Top study tips shared

 my top tip is to keep it truthful, by that i mean ur own iterpretation, not to be disuded by new knowlage, yes ur tutors advice, but ur answer should be truthful from what youve learnt to what ur answer maybe.

 If I had to choose one tip that has helped me during my studies to share with other students, it would be:

KEEP IN TOUCH with your TUTOR and other STUDENTS. Your tutor is your most valuable resource at the OU, he will guide you in the right direction, point your weaknesses and help you improve throughout the course. Other students doing the same course as you are your source of motivation and what keep the OU's virtual world more alive and more real. It is very easy to isolate yourself when studying at home, so don't forget that there are other people out there in the same situation as you and people wanting to help you, they are the key for your success.

I think its really important to relax properly before studying, especialy if you're stressed!  If you don't get into a positive mind frame before hand, your mind will be wondering all over the place.  So, listen to some light music for about 20 minutes, make sure you've hand something to eat and then make a start.  I find this a much more productive way to make the best out of my study time.  Zone out first and then you can absorb exactly what you need to.

For me, the best study destination for study is a coffee shop. I am a massive Starbucks fan, so this is my usual destination, but any coffee shop serves the same purpose- armed with an  Americano and Skinny Muffins galore, I feel ready for hours of study! Not only does the caffeine give me a little lift and double my concentration, but it is a good place to sit and focus, away from the distractions of TV and housework (in times of severe procrastination desperation!) when trying to study at home, something I find particularly difficult. Find the right coffee shop and you can sit their for hours without being distracted, and enjoy the chilled out ambience. 

One tip though, if you intend to do this long term like I do- invest in a loyalty card/ top up card so you can gain enough points for free drinks- not only is this better on the wallet, but gives you an incentive to grab those study materials and head in to claim your free drinks!! 

My tip is to always have one of the course books with you (however big it is!). I only get a 45 minute lunch break and don't have time to leave the premises so I get a good half an hour's worth of reading done every day on top of my planned study time. I've also stolen reading time at the hair salon and on public transport. Every little helps, even if you only carry a book you have read already, it doesn't hurt re-reading passages.

My top tip is to plan not just when and what to study, but also when NOT to study.  If you don't plan breaks for yourself you can end up feeling guilty all the time you're not studying, so you don't actually enjoy the leisure time you do have and you end up resenting the studying and not enjoying that either.

Get to know yourself;

Everybody has internalized principles and set patterns of behaviour, but take the time to really understand your own.

When you are working to your strengths then the results improve naturally.

My top tips for successful study:

• Plan ahead with reading text books for assignments
• Do not be afraid to ask questions to your tutor and fellow students
• Try and think critically when reading text books and doing assignments
• Give yourself plenty of time to do assignments so you do not leave it to the last minute
• Try to attend all tutorials available   

My top study Tips

I had a schedule.  A plan of study. I set a timetable that was a guide on how i study on daily basis. I gave myself enough time to study.

 I will find a good quiet place to study more especialy in the library. I will do pre reading before coming to class so that i have an idea about the topic before coming to class. I made short notes in class during the lessons. I would make sure that my assignments and project are done on time to avoid late submissions or not meeting deadlines.

Organised a study group with friends. We met 3 times a week and discuss different modules. We made sure that we are familiar with the topic. We will brainstorm and come up with new ideas. We will answer TMA questions and Frequently Asked Questions after studying the whole materials. We discussed past exam papers, answered the questions and compared them.

I drew some diagrams from the books and plugged them in my study room to remind myself everyday  so that i dont mix them up and be clear on how to label them.

I agree with the 'little by little' approach as I am great procrastinator before settling down to studying, so I adopt the stick and carrot method. My motivator is the kitchen timer. I plan how many hours are probably needed and divide this up into chunks, aiming to manage so many chunks per day/per week according to non-OU-life work schedules. I set it for 45mins and promise myself a reward if I study for this length of time. Rewards vary according to the time of day - evening study may be rewarded with a glass of wine, whereas daytime rewards include cups of hot chocolate or a kitkat. I usually find that I have got well into the subject within the 45mins and am absorbed by it so that I go beyond my 45minute allowance. After a break and a reward I am ready to try another chunk.

A number of tips helped me do very well, i did the following:

I chose a study group that was more focused in which we had guidelines to follow e.g non of the group members was in facebook up until we finished. We  studied as a group but i had my own time to read alone.

I always made short notes in class as the tutor was teaching and  i used all the studying materals  we were given.

I started reading as soon as we started the modules which reduced the workload at the end because i had to read on the areas that i did not understand only. In addition i never became a time chaser because i always submitted my assignments on time. 

The challenges i had made me study a lot that is, i never let my problems hinder my studying rather they motivated me.

Remember refreshing is very important when reading.

My top tip is an oldie but a goodie! Do not procrastinate, even if you think you are the type of person who needs that fire under them to get the work/studying done. I used to think I was that kind of person, but since I've started my OU course not only have I realised that getting on top of your work in advance is less stressful, but the quality of work is so much better too.

Well my top tip would be to treat your studies as your relaxation time that way it will never become a chore. Even when your burning the midnight oil to meet yout TMA deadline, it is something that you want to do, not need to do. There will be times that you will become fed up, as with all hobbies, take a break, do not force yourself to read the material youwill be wasting your time, it won't sinkin. And finally enjoy your time with the OU,you will look back as I do with a great sense of achievement and pride.

My top tip would be to find a time/place which works best for you when studying. The best way I've found to motivate myself to study whilst at home is to get into a routine, and to have a particular time set aside in my week and a place to do that, and has really helped me with the course.

Contrary to the Study Planner, I answer all my TMA questions after studying the whole material. That way I am forced to revise. It helps me reinforce what I have learnt or learn what I missed for some reason.

Also, this may not be applicable for all, but I leave my study material open and ready on a desk throughout the /night, so if I have a spare half an hour or so, or if I cannot sleep, I sit down and study a bit. This way I don't get put off by the laborious task of setting up for studying.

 When Im having lazy days or busy periods in life I look in my '5 years from now folder' found on my laptop. This has the following;

1. Several pictures of things I would like to achieve in life. I would like to have a mortgage so it has a house with a sold sign on it, a new car as I will treat myself to new car if I do well in my degree.
2. It has a list of everything I have achieved which was hard work to give me self belief not just education related.
3. It has job decriptions of several jobs I would like to apply for with the pay bracket
4. Finally a picture of disneyland Florida because I would love to surprise my little boy with a holiday there once I gain a better job from my degree.

The aim of this folder is to ensure I will always try my best despite what happens my degree will always be a top prioroity in my life for the next few years.

My top tip for studying after trying is to:

Get all your module things set out in your study area, so that all you have to do is pick up a book or type on your PC/laptop.

Set a timer on something, I set my phone alarm, its in my docking station and plays music after 20 minutes of study.  You could set the cooker or microwave timer, in another room so you have to get up.

Now your ready to study, I study like this as I have bad concentration and I find doing it this way makes me concentrate more, and remember more!  So for 20 minutes you are learning, and you know its not all all day session, just 20 minutes, so you give 100%.

When your alarm goes off after 20minutes, take a break, make a coffee or do lunch something away from what you were learning.  I find that getting away from my study things, whilst making a coffee or lunch I actually think more about what I was learning about than I did if I stayed sat looking at my books!

After a break, go back to your studying if you are continuing that day and carry on.  I used to just sit and look at my books for hours and stare at my screen reading things, I found not all of what I had done sunk in, so I tried this method and it works.  Studying in small chunks helps keep motivation high and you feel good as you realise a lot more than normal is sinking in!

I am studying for a psychology degree with the ou. I am a busy homeschooling mum, I find it helpful to use every opportunity to study, while the children are swimming or a piano lesson. I also like to discuss whatever I am studying with anyone who will listen. My children say I am obsessed with psychology.

I have trouble concentrating so I end up going off and doing other things when I should be studying. I end up with a clean house and ironed socks (okay, perhaps a slight exaggeration) but I was getting little studying done.

I'm not one for study planners as I prefer to be flexible with my studies, so I decided to try setting a timer on my phone. I told myself that if I could study for n minutes all in one go without getting distracted then I could have a reward. I know it sounds like something you might tell a child, but for me that is what it took to make me concentrate. I started with 15 minutes and then gradually extended it to an hour. It really helps me to focus and it gives me a visual indication of how long I have really been studying for. I feel good when I look at the timer and half an hour has already gone by, so it re-enforces in my mind that studying is rewarding.

I find writing in pencil, rather than pen helps ??

I like to tell the cats all about what I've just read, somehow helps me understand the readings.

I like to ask a trusted colleague what they think of my understanding of some topics.

My tip is that when studying becomes a hard and overwhelming experience, I stop for a minute and think what the alternatives to studying are. What would occupy my time should I quit studying? This puts me back on track, as I realize that, apart from important things in life such as the family, work, etc, there is also a lot of wasted time. Just think of all the time spent watching TV, reading boring books or chatting about uninteresting stuff. Studying is much more rewarding.

I work with dyslexic adults and my top tip for them works well for everyone:

Make your learning multi-sensory

Read, using highlighters and then write personal comments and notes in your books/materials -visual/ tactile

Use colour and mind maps as visual summaries and for revision - visual

Write, or better still, word process your learning points and summaries - tactile

Listen to tapes, downloads, even Youtube for an auditory approach - auditory

Talk/tell other people what you have learnt -auditory

Don't do too much learning in one 'chunk', little and often helps as does over-learning. 

Finally when choosing modules, courses etc try where possible to stick with things you are very interested in or even passionate about!  

Studying alone can be very isolating, and although I mainly prefer to work in silence there are odd occasions when a change of ambience can be a great help.  My favourite bolt hole is Costa Coffee in Waterstones - the buzz of activity in the background can be quite soothing and I often go there on a Saturday afternoon for a couple of hours to read and annotate a chapter in my textbook over a cappuccino.  Just a brief change of scenery can be quite rejuvenating when you find the discipline starting to flag!

Previously, when it came to writing an assignment, I always tried to do this in one go.....[usually over a weekend, when your body is naturally trying to re-charge anyway] which of course, completely drains your energy levels and ability to think straight....after a while and particularly when it leads into the early hours of the morning!!

So, my top tip, is to now compartmentalise each section of the essay and use different times to prepare either just the introduction...... or just the opening paragraph..... or just the conclusion etc, obviously leaving adequate time to splice them all together and refine........but it's definitely worked for me and organising my work into manageable chunks has made me feel less daunted at the prospect of squeezing the preparation and writing of an assignemnt into my already busy life!

I have two related tips for study. The first one is little and often. I have found that studying for a Masters through an online course can be a little isolating. It's easy to lose touch with your study if you leave it for a few days and trying to catch up in one mammoth session is too taxing at this level. By studying a little bit every day, starting by reviewing a little of what I did the previous day, I can keep more of the knowledge and understanding active in my brain.

My second tip is that if at first you don't understand, come back to it on the next day. We may be aware that everyone's reading takes a different meaning from text, but so can your own, depending on your energy levels and mind set on a particular day. So, by coming back to a text that may have on the previous day seemed inaccessible, we might on the next day start from a different disposition and find that we can construct a clearer meaning from what we read.

The link between the two tips is that by studying just a little bit each day, we keep on top of the work load, and then if we need to revisit something on a different day, we have the time to do it.

Hope someone finds something useful in these two tips!

I have two related tips for study. The first one is little and often. I have found that studying for a Masters through an online course can be a little isolating. It's easy to lose touch with your study if you leave it for a few days and trying to catch up in one mammoth session is too taxing at this level. By studying a little bit every day, starting by reviewing a little of what I did the previous day, I can keep more of the knowledge and understanding active in my brain.

My second tip is that if at first you don't understand, come back to it on the next day. We may be aware that everyone's reading takes a different meaning from text, but so can your own, depending on your energy levels and mind set on a particular day. So, by coming back to a text that may have on the previous day seemed inaccessible, we might on the next day start from a different disposition and find that we can construct a clearer meaning from what we read.

The link between the two tips is that by studying just a little bit each day, we keep on top of the work load, and then if we need to revisit something on a different day, we have the time to do it.

Hope someone finds something useful in these two tips!

 What really helped me is to make a recording of all the important parts of the module and then play it in the car everyday while driving to and from work.  It's amazing how well you remember things when you are listening to them every day.

Something that has helped me to get motivated to study is to keep in mind my goal. I have taken a picture off the internet of a girl in her robe and cap, holding her degree. I then pasted my head on top. Its framed and sits on top of my tv. Not only does this keep me focused, if I'm just watching tv for the sake of it then it reminds me there is something more worth doing. When people ask if the picture is really me....at the moment I say "no, but it will be"....I can't wait to be able to say "Yep, that's me!!!" A little wacky, but it works for me!

Study without family distractions.

I have tried studying in the house with my family continuing everyday life around me and I find it near impossible. I may be shut in a room on my own but I can still hear my teenage sons arguing over who’s the biggest idiot and why, or my husband screaming out a rendition of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb on the guitar and I can also hear the bleeps from the washing machine signalling that the washing cycle has come to an end.

I am now fortunate enough to have my own ‘study’ in the garden (otherwise known as a shed). Before this I used every opportunity to study somewhere other than home, namely:

1. The car – arrive at work early, don’t go in but sit in the car, read and take notes.
2. The car – sit outside youngest son’s guitar lesson for more reading and note taking/listening to course CD’s etc.
3. The car – waiting for my sons to finish after school clubs.
4. Waiting rooms – for example, the doctors surgery.

For me it seems it is not noise that causes a distraction but rather family life. The urge to referee the bickering, hang up the washing or hoover the living room is strong. The only way I can manage is to cut myself off. Fortunately for me I now sit in my little haven. I study without distractions whilst family life still goes on. The kitchen floor may be washed a little less and the washing left hanging a little longer but so far we are still surviving…..

 Keep a study diary, it is very helpful.  An electronic diary/blog is most useful becasue you can do searches on it but even pen and paper are very effective.  Use it to plan your study session, possibly write a review at the end and put a plan or comments for the next session.  It really doesn't take long - a couple of sentences or a few lines of notes are all that is required.

My top study tip: Try to explain what you are studying to other person. And even if you don't have anyone to listen to you, pretend that you do... If you can teach it you truely understandood the subject.

 Don't get stressed over perfection, you can only do your best - nobody is perfect at everything, but you are perfect at being you.

Mix it up and keep moving forward!

Using the information you learn is a good way of embedding it because you quickly appreciate the depth of your understanding of a topic.

This could be discussion (verbal or virtual) with peers, or as simple as writing a summary and then re-reading a day or two later to see if you made sense.

The repetition of facts (again in writing or verbally as maybe a speech or even a song) helps embed knowledge, remember chanting your times tables at school?

Motivation and time management are the two ogres of education and life in general for me.  My suggestion is to break OU work down into small chunks, smaller than a chapter.  The completion of targets keeps morale high which is vital when you're studying alone.  Listing and prioritising study, work and home life is key to keeping on track.  Most people who look like they're doing lots are actually omitting a load of stuff they don't deem important.  Work out what's important to you and where you're wasting time doing unimportant stuff or doing things inefficiently.  If you can find someone to delegate unimportant/non-urgent things to then try.

I never end a session without printing off A4 sheets with the next activities printed at the top. These can then be grabbed when there are a spare few minutes, whether in the home or out and about - no text book to lug, just single sheets ready for your thoughts - a great place to pick up from when next getting down to it...

If you are stuck on a particular topic and finding it difficult to understand, try explaining it to someone else. As you talk, draw diagrams, answer your friends questions, wave your hands around and generally demonstrate the topic as well as you can, ond of two things will happen. You will either have an 'Aha!' moment and realise that you now understand, or you will identify aspects of the topic which are causing your problem. You can then research those aspects until all becomes clearer.

If you cannot find a real person to talk to, try imagining that you are giving a presentation to an audience. Work out exactly what you would say and try to guess what questions they would ask. Again, hopefully this would help you to isolate the problem areas, so that you can deal with them.

One of my favourite study tips is to set up some goals/ rewards for your motivation!

For example I make a plan for my study time and set up the goal:
- 2 chapters over the weekend
Then I decide about a nice reward after achieving it, for example:
Going out with a friend for a nice dinner or meeting friends for bowling or going to the cinema.

The same after submitting a TMA: "Celebrating" this with some nice date, a wallk in the woods or something you would really love to do!

For me it is very motivating, cause I know after "Work" I do something nice for myself :)

Do not try to study while you are tired. It is not productive. 

 Hi my top study tip is that I download the reading material to my mobile phone. This means I always have a least one unit from my current module with me where ever i go. Any spare time I have I can go over what I have been studying to keep the information fresh in mind 

 My top study tip is always study in the same context that the exam will be like: for example if the exam will be silent, avoid distractions and study in a quiet room. This then allows you brain to link the knowledge the you have revised to the exam room and you can then recall more than if you used a room with a lot of noise. Another example is where you revise - if you study by having everything scattered around you on the floor, try to remember that you will probably take the exam on a desk so use a desk so it will again create a link in your mind when you enter the exam hall.

If stuck on trying to make sense of something, I find going for a walk with my 
dogs helps. I debate the issues in my head and put things into a logical(or semi 
logical) order or if particularly stressed out, I switch off completely to clear 
any brain fog. 
I find I return refreshed and uplifted and ready to start again.  Hopefully also 
what has been bothering me makes better sense

 http://www.everyclick.com/lyndseyfranklin

 I spend alot of my time on trains and find their constant delays have been aiding my studies.  Waiting for or being stuck on a train is a great excuse to get my books out and write some notes.  There's not much else to do!  If I manage to achieve my open university degree, I will have Southern Railways to thank!

Jot notes, you may never read them again but the act of writing them down cements it in your head.

Struggling with a diagram? close the book and draw as much as you can remember, repeat then next day & keep re-drawing until you can do it without looking in the book.

 Re-read the essay title after writing each paragraph of an essay to ensure one remains focussed on the task set out in the introduction.

For me, vocablury and some of the words I read in the extracts and cases are really a big challenge to understand therefore whenever I am travelling or do not want to concentrate on anything, I skim read the extracts and write down the meanings of all those difficult words from the dictionary. It helps me in two ways - first, when I skim read, I get the idea of the topic and then when I write down all the meanings, it is easy for me to understand the idea behind it. Atleast it has worked for me in last 2 yrs. very well. 

I personally had some difficulties with concentrating on what was important while reading a text from the book and then male appropriate notes. Loosing a motivation quickly become a result of it as I did not understand what I was reading and I didn't see any sense in all of it. I managed to get a good system that works for me till date. The process is not complicated but needs a bit of a practise. It is as follows:
1. Read all learning outcomes ( they should be at the beginning or at the end of each chapter).
2. Make a note of how you understand each of them.
3. Read the chapter in the book - now you should know what is important and what you should be paying more attention to.
4. Read all learning outcomes again and try to make a short note under each of them to show yourself that you simply GOT IT!
The self satisfaction is guaranteed after the first attempt and the motivation will come itself! You will quickly realise that you are good at studying and who does not like doing something that he/she is good at???
It worked for me and it would be interesting to see if it could work for someone else:)

 Try to write up a study timetable and study for short frequent periods, making sure that you break regularly for a drink and take some exercise so that you don't become stiff either when reading course material or using the computer. Sometimes it is possible to experience 'mental indigestion' from the new material being studied, so by taking frequent breaks, the brain can start to place everything into context, getting rid of redundant information, and thus approach the next period of study with new insights.

Create a memory wall

I use the wall in my office to post mindmaps, diagrams and memory aids on the topic I am studying. Seeing these regularly has helped me to remember the concepts or models used when I have to write my assignments.