THE VALUE OF A SCHEDULE
In order to cultivate good study habits you
must know what you are going to study and when you are going to study. Both of
these important aids to study can be accomplished by that very simple device: a
satisfactory study schedule.
A schedule save time. When you have
completed one assignment you can go to the other without wasting precious time
on deciding what to do next.
A schedule sees to it that you are doing
the right thing at the right time, and not flitting from one task to another
aimlessly or nervously.
A schedule helps you to manage your time
well. It keeps you from studying something more than it requires, and lets you
spend time where you really need it.
A schedule prevents you from leaving things
to chance or to the mood of the moment, at the risk of postponing or not
completing a task.
A well-planned schedule will provide you
with ample time for activities other than study.
WHY IS A SCHEDULE NECESSARY?
If you are a normal student, most of your
time each day will be spent in three kinds of activities: school/college
activities, extra-curricular activities, and personal responsibilities. Apart
from these, you may also have a wide choice of leisure-time activities, like
sports, hobbies, clubs, television, etc., which vie for any spare time you have
left. A well-organized schedule will provide time for each and all of these
activities, and keep you free from the tension that normally co-exists with
disorganization. For there will be time for everything, and everything in its
time.
A workable schedule trains you to go about
your study in a menthodical manner. S. T. Coleridge remarked: "What is it
that first strikes us at once in a man of education and which, among educated
men, so instantly distinguishes the man of superior mind?... The true cause of
the impression made upon us is in that his mind is methodical."
EFFICIENCY OF TIME
Efficiency is not something that you have
naturally by birth; it has to be cultivated by constant and deliberate practice
of effective study skills. Skills are acquired through constant habit. A habit
literally means a garment, or a behaviour pattern, which has not grown
naturally out of the body but has been put on externally. Habit becomes second
nature to a person.
SARLA'S STUDY PATTERN
Sarla often complained that she didn't have
sufficient time to do all her school assignments, even though she reserved
three full hours for study every evening. Her brother Sunil decided to check on
how she spent her time and to record what she did minute-by-minute,
because when he had told her certain facts she wouldn't believe him. Now he
would have proof. This is what he jotted down on a sheet of paper one evening,
while he observed Sarla quietly, from a distance.
7.30 : Very punctual. Sits at desk. Desk
in a mess. Rearranges books, sorts out and files papers.
7.43 : Stretches out her arms over head
to relax.
Turns pages of note-books to find out what
homework has to be done. Mutters something about how much home-work is to be
done everyday... how the teachers' don't have sense' and how they could be a
little more understanding...
8.10 : Picks up English text-book and
flops down on bed. Leafs through the book.
8.16 : Goes to the telephone and calls
Vandana to check on the English assignment. Talks to her for about seven
minutes on what they are going to wear to school tomorrow.
8.30 : Lies down on bed; opens English
books; begins reading.
8.44 : Gets up to turn the radio to
different station so she won's miss her favourite programme while studying.
Argues with mother (for nine minutes) who thinks the radio ought to be turned
off while Sarla studies. Sarla insists she can study better to music.
8.55 : Turns down radio. Does some
writing in a notebooks.
9.15 : Notices what time it is (as clock
chimes) and grumbles about having to leave the English assignment incomplete
and tackle that awful Sanskrit assignment or it will never be done.
9.25 : Rushes to answer the phone. Talks
to Anuraddha who called to find out the maths assignment: they compare notes on
what they are going to wear tomorrow.
9.46 : Does her Sanskrit assignment.
9.57 : Lays book aside. Get bob pins and
rollers from her dresser, props Sanskrit book up beside the mirror, and begins
to pin up her hair while keeping an eye on the book.
10.10 : Mother comes to say that it is
nearing bed-time. Sarla moans and says she is dog-tired but has 'hours and
hours' of studying yet to do... She says she feels she will fail in maths since
the assignments are impossibly long, and she has not had any time even to look
at her maths lesson, with so much other studying to do.
10.20 : Sarla lays down her Sanskrit
text, picks up her maths book, leafs through it for a minute, groans, switches
off the light, and goes to bed.
Countless surveys have shown that the above
pattern is common to most students, especially those in college. Such
frittering away of time is the major stumbling block to effective study. If you
have a similar problem, try to solve it slowly and carefully, with practice and
determination.
HABIT FORMATION
All activities, mental and physical, are
subject to the law of habit. Without habits you would not be able to make any
progress whatsoever, since all that you do, depends on what you have done
earlier. Habits are necessary, too, in order that that you adjust
satisfactorily to the various situations you find yourself in. The greater the
number of desirable habits you posses, the more efficient will you be.
What are the advantages of good study
habits? They enable you to get down to work with a minimum of fuss and a
maximum of concentration. Good study habits are mighty efficient; they let you
get more done in less time.
The most important study-habit is the
proper use of time. You may take it for granted that you cannot be the best
student in your class, but you will be amazed at the sudden improvement you
will make if you keep a 'regular routine', a well-ordered study-schedule.
HOW TO READ
EXAMPLE - 1
Circle each line below for practice,
To become an efficient reader you must have
a clear purpose for reading. Since gathering information is your general goal,
your reading must be controlled in a meaningful way. The greatest control in
getting correct information and the right amount of it occurs when you read to
answer questions.
Circle each line below for practice,
To become
an efficient reader
you must have
a clear purpose
for reading.
Since gathering
information
is your general goal,
your reading
must be controlled
in a meaningful way.
The greatest control
in getting correct information
and the right amount of it
occurs when you read
to answer questions.
EXAMPLE - 2
(a) By this exercise you can prove for
yourself Why reading by phrases helps comprehension and is far superior to
word-for-word reading. Notice the difference when you read single words at a
time or spend time on breaking up a word into syl- -la- -bles as you read.
Aids for Developing Phrase Reading
(a) Train your eyes to read straight down
the middle of the column as you read:
By this exercise
you can
prove for yourself
Why reading by
phrases
helps comprehension
and is far superior
to
word-for-word
reading.
Notice the
difference
when you
read
single
words
at
a
time
or spend time on
breaking up a word
into
syl-
-la-
-bles
as you read.