Mom Asks Why Hours Studying Isn't Yielding Results

Q. My daughter spends hours studying, but her grades don’t always reflect that. What can we do? 

A. Spending hours studying does not necessarily mean that the material is being absorbed. Have you ever read a page from a book and then realized that you need to read it again? This happens often when what we’re reading is not that interesting to us. It takes a lot of applied focus and concentration to get through the work that needs to be done. The time you spend studying means nothing if one is not studying with as much focus and concentration as possible.

One easy factor to consider are distractions. How often does your student get up for a snack, a drink, to check her Facebook account? These things seem little, but they eat up time immensely.

Not only that, but once one diverts attention to something off-task, it takes a while to reset focus and get back into the rhythm of where one was prior to the distraction. 

Some students think they can multitask – study and text their friend simultaneously, but they’re fooling themselves. Studying is much more productive if a concerted effort is made to block distractions. Read more about this topic in our post Multitasking Doesn’t Aid Learning.

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Contact S4 at 203-307-5455 or info@S4StudySkills.com for more information and study tips.