How to Study Smart

Why do some students study very hard, spending most of their time doing their revision but they aren’t the best in their study group? And why are there some students who only spend a fraction of the time studying but they often get good or even outstanding results? This was not due to the lack of natural talent in studies but it simply means that they have not found an effective tool which acts as a knack for understanding concepts and learning new ideas. One of the smart study habits is by using mind-map to promote effective and accelerated learning experience. A mind map is a useful web-like structure which emphasizes visual imagery that helps to engage in critical thinking and seeing a bigger picture. Empirically, mind-mapping is proven as an effective method of note-taking as an active learning (Abi-El-Mona and Abd-Ei-Khalick, 2008; Liu, Zhao and Ma et al., 2014). Mind mapping makes learning more vivid, thus promotes creative thinking and encourages brainstorming. Th...

The ART of Time Management


Each of us has an equal time of 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. However, most of the people claimed that there is not enough time and they got defeated with the heavy workload especially in this fast-paced 21st century. From the students to the top level manager, everyone faces the same dilemma. So the question comes in, where did the time go?

In the research carried by Azar (2017), it has shown significant importance for us to make good control of our time, in order to sustain in this fierce and accelerated competitive working environment. Time is the most important asset for any output. By contrast, if one doesn’t equipped with the ability to manage his own time, the work produced will be of poor quality, which then leads to inefficient work flow. In the meanwhile, he will fail to meet expectations and deadlines might be missed, as he will scramble to finish tasks at last minute.

Time management is a skill where most people find it easy to learn, although some finds it difficult to put into practice. However, there are various methods and strategies for us to better manage our time, so we will not be eliminated from the ever-changing culture (Darlington, 2017).

1.      Set priority.
Prioritize your tasks accordingly by listing down what the key important task in your to-do-list. Understanding which tasks are most important and making sure that these tasks are given sufficient time for completion. It allows us to narrow work down to its essentials.

2.      Set weekly schedule.
Setting weekly schedule helps you to have a clear idea of what needs to get done within the period. It is an effective way to organize time and making sure that nothing will be forgotten. Some surveys show that for every minute you spend in planning, 10 minutes are saved in execution.

3.      Determination to stick to the schedule.
Our determination and motivation have always interfered by the distractions. Procrastination is the most common thief of time. Hence, start paying attention when you are in the midst of an important task, especially when social media on your smartphones are the major time-wasters.

4.      Flexibility of the schedule.
It is commonly known that the day might not go as what you had planned. Emergencies and unexpected events may pop up and change the whole scenario. Hence, we must be prepared to handle situation as such by making our time more flexible, which means systematic but not packed.
The overall concept of time management is rather straightforward. Nevertheless, it required immediate application and high commitment to put the good time management skills into practice. As things become engrained as habits, it becomes a lot easier. Start now before it is too late!


Reference

Azar, S. (2017) Time Management Behaviors Sanction Adoption of Flexible Work Arrangements. Journal of Economic Development, Management, IT, Finance and Marketing, 9(1), pp.12-24.

Darlington, H. (2017) Time-management tips [online]Available at: http://www.supplyht.com/articles/100493-time-management-tips
[Accessed: 3rd July 2017]

By: Yau Che Yan, BAF1541

Comments