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Learning skills can be a valuable asset to helping you throughout your life. Skills such as leadership, critical thinking, teamwork, and even studying skills. High school is a great time to begin learning these valuable skills. Let’s talk about six study skills that you could learn now – even in high school – that’ll help prepare you for the future.

Managing Your Time

In college, you’ll quickly learn that life happens fast and will slow down for no one. It’s important to learn how to manage your time wisely. This skill can be learned in high school where life is a little calmer and more structured. Schedule time on your calendar for working on your homework, reading your textbooks, etc. In college, you won’t be in class as much as in high school, but the amount of reading and outside classroom activities that you’ll have to do will be doubled, so it’s important to learn how to manage your “free” time and your “busy” time early on in life.

Organization!

Ever heard the saying, “A cluttered desk is a cluttered mind”? Don’t let your desk, or your life in this instance, become cluttered. Stay organized by keeping a daily planner at your side. Write down your “to-dos” in your planner, plan ahead so you’re not frantically rushing at the last minute, cross off items that you have accomplished and treat it as a small victory. You’ll feel great when you cross off items on your list and have complete control of your life!

Rest and Relaxation

This might seem like an unusual skill to learn, but it’s important. College is “go-go-go” all the time. You’ve got class in the morning, then you’ve got to meet up with classmates afterward to work on a project, then you’ve got to find a time to get some lunch, then you’ve got class in the afternoon, then you’ve got to work in the cafeteria for four hours, then it’s time for a quick supper, then you’ve got to read your textbook and write a paper. It can be very daunting! That’s why it’s important to learn how to relax and shut your brain off and catch some good zzz’s! This will help you not feel so uptight and stressed all the time.

Attend Class

We’re talking about study skills, right? Well, how can you study if you don’t attend class? It’s very important to make sure that you attend all your classes, and that you are an active listener/participant in every class. Make sure to absorb what it is that you’re learning so that way when you go back home to study, you’ll understand the materials, and you won’t be confused. This might seem like an easy skill to learn, which it is. All you need to do is make sure that you make attending class a priority. Don’t get lazy and skip out!

Ask Questions

Think about this: you’re sitting in class and the materials are going right over your head, you’re not understanding what the lecture is about, and you’re just plain confused. Now, how do you think studying for the final will go? Probably not well! It’s important to learn how to ask questions and make sure that all of your questions get answered so you’re not left scratching your head at the end of the day. Learning how to ask questions will not just help you be a better student; it’ll help you in life as well! It’s very important to make sure you are understanding the materials that are being presented to you, and if you don’t understand then ask questions!

Study in a Group

Finally, a good skill that you could learn to help you study would be learning how to study in a group setting. Two heads are better than one, right? You and your classmates are in the same boat, you’re all studying the same thing, so why not team up with a few of your classmates and review the materials together? You could do flashcards with each other, you could quiz each other, etc. As we’ve said before, learning how to study – or work together – in a group isn’t just helpful in academics; it’s helpful in life! After high school, after college, you’ll be in the workforce, and you’ll have to work with a group of people every day.

Those are just a few of the study skills that you could learn – even in high school. A lot of those skills can also be applied to everyday life, so it’s better to learn them now and set yourself up for success in the future. At ECC and MCC, we offer academic support services that can help you learn how to study more efficiently and learn more about these skills.