Check out some study tips for those who have little time

Education / Date: 01-18-2025

Not everyone has the opportunity to dedicate themselves solely to college. Jobs, children and other needs can be part of a student's life and they need to divide their time between them all.The good news is that managing work, academic and personal life can be complicated, but it is possible.

With a few study tips and a lot of discipline, you can complete your usual daily activities and still be an exemplary student .

See what to do to make your day more productive and how not to let a busy routine get in the way of your academic performance .

Invest in a study plan

If organization is already important for those who have time to spare, it becomes crucial for those who don't.

Therefore, the first step is to invest in putting order into your routine and working on an efficient study plan .

List all your activities, work hours, regular appointments and schedule your week. Put everything in writing and don't just rely on your head.

After this survey, check the intervals that can be transformed into study time and distribute the subjects throughout the days.

Remember to also consider those subjects that you have no difficulty with. This will prevent everything from piling up and causing more stress during exam time, for example.

Optimize all your available time

Considering that your time in higher education can bring countless benefits, it should be treated as a priority. For this reason, dedication should not be optional.

Do you know those 10, 15 minutes you spend browsing social media and exchanging messages with your friends? Even those can be turned into an opportunity to study.

Look at your day and see where you are spending precious minutes unnecessarily, and turn that into learning.

It doesn't need to be a time of deep and intense study, but it can be used for reviewing and even doing some reading.

Make notes to review whenever you can.

And since we're talking about optimization, here's a great technique to use in these short learning periods: index cards.

Prepare some in advance on the subjects you have the most difficulty with and carry them with you so that you can use them in your “down time”. Put your cell phone aside for a while while you wait for an appointment, in line at the bank or during your lunch break at work.

It may not seem like much, but it is more useful than you might think. You can easily keep the content fresh in your memory.

Select some video lessons and podcasts to watch/listen to while traveling

Still talking about how to transform any opportunity into a study space, technology can be an excellent ally . Not social networks, but video classes and podcasts can.

Choose some videos and/or audios related to the subjects you are studying and make the most of the time you spend in traffic. Not if you are the driver, of course.

As a passenger, this is a good way to review the subject or learn about other points of view on it.

Invest in resolving issues

According to a study published in 2013 in the scientific journal “Psychological Science in the Public Interest” , there are more and less effective methods when it comes to learning. The one that recorded the highest rate of content assimilation was solving practical tests.

Therefore, since we are talking about tips for studying in a short amount of time, it is best to listen to science.

Don't give up on reading and the theoretical part, but dedicate yourself to practicing the material to ensure that you will be able to memorize it.

Be strict with distractions

There is no point in following all the instructions given above if, when it is time to face the books, you are listening to music or stopping to check any notifications on your cell phone.

In the end, time that is already short becomes no time at all. Therefore, focus on everything and remember that there is a time for everything. Your dedication will be reflected in good grades and excellent academic performance.

This tip also applies to studying in a group. If you already have difficulty focusing, it is best to focus on learning alone.

Unless it's a one-off situation or to get work done, it could hinder your progress more than it helps.