The primary population of therapy patients I see is children and young adults, so a common issue I address is difficulty doing well in school. This can affect individuals who come for treatment for a variety of reasons. For example, individuals with ADHD often have difficulty staying on task and avoiding distractions. Individuals with depression may have difficulty getting started. Individuals with anxiety tend to become overwhelmed. In more general terms, students are in college or graduate school who didn’t have to study before. Each of these individuals could benefit from establishing an effective study session.

The goal of therapy is to assist individuals in overcoming life challenges. Thus, helping patients with study skills is well worth the time in session. With this in mind, here are some ideas to create an effective study session. Please note I focused these suggestions on timing and scheduling versus specific ways to study content.

6 Tips for an Effective Study Session

1. Consider competing values in scheduling your time

When we had a particularly tasty meal as kids, I often filled my plate to the point of overflowing with large quantities of all the foods that looked good. Partway through I was stuffed, and I had to throw away a half-eaten plate of food. My dad phrased this as having “eyes bigger than my stomach.” This phenomenon can easily happen to students.

Between work, family, and extracurricular activities, it can be easy to set yourself up for failure before you begin. Some students have to decide “Is taking five AP classes more important than marching band?” As another example, I had to work through college. Because I had to pay the bills, I only took four classes during each semester for my undergraduate degree. For these scenarios, there is not necessarily a right or wrong way to schedule. Students need to think about their values at the time. Being mindful of your values and the consequences of your decisions can help you plan your time wisely.

2. Designate a regular schedule for completing homework

Individuals are more likely to study if it is scheduled. Look at your planned activities and see what times are available to study. This doesn’t have to be the same time each day, but making it as regular as possible helps. Having a regular schedule can help build behavioral momentum in establishing a habit.

A common issue is when to have kids (or yourself) start homework. The common argument is to allow for a brief rest after getting home due to feeling kids are tired from a long day of school. The problem is, once engaged in a “break” activity, it is usually difficult to disengage and start homework. For this reason, my personal recommendation is to start homework immediately, particularly if there isn’t much homework to complete. If you are going to have a break activity, I recommend doing something easy to end. Acceptable activities could include getting a snack, doing a brief exercise routine, or a formal relaxation strategy. Save the more engaging activities for after the homework is completed. Finally, this break should have a designated stopping time. Both kids and adults have found it helpful to use an alarm for this.

3. Establish a designated location

Set aside a designated area just for homework. Based on principles of classical conditioning, the more an area is associated with a particular thing, the easier it is to get the desired response (e.g., studying in your study spot). This could be a designated desk, a chair in a dorm room, or even a place on campus (some people do better outside the home). If you are lucky enough to have more than one computer, designate one just for homework and the other for playing/family business. Try to remove distractions as much as possible from this area.

I also suggest making this location somewhat public. It is a trick that even adults have found helpful. Multiple college students have reported they choose a location on campus, such a library, to do homework. Even though they could play a video game on their computer and no one would stop them, just knowing someone might see them tends to keep them on task. The perceived social pressure to study helps them stay on task better than they would at home.

4. Take effective breaks

A little-known secret to effective study sessions is taking effective breaks. This can be particularly true for individuals with disorders that make it harder for them to work for lengthy periods of time. One of the ways I explain it is if you don’t actively take breaks, your mind or body will (e.g., daydreaming or randomly scrolling social media), but it will not be as good as if you do it in a planned way.

There are several methods to use for scheduling breaks. First, you could try going until you are feeling tired. Once you get to this exhaustion point, push just a tad longer (e.g., read one last paragraph) and then stop. The goal with this method is to expand your tolerance slowly while stopping before your body takes a break for you. The other method is a scheduling method. There are several named versions such as Pomodoro, Reverse Pomodoro, 90/30 technique, or Tocks. Each of these systems uses a variation of having pre-determined time on task and off task. 

Taking an effective break starts by leaving the study area. This maintains the study area as the homework area and commits you to taking a break. Similar to getting home and doing homework, I recommend doing activities for this break that are rejuvenating but easy to put down. Also, have a pre-determined stopping time.

5. Use rewards

It is perfectly okay to reward yourself or your child for doing homework. The purpose of the reward is not to bribe the individual to do the work, but to encourage the individual in a positive way. One fun example a middle school student told me is how he would set five skittles in a row on his desk and eat one after completing each math problem. Use the Premack Principle to set up rewards. This principle states you use a more preferred activity to reinforce a less preferred activity. Use a first this, then that approach, such as “do your homework, and then you get to play video games.”

6. Set a designated end time

As we get older, tasks often become longer and cannot be completed in a single sitting. Furthermore, individuals are more likely to remember information studied across multiple sessions than in one long session. For our health, individuals need to stop at some point to get adequate sleep. Finally, most individuals become burnt out over time if they are never given the opportunity to engage in preferred activities (e.g., pleasure reading, time with family/friends, media consumption).  

When possible, plan a designated end time to finish studying or homework. This is sometimes harder to do than people think. I have had individuals with ADHD afraid to put down their work for fear of forgetting to pick it up again. Some individuals with OCD have difficulty leaving a task undone. In these cases, learning to set something aside for the day and resume it again is a skill to be learned both behaviorally and emotionally. When the stop time comes, congratulate yourself or your child for the efforts made, and give permission to enjoy the rest of the time without guilt.

Effective Study Session: Conclusion

Having effective study sessions is possible for individuals by following a few easy steps. It takes an awareness of one’s values in picking classes and activities, having an adequate study schedule, using an appropriate location, taking effective breaks, using rewards, and even having a designated end time. Although there are some limitations individuals may face in what they can achieve academically, I have seen many individuals move from failing to excelling by following these recommendations.

If you or your child need help establishing an effective study session, please contact the office.

Post written by Dr. Gordon D. Lamb, Licensed Psychologist and Clinical Director

Please note posts are educational in nature and are not intended to replace psychological services when needed.