Studious readers take note. There once was a time when your study habits weren’t the best. And, this is something we all go through (some more than others) especially when we’re in our youth. Study habits have to be honed, much like a knife. This typically happens over time as we learn. But, sometimes we get distracted with life. That girl two rows up might be looking over her shoulder at you during class. Or, that guy you have your eye on passed you a note just the other morning and you can’t keep your mind on anything else. 

Maybe it’s social media. You just can’t keep focused sometimes, and that’s ok. This happens from time to time. But if you’re going to succeed in the classroom (or in life) you have to develop good study habits, and thankfully there are many tools at our disposal to do so.Below we’ll outline a few tips and tools for you to use to aid in developing quality study habits.

Niche Communication

Now, based on the assumption that you’re not studying everything on the planet, you probably have a niche subject that you need to pay attention to more than others. Here, it becomes key to focus on everything revolving around the subject you’re studying.

Basically, you want to immerse yourself in one particular niche universe at a time.One great way to enhance niche focus is to engage in discourse with others studying or interested in the same subject. A perfect tool to use for this process is Usenet.If you’ve never heard of Usenet, you’ve probably run across it a few times but weren’t aware. Usenet was developed by grad students for the purpose of sharing academic work, and it actually pre-dates the Internet. Usenet is its own separate network. And, while you can access Usenet through the Internet, it’s best to use a Usenet-specific provider.

Usenet is categorized by its volume of newsgroups within the network. Each newsgroup is essentially based on a topic of discussion, and the niche you’re looking for will probably be somewhere in the Usenet network. 

Whether you’re studying world history, microbiology, or quantum mechanics, there will be a newsgroup (probably full of academics) discussing these same topics. Here, you’ll be able to connect with others, and perhaps even arrange online study/chat groups.

Remove Distractions

This is perhaps the most important aspect of developing good study habits. 

Today, distractions are everywhere. Just consider how many times you look at your phone. It’s estimated that the average person’s smartphone gets roughly 50 to 80 push notifications per day. This number doubles and sometimes triples when it comes to users in their teenage years and early twenties, and this is the prime age for needing to develop good study habits. 

Silence your phone, or put it away altogether when you’re trying to focus on your studies. Nowadays, many of us use our phones to quickly look up information on Google. But, when you’re studying, you really need to keep this in check, so it’s best to just use your laptop when performing research in order to help mitigate distractions.

You also need to limit your exposure to ambient noise. Background noise might not seem distracting at first, but try to read through a philosophical abstract on the nature of creation and you’ll see just how annoying that TV is in the background.

Often, our poor study habits are directly related to our inability to focus due to the distractions around us. So, whether this is the TV, a radio, your phone, or another person talking near you, you’ll want to take the steps to remove any and all distractions prior to concentrating on your studies.

Good study habits bring you good grades in the classroom and high scores in life. You’ll find that after you leave the classroom and head out into the world, being able to absorb information, focus, and pay attention to detail are skills that must be developed if you’re to succeed in the world today. So, study hard and keep at it. The rewards are well worth the effort.