How to optimise your study time

All through the academic journey, many remain fixated on the final outcome. Whether it’s a final exam, board exam or competitive exam, we spend a lot of our time, energy and attention on the outcome as opposed to our process of learning.

Even then, the results may not be what we expect and we may be disappointed. A valid reason behind such incidents is our approach towards the task and our goals. We must understand that it is not about how we conquer the goal, it is how we touch the finishing line.

If you are going to appear for a final exam, we would seek to prepare our surroundings to increase productivity, formulate a strategy to get a good grade, manage our attention and look at problem-solving techniques. You may even excel in the exams but the process doesn’t end there. One needs to improve further, as the famous Japanese proverb goes, “after winning the battle, tighten your helmet.”

To achieve excellence, one needs to improve oneself continuously. Continuous improvement enhances productivity as we are motivated to do better every day. By doing this, we can focus on each task, and remove activities that needlessly consume our time.

Here are a few techniques that can be adopted to enhance our academic performance:

Make each task leaner: The Kaizen Principle, which originated in Japan, recommends removing existing tasks that consume or waste time to make a system leaner. We could strive to avoid extra travel time, improve the layout of our study room, and streamline content or information to avoid repetition.

Design an environment: A study space plays a vital role in how effectively we learn and absorb new information. Comfort, noise, lighting, and colour can all affect our learning ability. Design one that optimises comfort and learning.

The Pareto Principle: The Pareto Principle states that 80% of all consequences stem from 20% of causes. By allocating more time and resources to 20% of the portion that is vital, 80% of the score may be impacted. The remaining 80% of the course may require considerably less effort.

Ultradian performance rhythms: Ultradian rhythms operate continuously, through the day and night and influence our productivity based on the time of the day. They are measurable and during 90-minute cycles, our productivity and performance reach their peak and an hour and a half later, our body enters an ultradian trough — when our energy to complete a task reduces. This period can be identified prudently to complete complex tasks.

The Pomodoro Technique: Using this time-management system, a study day can be divided into 25-minute chunks with 5-minute breaks. During the 25 minutes, one should focus on a single task until the timer rings. This technique minimises distractions.

Habit journal: Forming good habits takes a long time. Ideally, it takes about 24 days to form a habit. Maintaining a habit journal can be a well-designed visual cue that reminds us to act and keep us motivated.