Beckham's tips to studying and revising more productively
7 April 2022
Hi everyone, my name is Beckham and I’m a 5th-year Marketing and HR student here at Macquarie. Today, I’ll be sharing my tips to help me be productive and energetic when studying and revising.
With Semester 1 in full swing, we are approaching Week 3 with many students getting settled in their courses. I understand that juggling work, university and other commitments can be very daunting, especially for 1st-year students who just started university! As a 5th year student studying part-time and juggling two part-time jobs, I couldn’t agree more as it can get daunting at times!
Don’t worry! I’ll share some tips and tricks that I’d learnt over the years that I find useful in staying motivated and productive:
Tip #1 – Try using the Pomodoro Technique!
Developed by renowned software engineer Francesco Cirillo, The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that breaks work into intervals, typically 25 minutes in length, separated by short 5-minute breaks. The aim of the technique is to reduce the effects of internal and external disruption and encourage focus and flow on the task at hand.
As a student who started using this technique through the recommendation of a classmate, I can truly say that it has helped boosted my productivity. From my experience, I feel that it’s a very efficient and realistic as it allows me to focus on my tasks for 25 minutes, and then enjoy the 5 minutes. For the 5 minutes that I have to enjoy, I usually grab snacks, get water, or just relax on my phone.
For students trying this technique out for the first time, please don’t hesitate to reduce the length from 25 minutes to 20 or 15 minutes! It’s perfectly fine to change the duration to fit your needs.
Tip #2 – Rank your tasks by importance
Another tip that have really helped me is learning to prioritise your tasks by importance. With little time to spare as students juggle work, extracurricular activities and assessments, it is unsurprising that many of us feel overwhelmed with tasks to complete.
I can say that my organisation skills has greatly improved since I adopted this technique. So far, what has been most effective from my experience, is splitting all tasks to 3 categories: very important, important, and not so important. Doing so allows me to understand what must be done at the end of each day, and what tasks that are not so important. In that way, I have a clear idea of what’s needed to be done at the end of each day.
Tip #3 – Exercise often
Studies have shown that exercising regularly helps improve memory and cognitive performance. Not only can exercise help increase focus and concentration, it can also help improve mental health! Other than helping you to focus, it is also a great way to gain strength, maintain weight and reduce your risk of chronic diseases!
On days that I work from home, I try to take a quick 30-minute jog in the morning and another one after I finish work in the evening! Since I adopted this regimen, I noticed that my concentration has improved, and I can get my homework and assignments done quicker!
I hope you these tips and tricks helpful! Remember to take breaks often during your studies! Good Luck!