Audience: Middle and High School Students
According to Prasad and Thakur, overworking can cause cardiovascular disease. Photo by Alexis Brown from Unsplash.
When preparing for tests and exams, it may seem best to dedicate all of your time to sitting down and studying for hours, but you might also notice that your test scores and grades do not correlate with the effort you put in. Sometimes, you may feel overworked and helpless; like nothing you are doing is working. This can feel like the end of the world, but it doesn’t have to be. In theory, the solution is to just work more efficiently so we can shorten our workdays, but what does this actually entail?
The Consequences of Overworking
Overworking, while feeling like the only solution for many, can actually be attributed to negatively affecting quality of work. What this means for you is that you might have to change your study habits in order to avoid the consequences of overworking. Before you can change your study habits, you must first understand why the current method does not work. Of course, social and family life are both negatively impacted by overworking, as well as stress levels, amount of free time, and work-life balance. Working extended hours over long periods of time leads to eventual physical and emotional fatigue, which is not the same as sleeping late every once in a while; a chronic lack of good quality sleep comes with a number of health consequences that go beyond feeling tired. Depression, lack of focus, irritation, anxiety, increased risk of hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, obesity, heart attack, stroke, substance addiction and even suicidal ideation are all consequences of habitual lack of sleep. Especially in today’s world where work is easily brought home due to the addition of technology in the workforce, it can be really easy to get caught in a cycle of overworking.
How Does the Average Person Study?
Within our society, with so many people that have different goals in life, it is not surprising that there is a lot of variation in the way that each person studies. If the picture of the average student’s study habits does not match your own, do not worry! Every person is different in terms of their needs. No matter what, there is something you can take away from learning about a new strategy from a different perspective.
Ideal Study Circumstances and How To Replicate At Home
As a disclaimer, although we should all aim to meet the ideal study circumstances, it is also important to remember that these goals are not always attainable for everyone. Sometimes, breaking off from the ideal can make studying more fun (which might be what you need to get things done) and sometimes your other needs take priority. In general, you should aim to do the best you can, since being unreasonable with your expectations is unproductive!
Ideal circumstance: To avoid distractions, you should generally be working alone.
How to replicate: Be careful of who (if anyone) you choose to work alongside. You should try to spend most of your studying time alone, which may be easier in the early morning or night. Sometimes however, your circumstances might call for group studying. If you are unsure of a topic, you might want a buddy who can help you out, keep you motivated and hold you accountable. Whether you decide to work with others or not should depend on what you’re hoping to get out of the study session. (Are you trying to deepen and clarify your understanding in a subject, or are you trying to review and solidify the knowledge you have?)
Ideal circumstance: Compile knowledge to combine topics and make referencing faster and easier before doing periodic practice tests.
How to replicate: If possible, handwrite a review sheet. Otherwise, make one online, create a review slideshow, practice test, presentation, etc. Do a practice test at the beginning of a session, review topics as needed, repeat.
Ideal circumstance: Pay attention in class for retention and understanding of required knowledge.
How to replicate: Discover what you need to do to be attentive in class (take notes as if you’re taking notes for someone who has missed the class, stay engaged by chewing gum or doodling, ask questions, etc.) If there is a topic you missed, ask a classmate to teach you or find a video online.
Ideal circumstance: Study earlier in the day.
How to replicate: Most people are able to focus better earlier in the day, so try to do the majority of your studying early in the day. For some people however, morning may not be the best time to focus, so test what time of the day works best for you. Sometimes it is not possible to get all your work done at the time you want to, so don’t let the time of day stop you from getting stuff done!
Ideal circumstance: Remove all unnecessary distractions (technology, music, etc.) so you won’t be distracted.
How to replicate: Either hide your electronics or have someone hide them for you. If there is some reason you need your electronics nearby, silence notifications. For many, music is a good motivator to work, so it is not always attainable to completely remove music from your routine. If you choose to listen to music, be sure to determine what genre helps you focus the best (classical music is recommended.)
Ideal circumstance: Studying as you go is more effective and less stressful than cramming at the last minute.
How to replicate: Put aside some time each day (even just 5-10 minutes) to devote to your work. Additionally, try not to put long study sessions/heavy content after a long day or activity.
Ideal circumstance: Take breaks (10 minutes for each hour.)
How to replicate: Promise yourself that you will not skip your breaks since they are very important to avoiding burnout. Try not to use technology during your breaks, as this will make it hard to get back on task. Ideas for breaks include going on a walk around the block, getting water and a snack, using the restroom, having a conversation with someone nearby, organizing/cleaning your space, visiting a pet, reading a chapter of a book you enjoy, making a sketch (try a time-limiting drawing challenge), etc.
Ideal circumstance: Active workspaces increase understanding of topics.
How to replicate: If you don’t have access to a walking pad or treadmill, try going on a walk while conversing with the information you wish to study.
At the end of the day, no one can determine what combination of circumstances works best for them unless they test them out. Make it a goal to test out various study methods; the same thing doesn’t for everyone! Try experimenting, you may even find that different methods might work better for different subjects. Remember, there is more to life than your productivity!
Bibliography:
Grand Canyon University. “An Analysis of Study Habits, According to Students Across the U.S.” Grand Canyon University, 31 Mar. 2022. https://www.gcu.edu/blog/gcu-experience/analysis-study-habits-according-students-across-us. Accessed 21 May 2024.
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Sleep Medicine and Research. “Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem” National Academies Press (US), 2006. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19961/#:~:text=The%20cumulative%20long%2Dterm%20effects,%2C%20heart%20attack%2C%20and%20stroke. Accessed 28 May 2024.
Mayo Clinic. “Active workstations may improve cognitive performance” ScienceDaily, 4 Apr, 2024. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240404113509.htm. Accessed 21 May 2024.
McGee-Thompson, Donna. “How to study efficiently and effectively” Simon Fraser University, Sep. 6, 2023. https://www.lib.sfu.ca/about/branches-depts/slc/learning/exam-prep/efficient-effective-study. Accessed 21 May 2024.
PLOS. “Working outside the typical 9-5 in younger adulthood may be linked with worse health decades later” ScienceDaily, 3 Apr. 2024. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240403170936.htm. Accessed 21 May 2024.
Prasad, Bhairav and Chary Thakur. “Chronic Overworking: Cause Extremely Negative Impact on Health and Quality of Life” IJAMHR, 2019. https://www.ijamhr.com/post.php?id=50. Accessed 21 May 2024.
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