A few helpful hints for hitting the books at the beginning of another school year.

Stay organized with a calendar and set up a schedule to complete homework.  Set aside time to complete projects and mark it on the calendar. This can be more effective than beginning a paper at midnight when it is due at 8am the next morning.

Start small and take breaks.  Build up your stamina to sit for two hours and study by beginning with a shorter amount of study time.  (Some students returning to school can only manage 15 minutes at a time.) Begin with what is comfortable and study small amounts of material before you are burned out on the subject.

Reward yourself when you have completed the paper or project or learned the material.  (My favorite reward:  chocolate.  Line the pieces up around your book and after reading each page, eat one.  Immediate gratification.)  You can watch a movie or hang out with friends too.  (And bring chocolate along.)

Find a good location and try to use that same spot as often as you can.  I like a desk or table, others prefer the floor.  Lying down on the bed in a supine position is probably not the best – especially for late night studying.  Osmosis from book to brain does not have a high success rate.

Eliminate distractions.  Some like it quiet, others like soft (or loud) music playing.  Texting, talking on the phone, watching TV, playing video games and chatty family members or roommates are generally not recommended.

Marlayne Whitlockm MA, LAPC
mwhitlock@ GROWcounseling.com