How to Educate Yourself Effectively: A Comprehensive Guide

Many students find that their high school study habits are not effective in college. This is understandable, as college is quite different from high school. The professors are less personally involved, classes are bigger, exams are worth more, reading is more intense, and classes are much more rigorous. Fortunately, there are many active, effective study strategies that are shown to be effective in college classes. This article offers several tips on effective studying and self-education. Implementing these tips into your regular study routine will help you to efficiently and effectively learn course material.

The Importance of Self-Education

Education is not just about going to school and getting a degree. It's a lifelong pursuit of knowledge and understanding. Self-education allows you to take control of your learning, explore your interests, and develop expertise in areas that matter to you. It's about learning for its own sake and gaining a better understanding of the world and yourself.

Why Self-Education Matters

Personal Growth: Self-education is one of the most life-changing habits you can participate in. It's the exercising of agency, of actively doing something instead of passively waiting.
Mastery and Expertise: Self-education allows you to gain mastery in one subject. You can think of this as your grad degree.
Well-Rounded Knowledge: Self-education allows you to become well-read in 2-4 subjects. This is where you’ll gain expertise in a few subjects you find fascinating, whether that’s art history, philosophy, physics, or Russian literature.
Adaptability: Self-education enables you to quickly learn new topics as needed. This is the part where you quickly learn smaller topics that will help you achieve your goals or that are just super fascinating to you.

Active Studying: Engaging with the Material

Simply reading and re-reading texts or notes is not actively engaging in the material. It is simply re-reading your notes. Only ‘doing’ the readings for class is not studying. It is simply doing the reading for class. Think of reading as an important part of pre-studying, but learning information requires actively engaging in the material (Edwards, 2014). Active engagement is the process of constructing meaning from text that involves making connections to lectures, forming examples, and regulating your own learning (Davis, 2007).

What Active Studying Is Not

Active studying does not mean highlighting or underlining text, re-reading, or rote memorization.

Active Studying Techniques

Create a study guide by topic: Formulate questions and problems and write complete answers.
Become a teacher: Study in terms of question, evidence, and conclusion: What is the question posed by the instructor/author? What is the evidence that they present?
Self-Testing: Self-testing is an active study strategy that improves the intensity of studying and efficiency of learning.
Explain the material in your own words: Try to explain the material in your own words, as if you are the teacher. You can do this in a study group, with a study partner, or on your own. Saying the material aloud will point out where you are confused and need more information and will help you retain the information.
Create quizzes: Creating a quiz for yourself will help you to think like your professor. What does your professor want you to know? Quizzing yourself is a highly effective study technique.

Organization and Planning: Structuring Your Learning

Organization and planning will help you to actively study for your courses. When studying for a test, organize your materials first and then begin your active reviewing by topic (Newport, 2007). Often professors provide subtopics on the syllabi. Use them as a guide to help organize your materials. For example, gather all of the materials for one topic (e.g., PowerPoint notes, text book notes, articles, homework, etc.) and put them together in a pile.

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The Study Cycle

The Study Cycle, developed by Frank Christ, breaks down the different parts of studying: previewing, attending class, reviewing, studying, and checking your understanding. Understanding the importance of all stages of this cycle will help make sure you don’t miss opportunities to learn effectively.

Distributed Practice: Spacing Out Your Studying

One of the most impactful learning strategies is “distributed practice”-spacing out your studying over several short periods of time over several days and weeks (Newport, 2007). The most effective practice is to work a short time on each class every day. The total amount of time spent studying will be the same (or less) than one or two marathon library sessions, but you will learn the information more deeply and retain much more for the long term-which will help get you an A on the final. The important thing is how you use your study time, not how long you study.

Integrating Distributed Practice

In order to spread out studying over short periods of time across several days and weeks, you need control over your schedule. Keeping a list of tasks to complete on a daily basis will help you to include regular active studying sessions for each class. Try to do something for each class each day. In addition to learning the material more deeply, spacing out your work helps stave off procrastination. Finally, if you have to memorize material for class (names, dates, formulas), it is best to make flashcards for this material and review periodically throughout the day rather than one long, memorization session (Wissman and Rawson, 2012).

Time Management

If you are in control of your calendar, you will be able to complete your assignments and stay on top of your coursework. Determine whether your list can be completed in the amount of time that you have available. (You may want to put the amount of time expected to complete each assignment.) Make adjustments as needed. Completing all of the readings is a luxury. You will need to make decisions about your readings based on what is covered in class. You should read and take notes on all of the assignments from the favored class source (the one that is used a lot in the class). This may be the textbook or a reading that directly addresses the topic for the day. Before going to bed each night, make your plan for the next day.

Beware of 'Easy' Weeks

Lighter work weeks are a great time to get ahead on work or to start long projects. Use the extra hours to get ahead on assignments or start big projects or papers. You should plan to work on every class every week even if you don’t have anything due. In fact, it is preferable to do some work for each of your classes every day. Spending 30 minutes per class each day will add up to three hours per week, but spreading this time out over six days is more effective than cramming it all in during one long three-hour session.

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Intensive Study Sessions: Maximizing Focus

Not all studying is equal. You will accomplish more if you study intensively. Intensive study sessions are short and will allow you to get work done with minimal wasted effort. Intensive study sessions can last 30 or 45-minute sessions and include active studying strategies.

Eliminating Distractions: Creating a Focused Environment

In order to study smarter, not harder, you will need to eliminate distractions during your study sessions. Social media, web browsing, game playing, texting, etc. will severely affect the intensity of your study sessions if you allow them! Eliminating the distractions will allow you to fully engage during your study sessions. If you don’t need your computer for homework, then don’t use it. Use apps to help you set limits on the amount of time you can spend at certain sites during the day. Turn your phone off.

Finding Your Ideal Study Environment

Know where you study best. The silence of a library may not be the best place for you. It’s important to consider what noise environment works best for you. You might find that you concentrate better with some background noise. Have a variety of places in and around campus that are good study environments for you. That way wherever you are, you can find your perfect study spot. It may be that your focus at 10:00 PM. is not as sharp as at 10:00 AM. Perhaps you are more productive at a coffee shop with background noise, or in the study lounge in your residence hall.

Technical Courses: Working and Re-Working Problems

Working and re-working problems is important for technical courses (e.g., math, economics). In technical courses, it is usually more important to work problems than read the text (Newport, 2007). In class, write down in detail the practice problems demonstrated by the professor. Annotate each step and ask questions if you are confused. When preparing for tests, put together a large list of problems from the course materials and lectures. Re-do the problems that give you trouble.

Self-Education in Practice: A Step-by-Step Guide

Self-education is an individual process, so it’s up to you to decide how you want to do it. Here are some steps to self-education:

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Step 1: Deciding What You’ll Learn: The first step is being intentional when it comes to what you want to learn. Sit down and determine what topics you want to study, skills you want to hone, or areas you want to improve on. Take some time to write down areas you’re interested in or skills you’d like to develop. Once you have your list, narrow it down to a few subjects or topics (ranging from 1 to 3, as you want to strike a balance between consistency and variety).
Step 2: Determining Resources: Now you have your subjects. Next up is figuring out how you’ll get information. What resources will work? Not only that, but which ones are reliable and factual, and which ones are purely opinionated and don’t have any research or proof to back them up? To filter through all the options, you first need to determine where you’ll get your information. Find resources that fit with you. Some people like watching documentaries, some people like reading paperback books, some like listening to audio. Whatever resources you decide to use, make a list of them.
- YouTube
- Documentaries
- E-Books
- Paperback/Hardcover Books
- Podcasts
- Audio books
Step 2.5: Fact Check! Before you continue, it’s really important that you check for credibility. You don’t want to be diving into a podcast or book if the author isn’t basing their arguments in anything factual. Authors have various ways of showing credibility, so look for anything that shows that. Typically authors sharing their research is a good place to start. Ultimately, approach everything with a healthy dose of skepticism, learn about the authors, and compare notes across multiple sources.
Step 3: Note-Taking: Next up, you’ll want to capture lessons you learn as you go. Note-taking helps you take the guess work out of learning something, as you can ensure you have whatever you need to know written down. It also makes you engage with the content more.
- Do NOT copy-paste: write it in your own words. It forces you to make sense of the subject.
- Only write what you feel you need to: you’re not being quizzed on it this time around, so you get to decide what serves you best. Mark what sections or pages you picked up a lesson from for later referral.
- Less is more: focus on the fundamentals, the principles, or at the very least, what is most applicable. Action is integral here.
- Talk to yourself: leaving questions for yourself makes note-taking even MORE engaging, as you are documenting your process to making sense of the subject and how it fits into your life. Use those questions to aid in memorization.
Step 4: Review What You’ve Learned: Now that you’re through, it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You don’t want to dive right back into the notes after finishing, as you’ll want some fresh eyes on what you learned. Take a break, and return to your notes a little while later. While you’re reviewing what you learned, you’ll want to look for two specific things: possible patterns or themes in the book (so you can hone in on the essentials), and guiding questions or comments you’ve left yourself that you can build on.
Step 5: Applying What You’ve Learned: In this final step, you’ll be looking for ways to apply what you’ve learned to your own life. Figure out what areas you want to improve on, and then pick lessons that you can actually work on. Trying to make widespread change in your life is a surefire way to make no changes at all, so start small.

Daily Self-Education Routines

There are many ways to squeeze learning into the nooks and crannies of even the busiest of days. Here are some strategies:

Read a classic every morning: This is a great way to develop literary and intellectual range at a slow and steady pace.
Read a Novel Before Sleep: Night is the perfect time to slip away into your imagination with the help of a good book. They improve your empathy by forcing you to think about characters and how they feel.
Stay Informed: Read op-eds to stay informed on what’s happening in your country or across the globe.
Listen to Audiobooks and Podcasts: Audiobooks and podcasts allow you to double this to an hour pretty easily. Consider listening to lectures during your walks.
Take Online Courses: Whatever topic you’re trying to learn about likely has a corresponding online course that’s affordable and well-crafted.

Examples of Daily Routines

Here's a glimpse at a daily self-education routine:

9:30 AM (pre-writing): Read non-fiction for 30 minutes.
1:00 PM (lunch): Read a classic novel for 30 minutes.
3:00 PM (afternoon walk): Listen to a Yale online course lecture or podcast.
6:00 PM (cook dinner): Finish the Yale online course lecture or podcast.
8:00 PM (study session): Read a non-fiction book (history or philosophy) for 30 minutes.
11:00 PM (pre-sleep): Read a novel.

Continuing Your Education

To stay abreast of things in a constantly changing world, consider these sources:

The Wall Street Journal: Scan the headlines and then read articles of interest which they reflect. But do read the editorials, op ed page, letters to the editor, and arts section.
The local paper every day.
Listen to television news once or twice a day.
Read one business book a month.
Read at least two other books every month: Be they biographies, fiction, histories, detective stories, science fiction, or whatever.
See the latest movies.
Attend the theater.
Actively debate issues with family members, friends, and colleagues.
When you encounter a word you don’t know, write it down, look it up later, and keep it on file somewhere with the definition.
Write articles and position papers, even if they’re never published.
Pursue a hobby-any hobby-with passion.
Develop acquaintances and friendships with those who will force you to stretch.
Join associations and activities whose members will challenge you.

Embracing Learning Opportunities

If you want to succeed at teaching yourself, you’ll need to embrace all the learning opportunities that present themselves. Learning doesn’t have an on/off switch, but rather a dimmer button; with each new experience, we gain more knowledge and understanding of the world around us. We become more self-aware as well as aware of our surroundings!

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