Benefits of reflection
Reflective learning can help you to get more out of your studies in several ways.
Planning and prioritising
You may find yourself overwhelmed by the sheer range and number of activities you’re expected to tackle while studying. Figuring out how to plan your time and prioritise study tasks, and how to juggle all your other commitments (such as work, family, friends and hobbies), can prove quite challenging. It’s worth thinking ahead to organise your time and reflect on why, what, how and when to prioritise.
Setting and achieving goals
Your motivation for studying can be improved if you reflect on your study goals and relate them to the broader goals in your life, both personal and professional. At different stages of your studies – while preparing assignments, for example – reflection can help you to define immediate goals and then devise strategies to achieve them.
Dealing with procrastination and anxiety
Procrastination, the art of putting things off until they absolutely have to be done, is both a cause and a symptom of anxiety. It can lead you to miss deadlines or fall behind with your study schedule and can severely affect your confidence. Reflecting on how, when, where and why you procrastinate can help you to recognise and challenge your routines and habits.
Recognising and overcoming self-limiting beliefs
How often do you make assumptions about your ability to study by using sentences that start with:
- ”I’m no good at …”
- ”I’ve always been terrible at…”
- ”I’ll never be able to…”
These beliefs may echo negative comments from teachers, parents, employers or peers, or you may just believe them to be irrefutably true. They can make it harder for you to study because they undermine your confidence and motivation. But by reflecting on the assumptions you make about yourself you can make positive changes in your study routines.
Making effective use of available support
Your course tutor may have suggested that you get in touch to discuss any problems you have while studying, and you’ve probably received information about the range of other support services available to OU students. But sometimes it’s not so easy to ask for help, perhaps because you don’t always know what you actually need. Reflecting on how you are coping with your studies can make it easier to request and respond to available support.
