What time of day do you study?

[lonadoonage]

I've recently switched my company study time and some of my personal study time to the mornings, rather than the afternoons and evenings.

I feel like this way, no matter what happens at work, I get my studying done.

However, now I feel like a bum because I don't have the energy to study at home in the evenings. Granted, I'm not getting home until around 7pm, but I could still work a few problems.

It seems like a lot of people on this forum are crazy studying fools. How do you do it? Where do you study? How do you keep track of the rest of the things you've got going on, like work, family, hell - even bill paying and laundry?

[wat?]

I've recently switched my company study time and some of my personal study time to the mornings, rather than the afternoons and evenings.

I feel like this way, no matter what happens at work, I get my studying done.

However, now I feel like a bum because I don't have the energy to study at home in the evenings. Granted, I'm not getting home until around 7pm, but I could still work a few problems.

It seems like a lot of people on this forum are crazy studying fools. How do you do it? Where do you study? How do you keep track of the rest of the things you've got going on, like work, family, hell - even bill paying and laundry?
We all have our busy times - some more than others. Instead of focusing on time spent, set yourself goals to complete in order for studying for the test. It could be finishing a certain section in your study manuals, or reviewing a set number of concepts a night. That way, if you miss some study time, you'll know exactly what you missed and how well you need to cover it. Some might argue that missing time is the same thing - you'll need to make it up, but I think that it gives you more of a sense of urgency if you focus on topics rather than time. Plus, keeping track of time spent can be distracting.

As for the busy thing...I have 2-3 jobs, totaling over 45 hours a week, 5 credit hours in school, and I spend 2 hours a day commuting. Add a few hours a week devoted to washing/drying/ironing clothes, too. But I've managed to put in what I call "some time to study." Out of all that, I think the most taxing thing on my study time is my SO, who doesn't seem to understand that 1 hour a night is not enough study time. So I make time to study. I haven't seen a movie in a while, and besides spending time with my SO, playing a few hands of Hold 'em and an occasional dinner out, I haven't spent a weekend "relaxing", by my friends' terms. But I accept that. That's what I choose to pass these exams. Do I feel sorry for myself? Not at all. I just know what I need to do.

[LoneGirl]

During the week I usually study every evening right after dinner. Sometimes I only fit in an hour, sometimes two or more, but no matter what every little bit helps. Now, I am single and don't have children so I realize that this may not work for people who have families, but that's just what works for me. Another part of my strategy is to study on Saturday mornings. I try to get alot of time in on Saturday morning, then I have the rest of the day free. This way, I feel like I'm getting some good study time in, yet I don't feel like my whole weekend is spent studying. Sunday afternoons are usually good times to study too. I'm no studying fool, but as exam time gets closer, I try to keep more and more of my evenings and weekends free to study. For example, if my friends want to do something on a Saturday, then I'll join them, but I make sure to set aside plenty of study time on Sunday to make up for it. At first, I thought it would be impossible to find enough time to study, but as I started really evaluating my schedule I realized that I wasted so much time on things that don't matter. For example, I realized that most of the TV I would watch was a waste of time. Sure, I have a few shows that are my favorites and I always watch them, but I don't need to sit in front of the TV and channel surf when there's nothing that I really honestly want to see. Passing my exam is more important to me than who got kicked off American Idol!

[Sox34]

I find it best to do my work study time in the mornings, therefore, like you said, no matter what comes up at work you've atleast already put in x hours each day. I tend to study as soon as I get home from work, take a quick dinner break, and then study for a good chunk of time so that I can get a lot done but still go to bed at a reasonable hour. If I wait too long to start studying then I end up staying up too late and am tired and thus less efficient the next day. I try to do my max studying during the work week (by max I mean as much as possible without completely crashing) because I like to see my SO on the weekend and cut back on the hours studied/day. However, now that we are coming up to the exam, weekends get tougher and I see my SO much less.

I also am a little different in that I think budgeting around watching a certain TV show once a week or something like that is completely fine and probably a good idea for someone like me whose life during the week is only work + study. It keeps me sane.

[J. A. Prufrock]

I'm another morning studier. In my case, the office is ridiculously quiet in the early morning (I arrive before 7), and I can get in a pretty decent chunk of time there, even if it's personal time and not my work hours. Like others have mentioned, it's nice to get that out of the way before the day's commotion starts up.

Outside of work, I think location is just as important as time of day. Sometimes I'll go straight from work to the library and put in a few solid hours there. That way there's absolutely no temptation to whittle away time doing little stuff that, if I was at home, I would consider that I "needed" to do. So I like to do all my laundry for the week at once, all my cleaning at once, etc.-- I think dividing my time into big chunks so I have to switch gears less often is key.

[Ailing Factuary]

I usually study after most of you have probably gone to sleep.

[wat?]

I usually study after most of you have probably gone to sleep.
Most.

[J. A. Prufrock]

I usually study after most of you have probably gone to sleep.

Are you at school? That'll do it. :)

[Ailing Factuary]

Nope.

[JJ_Franch]

I guess you are in Hawaii, Singapore or Europe.

[Ailing Factuary]

No I just study best late at night. Probably a bit of a holdover from college when I always studied in the AM hours, but of course I don't usually study that late now since I study poorly at home and no where else is open really. But I do get in some good studying from like 10 to midnight.