. You may even be disturbed by a significant other or roommate. If you stay at school, your focus is on school material and your studying will be more efficient.
3. Skim the chapters in your textbooks before reading the chapter! You'll already have an idea of what you'll be reading about and you won't get so heavily bogged down with new information! After you've skimmed the chapter, go back and read the paragraphs around the bolded key terms. Then go back and read the more intricate information in the chapter. It may not seem efficient, but every time you go through the chapter, it gets quicker because you know more each time you read.
4. Take the practice quiz at the end of the chapter! If you don't know some of the information in the quiz, go back and re-read that section of the chapter. It won't take long to figure out the information you need.

That's all I've got so far as far as study habits go. A classmate of mine says that she uses Microsoft's OneNote and she loves it. If I had endless piles of money, I might attempt to get a license for it, but alas, I do not and therefore cannot afford it. Please comment and let me know if any of y'all (can you tell I'm from the South? LOL) have used OneNote and what your opinion of the application is. Also let me know if you find a freeware product similar to OneNote. I'd love to give it a try and I love freeware! As I always like to say, "if it's free, it's for me!"

Happy studies, everyone!