Study Habits

I read a lot about improving study habits, but I have never come across anything that deals with the emotional aspect. Sometimes when studying I feel despair about whether I can learn the material, other times I feel guilty for putting work off. What are some techniques for taming emotions while studying?

Cal responds:

There are few words I hate more than “study.” (Among them: “ebullient.”) It’s ambiguous, and for most students it’s entangled in all sorts of emotional baggage. They feel guilty if they haven’t suffered enough in the library. Student life, for them, becomes a constant struggle — always trying to “study” more, yet always falling a bit short. It’s a lot like dieting. But with less involvement from Kirstie Alley.

The key to kicking the emotions out of the classroom is to focus on the specifics of the process, not the big, scary, abstract idea of “studying.” My suggestions:

1. Never again use the verb “study.” Don’t say “I’m going to study.” Definitely don’t say: “I’ve been slacking off lately, tonight I’m going to make up for it by doing a lot of ebullient studying.” The word is meaningless. Banish it from your vocabulary.

2. Always talk in terms of specific actions. Instead of heading to the library to study, try heading to the library to do something obnoxiously specific. For example: “I am going to go review the notes from lecture 1 to 5 and then type up a study guide chapter for each.” When you finish the specific action, you’re done. Even if you’re friends are just getting warmed up in their “woe is me,” I’m going to spend all night in the library routine.

3. Focus on the process, not results. Don’t worry too much about your test grades. Use them mainly to gauge how well your study process worked. When you get your results, go back and review what actions you did to prepare. Ask yourself what you could have changed to have done better. Follow this new plan the next time around. The key is to focus on the process. Not you. And definitely not Kirstie Alley.