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The pomodoro technique combined with apps that lock everything distracting. 25 minutes total focused time with no distractions followed by a 5 minute break where I stand up. When I have no lectures, I aim for 12 pomodoros per day.
I keep a study journal for each pomodoro session. Just some quick notes about what I've studied during the last 25 minutes. This way I can keep track on what is difficult, what I learn and get a sense of accomplishment.
I have MacOS (5th year of engineering physics. How many advanced scientific and industry softwares do you reckon supports this bullshit OS?), so I use the app Selfcontrol on my computer. I don't have a smartphone but I think it's supported on most phone operative systems. I block Youtube, reddit, twitter, newspapers, wine merchants, porn etc on timers. I tried for many years not to browse the web but I'm too addicted. I hate mindlessly browsing the web but I cannot stop. The only way for me to study is to be forced from wasting my life on cheap dopamine. It sucked during covid though when some of my lectures uploaded the material on Youtube.
This won’t suit everybody, but it works for me.
Basically I go to 1-2 lectures for every courses I’m enrolled to (out of 14 given through the semester) and after that I decide if it is worth going to or if i’m better off doing it alone.
The best semester I had (grade-wise) was the one I went to maybe 20% of the courses.
I do that because it is impossible for me to focus for 2hours, so during a lecture I miss probably half the content. So I just stay at home and go through it at my speed.
I know some people that just can’t fathom doing that, and they look at me like I’m an alien. But it is my way of studying.
No I'm not, and there are multiple reasons so I'll try to list some of them.
The first one is that I'm confident in my capacity of going through the material by myself. I'm disciplined in that regard. This is the main reason I said this method is not suitable for everybody.
The second one is that in almost every case I can manage to catch up :
* If by going to the first two courses I can predict that the material will be tough and the prof will be good => I go to the next courses
* If by going to the first courses I can predict that the material will be tough and the prof will be bad => I go to the courses until it's not worth it anymore
* If by going to the first courses I CAN'T predict that the material will be tough => I go to the courses again when I stop understanding and I come to the same cases given above
The only case where I couldn't manage to catch up is if I figure too late that I'm not understanding the material correctly. But by being disciplined and objective about yourself, this shouldn't be an issue though it may need some practice.
Until now I have never regretted staying home, I hate having to follow a strict schedule so I highly prefer staying home and doing things when I feel like it.
I have had very successful grades in courses I went only once.
Basically this comes down to my own preferences and the confidence I have in myself.
PS : Another reason is that at this day and age, your professor is certainly not the only ressource you can find to understand the material. You can certainly find great books/videos/website in very little time
Persist and Resist. Tough times never last only tough people last.
When I don’t get something and I’m frustrated I keep reading the section eventually something has to click.
Literally prioritize doing past quizzes, exams and problems solved in the tutorials. Most of your grade is coming from these so it makes no sense to aimlessly read the textbook especially when time is of the essence. You can get away with this in engineering (mostly) because the tests are mostly problems anyway (and less theory).
This is the quick and dirty way to do well. The tutorials usually condense the lecture material down to what you really need to know to solve questions. This isn't completely fool proof but helped my fly through the first 3 years of engineering school (MechE major)
Finding friends to suffer with, but also it's actually crazy how much you can learn if you both fill in each other's gaps in knowledge when it comes to working together or studying
Using mind maps as notes (reflection of your thoughts in mind onto paper), priming, revision and spaced repetition b4 test. Look up Justin Sung on YouTube, he’ll help a lot.
Invest the time; Start early; Drink Lots of Coffee;
and Most importantly: If you don't understand something fully, dig yourself into the topic instead of skipping it and hoping that it won't be part of the exam
I know text books are a huge scam but you can normally get them online for free. Actually reading it is key as well. It lays out formulas and explains them, gives information on when to use what. Honestly the biggest tool is the textbook
2 things. Try to at least read the material before class, then when you’re in class it won’t be the first time you’re hearing it and you’ll be able to ask better questions that actually help clarify things to you. Also, study in short bursts, I’d write things like equations down on notecards and keep them in my pocket. Then when I had a few minutes to kill I’d run through a few notecards. I graduated awhile ago, but almost everything I memorized using notecards like that over weeks I can still remember, but the stuff I just crammed for I can’t remember at all.
Read the relevant literature, try to derive the formulas myself. Solving related problems. Summing up my knowledge regularly. Throw my notes in the trash, think about relationships and redo notes to throw away.
Work as soon as you get home. Then chip away at homework assignments - even if it's just 1 or 2 questions, the important thing is to start right away.
This was effective for me because I got to see material multiple times in a week as opposed to burning through an assignment and not seeing it again for weeks.
I pretend I’m giving a lecture on it. Usually I’ll be in my room and clear the space to pace and walk around and whisper a lecture to an imaginary class on whatever I’m studying. If I forget something, I go back to my notes or textbook until I think I know it and start over. I’ll also imagine questions from the “class” that challenge my understanding of it, and rinse and repeat until I’m confident I know what I need to.
Practice questions and homework problems helps me a ton in calc2. Just going over certain topics/questions then moving on so I don’t waste time focusing on one single type of question/topic. Also try to do them without notes first and slowly go back if you for sure don’t know. But never rely on notes because you most likely won’t have them on the exam
Hello /u/Dazed_Op! Thank you for posting in r/EngineeringStudents. This is a custom Automoderator message based on your flair, "Academic Advice". While our wiki is under construction, please be mindful of the users you are asking advice from, and make sure your question is phrased neatly and describes your problem. ***Please be sure that your post is short and succinct.*** Long-winded posts generally do not get responded to. Please remember to; Read our [Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/EngineeringStudents/wiki/rules) Read our [Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/EngineeringStudents/wiki/index) Read our [F.A.Q](https://www.reddit.com/r/EngineeringStudents/wiki/index/faq) Check our [Resources Landing Page](https://reddit.com/r/EngineeringStudents/wiki/resources) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/EngineeringStudents) if you have any questions or concerns.*
focus on concepts and write things in your own words
How do you write things in my words, I don't even know you?
Always keep sight of the big picture
this
[удалено]
It's hard for me to stay away from my phone.
Using it: practice questions (on homework, practice midterms and finals or in the textbook), using it in research, TAing classes, projects, etc.
The pomodoro technique combined with apps that lock everything distracting. 25 minutes total focused time with no distractions followed by a 5 minute break where I stand up. When I have no lectures, I aim for 12 pomodoros per day. I keep a study journal for each pomodoro session. Just some quick notes about what I've studied during the last 25 minutes. This way I can keep track on what is difficult, what I learn and get a sense of accomplishment.
What kind of apps can block distractions?
I have MacOS (5th year of engineering physics. How many advanced scientific and industry softwares do you reckon supports this bullshit OS?), so I use the app Selfcontrol on my computer. I don't have a smartphone but I think it's supported on most phone operative systems. I block Youtube, reddit, twitter, newspapers, wine merchants, porn etc on timers. I tried for many years not to browse the web but I'm too addicted. I hate mindlessly browsing the web but I cannot stop. The only way for me to study is to be forced from wasting my life on cheap dopamine. It sucked during covid though when some of my lectures uploaded the material on Youtube.
Thanks a lot I’ll check it! I got the same problem, can’t effectively stop myself from useless distractions.
This won’t suit everybody, but it works for me. Basically I go to 1-2 lectures for every courses I’m enrolled to (out of 14 given through the semester) and after that I decide if it is worth going to or if i’m better off doing it alone. The best semester I had (grade-wise) was the one I went to maybe 20% of the courses. I do that because it is impossible for me to focus for 2hours, so during a lecture I miss probably half the content. So I just stay at home and go through it at my speed. I know some people that just can’t fathom doing that, and they look at me like I’m an alien. But it is my way of studying.
[удалено]
No I'm not, and there are multiple reasons so I'll try to list some of them. The first one is that I'm confident in my capacity of going through the material by myself. I'm disciplined in that regard. This is the main reason I said this method is not suitable for everybody. The second one is that in almost every case I can manage to catch up : * If by going to the first two courses I can predict that the material will be tough and the prof will be good => I go to the next courses * If by going to the first courses I can predict that the material will be tough and the prof will be bad => I go to the courses until it's not worth it anymore * If by going to the first courses I CAN'T predict that the material will be tough => I go to the courses again when I stop understanding and I come to the same cases given above The only case where I couldn't manage to catch up is if I figure too late that I'm not understanding the material correctly. But by being disciplined and objective about yourself, this shouldn't be an issue though it may need some practice. Until now I have never regretted staying home, I hate having to follow a strict schedule so I highly prefer staying home and doing things when I feel like it. I have had very successful grades in courses I went only once. Basically this comes down to my own preferences and the confidence I have in myself. PS : Another reason is that at this day and age, your professor is certainly not the only ressource you can find to understand the material. You can certainly find great books/videos/website in very little time
reading the textbook
Persist and Resist. Tough times never last only tough people last. When I don’t get something and I’m frustrated I keep reading the section eventually something has to click.
Literally prioritize doing past quizzes, exams and problems solved in the tutorials. Most of your grade is coming from these so it makes no sense to aimlessly read the textbook especially when time is of the essence. You can get away with this in engineering (mostly) because the tests are mostly problems anyway (and less theory). This is the quick and dirty way to do well. The tutorials usually condense the lecture material down to what you really need to know to solve questions. This isn't completely fool proof but helped my fly through the first 3 years of engineering school (MechE major)
Finding friends to suffer with, but also it's actually crazy how much you can learn if you both fill in each other's gaps in knowledge when it comes to working together or studying
Using mind maps as notes (reflection of your thoughts in mind onto paper), priming, revision and spaced repetition b4 test. Look up Justin Sung on YouTube, he’ll help a lot.
Reading the study material out loud... Also, that's how I check what I wrote or typed.
Invest the time; Start early; Drink Lots of Coffee; and Most importantly: If you don't understand something fully, dig yourself into the topic instead of skipping it and hoping that it won't be part of the exam
I know text books are a huge scam but you can normally get them online for free. Actually reading it is key as well. It lays out formulas and explains them, gives information on when to use what. Honestly the biggest tool is the textbook
Pomodoro timer
An excessive amount of coffee
Feynman method
2 things. Try to at least read the material before class, then when you’re in class it won’t be the first time you’re hearing it and you’ll be able to ask better questions that actually help clarify things to you. Also, study in short bursts, I’d write things like equations down on notecards and keep them in my pocket. Then when I had a few minutes to kill I’d run through a few notecards. I graduated awhile ago, but almost everything I memorized using notecards like that over weeks I can still remember, but the stuff I just crammed for I can’t remember at all.
The quiet section at the library was huge for me.
Thanks for asking, great help for me as well! Thank you everyone for these amazing tips!
Read the relevant literature, try to derive the formulas myself. Solving related problems. Summing up my knowledge regularly. Throw my notes in the trash, think about relationships and redo notes to throw away.
Don’t procrastinate
Work as soon as you get home. Then chip away at homework assignments - even if it's just 1 or 2 questions, the important thing is to start right away. This was effective for me because I got to see material multiple times in a week as opposed to burning through an assignment and not seeing it again for weeks.
Start day 1 of the semester, and try to study every day even for 10 minutes
Pomodoro Technique
I pretend I’m giving a lecture on it. Usually I’ll be in my room and clear the space to pace and walk around and whisper a lecture to an imaginary class on whatever I’m studying. If I forget something, I go back to my notes or textbook until I think I know it and start over. I’ll also imagine questions from the “class” that challenge my understanding of it, and rinse and repeat until I’m confident I know what I need to.
Practice questions and homework problems helps me a ton in calc2. Just going over certain topics/questions then moving on so I don’t waste time focusing on one single type of question/topic. Also try to do them without notes first and slowly go back if you for sure don’t know. But never rely on notes because you most likely won’t have them on the exam