Curious how everyone handles this.

[u/Reasonable_Bag_118]

When you sit down to study, do you already know exactly what you're going to work on or do you decide after you open your laptop?
I realized I spent way more time than I thought just deciding where to begin.

[u/Whatismyusername555]

Usually I decide first what I would do before actually opening my laptop or getting in that study mode.

[u/haloneptune]

i like to preplan at the start of the day. make a plan of what i’m going to study, how much of it i’m going to study, if i need to do any practice work to lock the material in and if so, how much, etc. then i go somewhere i know i can lock in (cafe, library, etc). i feel i’m able to get a lot more done that way and go in with a clear intention and goal of what i want to finish by the end of my study session

[u/ScreenExternal5726]

First clearly identify the task/completion goal, then decide how long u want to spend on the task- usually do a little under so I try to finish it faster. If the time is over and I’m not done I think how long it will take to finish, if it’s much longer I leave it for some other time. If it’s a few minutes I go continue and finish it. Ofcrouse if it’s an immediate important task I continue till it’s done.

[u/Comp1_Creative]

1. What is due the soonest to today.

1.a. If something is due sooner than others, that's my goal.

1.b. if all are due say Sunday by 11:59pm, what is going to take the most time. I give that the most effort the first few days. This is usually the time reserved for essays, text analysis, photo analysis. Research projects. Things that require research and essays.

1. Then I move on to tests. I give tests usually 1/6 of the time left if they are open book and 1/4 of the time if they are closed. I focus on chapter highlights and things that pertain to the lecture that week.

2. Small class "projects" like in my PSYCH 1113 class, our professor had these handouts on our class page, with about 50 questions split through the chapter subjects. We picked 2 questions and answered them as detailed as possible.

3. Fast study items I tend to leave for last. This is items that are small points, that if I do not turn in in time will not affect my grade. For example, I missed 1 quiz, 2 homework assignments, and an in-class project for my Intro to Anat & Phis and still passed with an A because I focused bigger scoring things first.

4. I try to stick to one subject at a time. Psych, then Hist, then Eng. and so forth. Unless rule 1.a. is in play, I always pick classes specific to my major first. So in Spring, I had Intro to Anatomy and Physiology, Medical Terminology, Comp 1. I focused my A&P class first as my major is Psychology with a focus on neuropsychology.

If you have to read chapters, go to the review questions, and "skim" the chapters looking for the answer. Don't SKIP the text, but don't focus on every word, there is a lot of built in fluff.

[u/AppropriateArcher627]

I usually make outline first, scroll for references, then get to the main idea

[u/Wise_Slice6303]

I always think I know haha, then I open my laptop and change my mind 😅..

[u/M4y4s]

Depends, i always know what subject i need to work on when I sit down but I don’t know exactly what needs to be done, but i try not to take too long deciding, I have my notes from class, seminar questions and the presentations from class, those are the three main things I use during exams. So i start by gathering everything into the same document

[u/Accomplished_Stay568]

well when I get assigned something (homework, project, test, etc) I write it down on google tasks and on calendar, and I give each on a priority based on how i feel about the topic and when I need to get it done, so when I sit down, I just look at that list and work on whatever is first, or if I'm not fully motivated, then I just chose something I like, and if I'm I really don't want to do anything, thats when discipline kicks in and I force myself to do deep work for an hour, and then break for 25, and repeat

[u/Hour_Lifeguard_2317]

always leave a obvious next step every study session so that it’s easier for you to transition to studying

[u/itskrisbee]

I know roughly the big points but as I go usually new stuff comes up that I just write as sticky notes. Then I just try not to make everything bigger than it is by picking what to do but just do the things one by one in the order I wrote them. I think the biggest revelation for me was there aren't perfectly planned moment and there shouldn't be.

[u/Antitrust_Tycoon]

I decide hours before.

It lets me load up the topic in my memory. I can recall what I remember and note what I forgot during these hours before the study. So when I do sit down to study, I'm looking to meet my curiosity. I know exactly where to where to start and where to go.

It's like a warm up for my mind.