10 Tips To Make Studying A Habit

To make studying a habit you should commit to it for at least thirty days, put your study goal in writing, study for short periods of time each day, set reminders to study, be consistent about the time of day you study, find a study buddy for accountability, remove distractions to make studying easier, try to change negative thinking patterns, spend time around people who take studying seriously and also dream about the good grades that will be a result of your hard work studying!

1. Commit To Thirty Days

While 30 days will not make a habit such as studying automatic (it takes on average 66 days for a habit to become automatic according to this study), 30 days is a good amount of time to commit to a change as it easily fits in your calendar as a month.

If you can make it through the initial conditioning stage of 30 days, it will be much easier to sustain the habit of studying daily. Personally, I really like to use a 30 day challenge tracker printable to motivate myself whenever I am trying to form a new habit. You could totally do the same when making the habit of studying! In the template you can detail your challenge (this would be studying for you), write down 5 reasons to complete the challenge, make an action plan, set a start and finish date and also write down a reward to motivate yourself through the 30 day period!

2. Put Your Study Goal In Writing & Make It SMART

The best way to commit to a goal such as making studying a habit is to write it down. But you can’t just write any old goal down. It needs to be a SMART goal.

A SMART goal stands for:

• S – specific
• M – measurable
• A – attainable
• R – realistic
• T – time bound

Personally, I think setting achievable and realistic goals is one of the most important things to do to lead yourself to success. That is why I have included a SMART goal making template in my printable language learning planner, digital language learning planner and the student digital planner because it is such an important skill to master.

You can find out more about SMART goal setting and specific questions to ask yourself when setting these goals here.

3. Study For A Short Period Daily

Consistency is crucial if you want to make the habit of studying stick. Activities that you do everyday turn into habits much quicker than activities you do only a few times a week. But you don’t want to go overboard with this and start studying 2 hours a day everyday. This will only turn into burnout. Think of studying like sports training. Start small. If you don’t study much already, start by studying 15-20 minutes daily and build up accordingly from there.

4. Set Reminders

If you procrastinate studying or just forget to due to your jam packed days, set a reminder. This could be on your reminders app or digital calendar or even in your school diary. Setting a reminder can also act as a boost for your motivation. Getting the notification to go and study can really motivate yourself to stop what you are currently doing and revise. Remember if you miss a day while habit forming it will defeat the purpose. You will be back to day one 🙁

5. Be Consistent About The Time You Study

Another way to make the habit of studying easier is to set a time each day to study. If you are a morning person you might want to dedicate an hour to studying before school however if your concentrate is better at night, you might want to study then each day. Being as consistent as possible makes your habit easier to stick, especially when it comes to a cue like time.

6. Find A Study Buddy

Getting an accountability partner – your study buddy – will make the process of making studying a habit much easier and also much funner. Having someone to study everyday with you will keep you motivated to keep on going when you feel like stopping. Make it a competition to see who can last the longest.

7. Remove Distractions

Here is the dreaded remove distractions advice. Focus on studying is important for making it a habit.

Before studying remove everything that is not necessary on your desk so you have a clean space. Everything means everything. Put away books, booklets, textbooks and other school work that is not related to what you are going to study. These will just be reminders of other things you need to do and will not allow focus on the task at hand. (And also put away the obvious things – your phone, iPad etc… a reminder just in case you forgot).

Distractions can also be digital. For example, Netflix, YouTube and lots of open tabs on your web browser. If you struggle with this I suggest you use a website and app blocker such as ColdTurkey which is a free google chrome extension. That is just one that I know off the top of my head but there are plenty others that work just fine as well.

8. Use ‘But‘ To Change Negative Thought Patterns

Forming a new habit can be super challenging. There are going to be lots of bumps in the road where you just want to turn back and revert to your old habits. If you ever find yourself having negative thoughts about studying, a good technique for combatting it is to interrupt the thought with the word “but“.

For example, you might be thinking: “I’m no good at maths, but, I will study and get better.”

9. Associate With Role Models

If you want to improve your study habits, surround yourself with people who spend lots of time studying and get good grades. By spending more time with people like this you will want to mirror their habits and do just as well at school as them. It is a huge motivator!

10. Familiarise Yourself With The A+

The main motivator for most people who study a lot are the good grades. It is not surprising that dreaming is the biggest motivator to form good habits. Dream about the better grades. This familiarisation with the benefits of making studying a habit will motivate you to do it.

Stop! Before You Go…

Check Out This Printable Habit Tracker

Further Reading

• The Most Powerful Way To Stop Forgetting What You Study
• Why You Always Study Last Minute & What To Do About It
• How Top Students Study *Secret Methods Revealed*