Useful study habits to acquire over the summer

Summer is a great time to get new habits that will help you organize your time and be productive next year. It will take a little effort and determination, a little persistence, and a little time, but the result will delight you all year long, if not for life. We’ve compiled a list of habits to develop over the summer to easily start the school year.

Keep your workplace in order

Keeping your workplace in order helps you find the information you need faster and puts you in a businesslike mood. The workplace is not only a desk but also drawers, shelves, racks with textbooks, notebooks, books, and stationery. It is also your computer or laptop with all the documents and folders that are stored there. It is also useful to organize your browser, put all your bookmarks into thematic folders, and delete unnecessary ones. The same applies to e-mail. But be careful not to delete important chats with people or professional dissertation help online that you may still need.  Periodic tidying up is a useful thing, but it is even more useful to get into the habit of keeping it in order all the time.

How to learn:

• put things in order every morning for 10-15 minutes;
• put things in their proper places;
• save files in the right folders;
• discard/delete unnecessary documents immediately.

To wake up on time without an alarm clock

First, it’s convenient – you don’t have to worry that the alarm clock won’t ring for some reason or you’ll automatically turn it off and go back to sleep. Secondly, it means that you live at a suitable rhythm for yourself and get enough sleep regularly. Being able to wake up on time without an alarm clock indicates a good nervous system.

How to learn:

• when going to bed at various times, observe yourself – when you wake up yourself and how you feel at that;
• once you have found your optimal waking time, gradually shift your bedtime out so that you can wake up at the right time for yourself;
• set a goal for yourself to wake up at a certain time before you go to sleep;
• do this regularly for a month.

Noticing intermediate results

One of the obstacles on the way to the goal is the inability to assess the intermediate result, to praise yourself for it, and generally recognize that this result exists. Over the summer it is worth learning to see these intermediate results, to note what steps have already been taken to achieve the goal and to encourage yourself for them. You can practice on topics unrelated to school work – for example, you want to learn new tricks on rollerskates, make new friends, pass to a steep level in a game. Then it will be easy to transfer this habit to school.

How to learn:

• identify several steps in reaching your goal, for example, first, you will learn to stand confidently on your rollers, then ride 50 meters, then 100 meters, then turn around and spin on the spot;
• praise and encourage yourself for reaching each stage;
• tell your parents or friends about your intermediate successes, focusing on what you can do more now, not on how little you’ve accomplished;
• pay attention to the moments when you devalue your results, and try not to do so;
• use this technique every time you need to learn something.

Stop criticizing yourself

If you have the habit of cursing and criticizing yourself for failures and mistakes, you should get rid of it now, before it becomes a real obstacle in achieving life goals. In the absence of internal criticism, the ability to accept and approve of yourself reduces internal tension, increases motivation, helps you master new knowledge and skills, and achieve goals.

How to learn:

• every time accusations start to sound in your head, stop yourself;
• Replace accusations with words of support;
• watch how your state of mind changes when you accept yourself instead of criticizing;
• Be on your side in every situation.

Learn something new every day

By constantly processing new information, the brain gets used to the need to be constantly “toned,” increasing the activity of neurons and the connection between them. As a result, a person begins to remember information faster, and there is a thirst for knowledge.

How to learn:

• memorize several new words of a foreign language every day;
• learn one short poem a day;
• read 10-15 pages a day for use, not for fun: textbooks, manuals, self-development books, popular science literature.

To form a good habit, you have to be persistent and consistent. Get down to business now, and in two weeks you’ll notice that you’ve made significant progress in mastering the skill. Gradually, the new habits will become harmoniously integrated into your life. That’s how you win.