Mistakes in Study – Why ‘Best Intentions’ Aren’t Always Enough

[Martin’s note: I’m taking emergency posting measures while I’m ill. This is not a finished post, neither is it polished and properly checked. So please forgive any mistakes, shortcomings, and rambling points. You never know…one day I might even tidy this article up…maybe…]

Oups! (photo by scol22)

I’ve always believed that – since we’re so different – we all have different ways of working effectively.

Personally, I worked throughout the year, not just when an essay was due or an exam immenent. I felt it much easier to focus on the study when it was fresh in my mind. With each lecture and seminar, I made the most of the information presented and built my knowledge and ideas up as I moved along.

But that’s just my method. We’re not all the same and some of you may prefer to cram all the information together in one big bundle, just before it’s needed.

I say this because potential problems lie with the belief that there is only one way of working.

It’s not uncommon to hear complaints like, “No matter how hard I try, I still can’t get to grips with my work” and “I can’t understand why my brain won’t take anything in when I want it to”.

It’s true…if a system of working doesn’t gel for you, it won’t make a difference how hard you try.

Let’s look at some of the mistakes that people can make when studying for their degree:

  • Upping the time spent studying, but consequently wasting it

There is a false belief amongst many that the more time you spend on your study, the better you’re going to deal with it. But this just isn’t the case. With a particular system in place, it’s perfectly possible, but spending more time on study will not work in isolation. Much better to enhance the WAY in which you work, rather than the amount of time spent working.

  • Having a lack of focus, even when your intentions are good

If you’re not sure what you’re meant to be studying, how on earth can you push forward with revision and writing? If you’ve set aside quality time, but don’t know where to begin, chances are you’ll end up achieving very little. It’s a recipe for panic and stress.

Step back a bit and try to get a view of the bigger picture. It’s wise to do some general background reading first (from your own books, from the library, on Wikipedia, and any other general info websites out there). It’s no use throwing yourself in the deep end if you don’t know how to swim. So work the basics and overall points first.

  • Spending too much time planning and not enough time doing

Maybe you like to build an elaborate sketch of what you need to work on, which times you’re going to work on it, where the information is available, and so on. Maybe you also like to write your notes up several times, convinced they will be perfect the next time. When I was at uni, I knew one person who would write up their notes in neater handwriting, as if the better handwriting would improve their memory capacity.

There’s certainly something to be said about re-writing your notes to imprint them on your brain (it does work for some people), but it’s never worth making your notes neat just for the sake of it.

My point is, your planning could be down to a complex method of procrastination. Anything but the actual revision itself. But you feel better if it’s RELATED to your revision. Sadly, it’s no excuse, so if you recognise yourself in this example, it’s time to have words with yourself and knuckling down!

  • Letting peer pressure get in the way of your study time

I’m sure most of us have been here before. Your good intentions are blasted out of the water because your mates are pleading with you to spend a day out with them.

Friends are often like this without realising. The only thing you can do about it is to say ‘no’. If you’ve got a clear study time that needs adhering to, there’s nothing to do except tell your mates that you definitely can’t do anything at the moment. They might try and persuade you every which way, but rather than give excuses or ‘um and ah’ about it, just stay strong and say that you must stick with the study and there’s nothing you can do about it. You owe it to yourself to do this. Hang on in there.

  • Allowing your stubborn want for more leisure time to get in the way

You can’t just blame peer pressure on study problems. As I’ve said above, the final say rests with you and you owe it to yourself not to stray from the goals you’ve set. You set them for a reason, so turning your back on them isn’t wise.

  • Not working in the way your brain can handle it best

Just because you’ve heard from a few people that cramming is getting them through exams, that doesn’t mean it’ll work for you.

It’s just the same with the advice I give on this site. You’re not going to agree with all of it, so you have to find your own way to success. The hints and tips you get from books, this website, your friends, or wherever, are for you to take in and then find what’s best for you.

Maybe you’ll take to cramming naturally. But who’s to say you’d get on much better with regular blocks of work instead? Get experimenting!

  • Misunderstanding what’s most important

Don’t be too lax when it comes to your study. There could be several modules that you need to set time aside for and they may all seem of equal importance. But some modules may not be worth as many marks and other tests may not have any bearing on your final grades whatsoever.

For this reason, it’s important to make value judgements and be clear about what’s most important in the whole scheme of things. For example, just because one tutor has set a test worth nothing (except experience) on the same day as you have an exam worth a third of your marks, it’s a bad decision to work just as hard on the impromtu test just because, let’s say, your tutor will have a go at you if you do badly.

At the same time, you’ll hopefully be managing your time a bit better so you can work on both without an issue… 😉

  • My old favourite…BALANCE (not enough leisure time is just as bad as not enough study time)

I’m sure you’re aware of the saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Well, it’s true even if your name isn’t Jack.

Imagine going through the first couple of months at uni in a daze of fun, partying, socialising at clubs and societies and, of course, getting a bit of work in when you can. Now imagine sitting down for a couple of weeks after all this, doing nothing but revision and writing essays that are due in.

Your mind and body are not going to thank you for shaking everything up so dramatically.

So even if you’ve totally ignored work for the majority of the semester, your intense study time still needs to be broken down with regular break periods and relaxing activities.

Balance (photo by darktaco)

—–

Before you excel in anything, you have to have a grasp of how to do it and what works best for you. It’s also important to have faith in yourself and the drive to do it. Without the faith, you’re in danger of wrongly giving it up as a bad job. Without the drive, you’re in danger of procrastinating and allowing your mind to wander.

So even if you have the best intentions to get that work done, don’t forget to push down any other barriers in your way too. And give yourself a pat on the back when you’re done. Alternatively, just go down the bar with your mates to celebrate!

The annoyance of being ill

It’s the evening of November 13 and I’m still feeling unwell. It happens at a time when I had a few slightly different ideas buzzing about that I wanted to write about.

I’m afraid they’ll just have to wait. It’s difficult enough spending this small amount of time writing this. I’d rather be resting up to be honest!

Not that I’m THAT ill, but it really takes the wind out of your sails. Still, it’s given me some thought on some EduLinks (and possibly articles) on health and stuff like the dreaded Fresher Flu…

I hope to put up one of my semi-finished articles (for I have many) and get it polished enough in five minutes to have it good enough to post tomorrow. If not, please bear with me. But I’ll try and get something sorted!

Wish me luck!

EduLinks – Tuesday 13 November

Due to illness (cough, splutter, sneeze, etc.), I’ve not finished the EduLinks post, but it’s mainly there, so hopefully there’s enough here for you to be getting on with:

Unclutterer – Zoom Room Bed

I wish my student room had been like this. Okay, so it looks slightly too executive for a student, but it would have been an improvement.

I’m probably such a snob. To be fair, my rooms at the wonderful Winchester were pretty good for student rooms. That probably had something to do with the fact I was in about the second year of students to frequent the rooms. Hardly any time for TOO much damage to have been done.

Still, a bedroom that you can turn into a hardcore lounging and study room? Alright, I’ll drop it now. It’s not going to happen, is it?

Ririan Project – Top 10 Ways to Ruin Your Night

Didn’t get enough from my post on getting to sleep? Here’s a brilliant post over at Ririan Project. It overlaps in some places, but there are so many other great ideas that you’ll need it if you’re trying to improve your sleeping habits.

University of Bath – Student Enterprise’07

Student Enterprise’07 Press Release @ Hero.ac.uk

Want to make money and ALSO be happy? It’s not as easy as it looks for many of the people with megabucks. I’m sure most of us would still like to have lots of money to do whatever we wish, but a lot depends on the mindset.

I like the idea of Student Enterprise’07 conference that’s at the University of Bath on 16 November (Friday). According to the links, the conference is for students to hear about forming ideas for starting companies and making them great. But one talk will be on how to get rich and stay happy at the same time. Gavin Eddy, speaking at the conference, says “The challenge when starting your own business is to be successful on your own terms”.

I wish students at the Uni of Bath (and any others who can make this conference) the very best of luck in their future business plans!

Education Guardian – ‘Beacons’ scheme to link universities with public

Universities to work with the public and take it seriously.

Apparently, academics who engage with the public in their research are not regarded as highly as their other peers. This idea is trying to put a stop to that.

Independent – Crime risk warning to users of social networking sites

I’m still amazed at how much information some students are willing to hand over to the public. I say ‘the public’, because there are many individual profiles out there, available for all to look at. In some cases it’ll be fairly revealing photos, while in others you’ll get full address details and when they’re next going on holiday, etc., etc.

People can now post photos of all their friends to social networking sites and make them available to anyone. And even if they only make it available to ‘friends’, that doesn’t mean the people in the photos are going to want those photos shared with others.

Telegraph – Blogs move into the UK mainstream

If you want to go beyond Facebook, MySpace, et al, then you could always start a blog like this one. Blogging’s all the rage in the UK now…

The Simple Dollar – How to Construct a Killer Resume From Start to Finish

If you’re taking steps to build up a sterling CV after my series of posts, this link provides some good advice on how to make your CV and applications shine.

Studenthacks – Group Study 101: How to Avoid Goofing Off

Looking at a very different set of thoughts to those in my ‘Working in Groups’ post yesterday, Studenthacks.org discusses studying in groups for exam revision and general work, as opposed to talks and presentations. One of my favourite suggestions in the article is “Discuss Class Notes”, because everyone should have a different perspective and open up the discussion somewhat. The more rounded and researched your arguments can be, the more chance you have of getting the pass you want.

Working With Others: Turning a ‘Group’ Into a Grade Winning ‘Team’

Diversity 3 (photo by spekulator)

Be it a presentation, a talk, or a project, there are many possibilities of working in a group during your years at university.

I’d rather call it a ‘team’, but the word doesn’t seem to gel with studying as much as it has in the workplace. We refer to ‘group presentations’, ‘group talks’, ‘group projects’, and we very rarely substitute the word ‘group’ for the word ‘team’.

Nevertheless, a successful group is one that can pull together to become a real team. Today I present you with some ways in which you can move toward this.

Before that, we need to first consider the selection process. Sometimes you are given the opportunity to form your own groups. Other times, you are told who to work with:

If you have a choice in selecting groups –

  • Don’t make the group too large – If there is no strict number of members required, you may be mistaken into thinking that a large group of people will help make things easier. It won’t. The two words to remember here are ‘reasonable’ and ‘realistic’. Asking 12 people to form a group that’s working on a 10 minute talk is ridiculous. You might think more people means less work, but the flipside is that you’ll encounter more arguing within the group. Anyway, 12 peeps on a 10 minute talk would look slapdash and stupid.
  • Don’t just go with your friends out of default – When we’re given the choice to form a study group, it’s not surprising that we stay in our comfort zone and stick around with the people we’re mates with. But what’s the point in that? If you’re aware that one or two other people are suited to the way you think, it’s the best time to pluck up the courage to ask if you can help form a group with them. I accidentally discovered this useful piece of info one day when my usual crowd wasn’t in seminar with me. I had to look around and consider which people I had time for academically, even if I didn’t know much else about them. I chose a group that had already started forming and asked if they would mind if I helped them out too. They were happy for me to join and we created a very good presentation that got the highest mark in the class. From that point on, there was no looking back!
  • Offer to work with THEM, don’t suggest they work with YOU – It’s essentially the same thing, but if you word this the wrong way around, it’ll look like you’re parading as a bit of a know-all leader. You’ll get a lot more respect if you humbly offer to be part of a group.

If you don’t have a choice in the matter –

  • Be positive and look at the strengths within the group – While many lose interest straight away as they inwardly moan and get wound up with the people they’ve been forced to work with, you have a chance to seek ways forward. Much better to consider how to make the most of a given situation, rather than dwell on a less than perfect group.
  • Don’t compare other groups and start wishing you were in X or Y group – It’s not going to happen, so it’s a waste of valuable time. And what’s the point in getting even more frustrated by a situation you can’t change?
  • Learn what you can about what your peers’ ideas are – It’s amazing what an open mind can give you. In asking friendly questions and showing an interest in where each member of the group wants to take the assignment, you’ll help to build a rapport that could develop both the group and possibly beyond.
  • Ask any difficult and uncooperative member of the group what they would like to do regarding the assignment – Try to engage them before you get angry or upset. If it’s clear that the individual has no intention to participate properly on purpose, seek guidance from your tutor if all the group agree there’s a serious problem. But remember that there’s a difference between an uncooperative person and a person who is finding things difficult academically. Be sure to understand the difference. [I’d be surprised if you find someone who causes that much trouble, but it’s worth keeping in mind if the situation rises on one of those rare occasions.]

Now you have your group (and a few tips thrown in for good measure), let’s get down to the ways in which you can make the group/team shine:

PARTICIPATE

Participation works on many levels. To get you started, to participate means to Speak, Listen, Consider, Encourage, Develop, be Friendly and Open, Take Notes, have an Overall View (not just your own).

Employers make a big deal about a person’s ability to work in a team, as well as on their own. If you can participate effectively, you’ll have no problem with working in a team. Now’s the best time to take participation to a whole new level.

BE ADULT

While you may not agree with everybody else’s comments, there’s no need to let your own opinions overtake. Avoid unnecessary arguing by allowing everyone a chance to say their piece.

Once all people have been heard, it’s still not a good time to rush in with counter arguments. Rather than shout an idea down, suggest another way of looking at it. Ask if there is a way that both sides can be used to move things forward for the better. By incorporating different views, you may even manage to impress the tutor more than if your individual opinions led the way. Depends on the subject, of course!

APPRECIATE OTHERS AND THEIR DIFFERENCES

The world would not be the way it is if we were all the same. For this reason, keep your mind open to all eventualities and possibilities. For example, let a quieter person speak, show an interest in an idea, and don’t be afraid to suggest new ways for the group to interact if it’s not currently working. As always, if you’re the only person who doesn’t think the group is working, you’ll need to have words with yourself and work out why everyone else is moving along fine.

MAKE SURE EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING TO DO

It depends on what the purpose of your group is, but if it’s anything to do with a joint talk or joint presentation, make sure everyone has a fair workload.

Firstly, don’t leave anyone out of the work because you don’t think they’re good enough to do it.

Secondly, give a selection of tasks between each other. No individual group member should take all the fun stuff while someone else suffers the boring or laboursome work. Just as productivity is about finding a balance, so is organising workloads.

GO OVER WHAT YOU HAVE ACHIEVED AND AGREE NEXT STEPS

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen groups come apart at the seams because some members didn’t know what they were meant to be doing. To make matters worse, this can lead to slanging matches between members, rather than a reasonable effort to fix the problem before it’s ‘too broke to bring back’.

The best advice is not to let things develop this way in the first place.

So in closing each group meeting, everyone should remind themselves of what’s needed, what’s been agreed, who’s doing what and when you’re next meeting to continue the process. Make sure you’re all happy, prepared and understanding.

ASK FOR CLARIFICATION OVER ANYTHING YOU’RE UNCERTAIN ABOUT

It’s been said many times…If you don’t understand something, there will be others who don’t understand it either. Don’t be afraid to get your queries and uncertainties answered as you go along. The whole group will be in a stronger position if you do this.

EXPLAIN THINGS TO OTHERS IF THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING

Even if you don’t have any questions, other members of the group might.

If they do, give a little time to help them make sense of things. It will help the group to combine even further, as well as save time later by avoiding bigger problems later on. Ignoring an individual’s difficulty is a bad move if you’re meant to be part of a team.

———-

Let your work with others allow you to open up a bit and notice new things around you. One of the best things about teamwork is that you can find a whole new perspective on a subject you thought you knew everything about. Make the most of it and, ever so importantly, enjoy!