When it comes to the best study methods, everyone seems to have their own personal idea, an opinion that can hold its own against all others, with strength and determination. Over the years, since primary school, we have been told that studying has to do with willpower, with a personal desire to learn and to constantly improve, day after day. To achieve this, but also to complete and enrich their education, students have relied on the most disparate methods, often achieving disastrous results, and on a few occasions even managing to exceed all expectations, acquiring the ability to study correctly and assimilate the desired notions in a simple and effortless manner. Everyone seems to focus on the learning aspects per se, such as memorisation techniques or different methods of schematising, note-taking or transcribing fundamental concepts. What is astonishing is that so little attention is paid to everything that happens outside a mind intent on learning, to the physical environment and the place where one chooses to study, but also to the objects that surround us during those delicate moments. When we want to study effectively, the various elements of the room in which we choose to sit (including the room itself) take on crucial, even decisive importance in achieving our goals.
The importance of the study environment
Generally, to study at its best, one needs a quiet, low-noise environment, with a temperature that is neither too cold nor too hot, with good lighting and comfortable seats in which to spend even several hours in a row. One’s own home (unless one lives alone) is hardly ever a good place to study. The distractions are just too many, and the proximity of the bedroom or kitchen may lead us to relax a little too much, thus hindering our path to proper learning. If you have noticed that studying at home does not bring you any results, perhaps you should think about changing location (regularly changing the physical place where you study, however, can have immense benefits on the quality of your learning). There are people who can concentrate even in bars and public places, like Starbucks, but sometimes it is really difficult to concentrate for one or two hours in a row in such a busy environment. Students should favour the study areas offered by libraries and universities, which in most cases provide all the necessary conditions for a satisfying study session. To isolate themselves from noise, an unavoidable presence even in the seemingly quietest environments, many students choose to listen to music, but this is certainly not the most recommendable option.
Fewer sources of distraction
What matters most, when engaged in the activity of studying, is to minimise sources of distraction. Your smartphone, for example, should not be in the same room as you are studying, or at least not within easy reach. Keep it in your backpack, in your jacket pocket, possibly on silent mode, so that you don’t pick it up every few moments to check WhatsApp or Telegram notifications. The only items allowed on the student’s table are a bottle of water, a pen or pencil for your notes (if you are used to studying this way) and your books, and of course some notepads. Before immersing yourself in studying, it might also be useful to devote a few minutes to meditation, with the aim of purifying your mind and clearing it of all superfluous thoughts that might hinder learning. In this way, you will be able to study consciously and with great concentration for about twenty or thirty minutes and then take a relaxing break for a few minutes.
Once you have finished your studies, it will be a real pleasure to devote yourself to leisure activities. The weather is nice so why not go on a road trip with friends and enjoy the summer! If you would rather indulge in online entertainment, why not binge your favourite shows, or, play online gaming – platforms such as Asiabet offer a wide assortment of safe and reliable online casino games and sports betting sites, as well as useful reviews and guides on various aspects of the game. Thanks to the extreme reliability of all the sites offered, hand-picked by a whole team of experts, players (even the less experienced ones) will feel at home. Just make sure you gamble responsibly.
Any kind of game can be an excellent tool to stimulate the mind, to make it more receptive and ready to learn, as if it were a kind of extremely useful and relaxing training. A few hours of intense concentration, like those one usually dedicates to studying, are the perfect prelude to great fun, to a dream experience to be lived with great intensity and with an awareness built slowly, step by step.
