Studying in Australia: The Study Abroad Student's Guide to Success

Motivation: how to stayenthusiastic all semesterMotivation is a key to successful study and, giventhe excitement of travelling to another country andchoosing subjects that are new and different, yourinterest levels will probably be higher than moststudents. The danger, however, is more likely tooccur later in the semester when the excitement iswearing off and the workload increases.Remember; given that you are in a new culture,you do not have to know or even understandeverything that you encounter straight away. Giveyourself time to digest information.If motivation declines, procrastination may setin. Many of the issues students encounter withprocrastination revolve around managing timeand workload, and with deadlines at the end ofsemester, it’s easy to put off study.The time management ideas suggested here willhelp you to develop good study habits. The bestway to beat procrastination is to practise the Artof DIN - Do It Now! The time you spend thinkingabout doing something could be the time it takesto actually do it. Here are some pointers to helpyou avoid the procrastination habit and get on withthe task at hand.Start by ...P Developing a routine: if you have somemornings open in your university schedule, usethose times as study sessions rather than sleepingin. Develop the routine of knowing when you aregoing to study. Set these times and stick to them.P Setting realistic and achievable study goals:Tell yourself you’ll work for 1 hour minimum thentake a short break – in that time set a target thatyou can achieve.P Getting a good ‘run’ at study: give yourselftime to get things done in meaningful chunks;one hour should be about the minimum before abreak. Anything less doesn’t give you enough timeto ‘get into it’.P Developing the ‘To Do’ list habit: Use yourtimetable, a program on your computer or evenPost-it notes to keep daily or weekly ‘To do’ lists.If you find you’re not getting through the tasks -modify the list!P Getting help from other people: Collaborativelearning can help you get your study habits ontrack; have a ‘Study Buddy’. Tutors, lecturers andAcademic Skills Advisers can also help by givingyou deadlines to hand in drafts of your workbefore the due date.Get it done - have SMART study goals:Wherever possible, have concrete goals when youare studying.SPECIFICMEASURABLEACHIEVABLERELEVANTTIMEDGoals or tasks should be expressed in precise, specific details; e.g.‘7.30~9pm, read chapters 7-9 of the textbook’, rather than ‘Read economicstonight’.Goals should always be quantifiable and achievable, so that you clearlyknow when they have been completed, e.g. listen to lecture 2 on Lectopia;read 3 case studies, summarise 2 economics articles.Set targets you can realistically get done in the time you have. It is morereasonable to say ‘read 10 pages’ rather than ‘review pages 1-100 tonight’.Make sure you are reviewing important, key areas, especially during revision.Subject Guides will direct you to the key areas.Know when a task must be completed by. You then need to prioritise tasks;sequence them in order of importance – this is determinedby 3 things:- due date;- size of assignment (i.e. word count); and- % value towards your subject grade.Studying in Australia: The Study Abroad Student’s Guide to Success17