Chances have it that if you’re trying to learn how to improve your study habits it’s because you have studying to do, which means you probably don’t have oodles of time to read massive books about how to study … which is why we’re here.
Somewhere between junior high and college, teachers expect that you will have magically learned how to study. I have no idea where they get that idea since few schools actually offer courses in how to take notes, and, to be fair, most teachers have more material to teach than they do time. As a result, study skills rarely work into the lesson plan, leaving you without the skills you need to reach your academic potential … which is why we’re here.
There are some who would swear study is a four-letter word. Just the threat of it calls up nightmares about maelstroms of papers to write, monuments of charts to fill, and galaxies of numbers to crunch—all due tomorrow. It’s enough to make anyone procrastinate or die a premature, stress-related death … which is why we’re here.
Studying is all about pacing. It’s about studying your brains out without losing your mind. Or, to put it differently, it’s about studying to your brain’s fullest potential using techniques that are actually easy for you, making you smart while keeping you sane. So, in an effort to make you as smart as possible in a way that is as painless as possible in as little time as possible, I have written this zesty little guide to get you started on what will hopefully become a lifetime of studiousness and success. Which, in the end, is why we are here.