Study Skills and Time Management
Secondary school rewarded cramming. Higher education rewards a system, and you can build one this week.
It is week three of your first semester. You have six courses, a timetable that changes every Monday, a handout you have not opened, and a friend who seems to read for two hours a day and still has time for football. Meanwhile you are reading at 1 a.m. by torchlight because NEPA took the light, and nothing is sticking.
Your friend is not smarter than you. They have a system. This course starts by giving you one, because every other course you take will depend on it.
Meaning of Study Skills
Study skills are the strategies and habits a learner uses to acquire, organise, remember and apply knowledge efficiently. They include managing time, reading with purpose, taking and making notes, using the library, preparing for examinations and writing clearly.
Why does a university or polytechnic bother to teach them? Because the rules have changed. In secondary school a teacher chased you, dictated notes and told you exactly what would come out. In higher education you are an independent learner: lecturers point the way, and you do most of the walking. Students who fail in their first year rarely lack brains. They lack method.
Time Management
Time management is the process of planning and controlling how much time you spend on specific activities so that you work efficiently and meet your goals. For a student it means deciding, in advance, when you will attend lectures, study, rest, worship, work and socialise, and then actually doing it.
Worked example
Building a personal study timetable
A timetable is a promise you make to yourself. Here is how to make one you can keep.
- 1 Fix the fixed things
Write in lectures, practicals, travel time, meals, worship and sleep. These are not negotiable, so they go in first.
| Good study habits | Poor study habits |
|---|---|
| Studying at fixed times in a quiet, well-lit place | Studying only when "in the mood" |
| Reviewing lecture notes within 24 hours | Leaving notes untouched until exam week |
| Setting a clear goal for each session ("finish Chapter 2 and its questions") | Reading aimlessly with no target |
| Keeping the phone face down or in another room | Checking WhatsApp after every paragraph |
| Asking questions and joining a serious study group | Copying a friend's notes without understanding them |
| Getting enough sleep before an exam | Night-long "TDB" (till daybreak) cramming |
Pause & think
Bisi says, "I read for six hours every night, so I must be studying well." What important question should she ask herself?
Spotted a mistake?