Study Skills

For now, I'm off the hook for this goal. Unlike the typical graduate student, I'm not taking any classes this summer. I'm not even going to be doing research at my home institution. I'm heading off to the Washington, DC area to work for three months at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

However, I do have ideas as to how to improve my study skills when the new semester arrives. I fully admit that my note-taking skills are horrible. I can either listen to what my professor is saying or write down what he/she is writing down on the board, not both at the same time. For my birthday this year, my parents gave me a digital voice recorder. I used it for a few classes at the end of the semester and was surprised at how much I was missing when I listened to one of them. The only problem now is finding an extra hour per class in my busy day to re-listen to the class and fill in my notes.

I also need to work on my time management. It's not that I don't have the time to do things, it's that I don't make the time to do things. This goes back to the laziness issue. When I get home from work/school, I want to veg out in front of the TV, even if it means watching a show I've already seen. This needs to stop.

I will be doing a little bit of studying this summer in preparation for my qualifying exams this fall. Although there are not lectures to attend, just my old class notes and textbook, hopefully I won't slack off and will really put some hard studying in so that I pass my qualifying exam with ease.

If you have any study suggestions that work well for you, I'd love to hear about them!