SucceedinginCollegeUnit-3OrganizingYourStudySpace.docx

Organizing Your Study Space

Where you study is important for many reasons—some obvious, some less so. People’s moods, attitudes, and levels of work productivity change in different spaces. Learning to use space to your advantage helps get you off to a good start in your studies. Here are a few of the ways space matters:

Everyone needs their own space: This may seem simple, but everyone needs some physical area, regardless of size, that is truly their own. You tend to feel more secure and in control in your own space.

Physical space reinforces habits: For example, using your bed primarily for sleeping makes it easier to fall asleep there than elsewhere. This is why it may not be the best place to try to stay awake and alert for studying.

Different places create different moods: Everyone needs to discover what space works best and let that space reinforce good study habits. The key is to plan ahead. You do not want to find yourself, the night before an exam, in a place that offers no space for studying.

Use Space to Your Advantage and to Avoid Distractions

Begin by analyzing your needs, preferences, and past problems with places for studying. Where do you usually study? What are the best things about that place for studying? What distractions are most likely to occur there?
The goal is to find, or create, the best place for studying and use it regularly to create good studying habits.

Your study area should be available whenever you need it: You may need two study spaces—one in or near where you live, another on campus.

Your study space should meet your study needs: An open desk or table surface usually works best for writing. You need good light for reading to avoid eyestrain. You need a power outlet if you use a laptop for writing notes, reading, and research.

Your study space should meet your psychological needs: Some students may need total silence with absolutely no visual distractions. Other students may be unable to concentrate for long without looking up from reading and momentarily letting their eyes move over a pleasant scene. Some students may find it easier to stay motivated when surrounded by other students also studying. Experiment to find the setting that works best for you—and remember that the more often you use this same space, the more comfortable and effective your studying will become.

Plan for breaks: Everyone needs to take a break occasionally when studying. Students who try to study for hours with no breaks tend to not retain as much.

Prepare for human interruptions: Even if you hide in a library or coffee shop to study, there is a chance a friend may happen by. At home with family members or in a dorm room or common space, the odds increase greatly. Have a plan ready in case someone asks you to join them in some fun activity. Know when you plan to finish your studying so that you can make a plan for later—or for tomorrow at a set time.

The Distractions of Technology

Multitasking is the term commonly used for being engaged in two or more different activities at the same time, usually referring to activities using devices such as cell phones, smartphones, and computers. Many people claim to be able to do as many as four or five things simultaneously such as writing an e-mail while responding to an instant message (IM) and reading a tweet while watching a video on their computer monitor or talking on the phone. Many people who have grown up with computers consider this kind of multitasking a normal way to get things done including studying. Even people in business sometimes speak of multitasking as an essential component of today’s fast-paced world.
It is true that some things can be attended to while you are doing something else such as checking e-mail while you watch television news—but only when none of those things demand your full attention. You can concentrate 80 percent on the e-mail while 20 percent of your attention is listening for something on the news that catches your attention. When you turn to the television for a minute to watch that segment, you are not working on the e-mail. You are not actually watching the television at the same time you are composing the e-mail—you are rapidly going back and forth. In reality, the mind can focus only on one thing at any given moment. Even things that do not require much thinking are severely impacted by multitasking such as driving while talking on a cell phone or texting. An astonishing number of people end up in the emergency room from trying to walk down the sidewalk while texting.
You might be thinking, “Why should it matter if I write my paper first and then answer e-mails or do them back and forth at the same time?” It actually takes you longer to do two or more things at the same time than if you do them separately—at least with anything that you actually have to focus on such as studying. Each time you go back to studying after looking away to a message or tweet, it takes time for your mind to shift gears to get back to where you were. Every time your attention shifts, you add up more “downtime”—and pretty soon it is evident that multitasking is costing you a lot more time than you think. Manipulate your study space to prevent the temptations altogether. Turn your computer off—or shut down e-mail and messaging programs if you need the computer for studying. Turn your cell phone off.