Now, more than ever, self-studying is on the rise. This is because of an increase in the availability of online courses and Internet resources. However, it can be difficult to self-study. The lack of clear structures, teachers, and goals may all impede your progress. Nevertheless, there are many benefits to self-studying.
- What is self-studying?
- Make a plan
- Use your favourite self-study method
- Find trustworthy resources for self-studying
- Review your work often
What is self-studying?
Self-studying is simply when you teach yourself something. It might sound like a daunting task, but it’s actually incredibly common! Completing a MOOC (massive open online course), learning a language (like on Duolingo), or preparing for a test, are all forms of self studying.
Make a plan
The main problem that people tend to have with self-studying is that it is unstructured. Because of this, you need to make a plan! Write down your goal, then write the steps you’re going to take in order to achieve that goal. Creating a study schedule will help you as well, since it organizes the work you have to do in order to achieve your goal.
Use your favourite self-study method
Since self-studying is self-driven, you get to choose how you study! There are countless ways to study (though not all are created equal!), so you need to figure out what works for you. Remember to include active recall, as this has been proven to boost efficiency.
Find trustworthy resources for self-studying
You can’t just learn somehting with no help at all. More often than not, you’ll need to find some sort of resource in order to facilitate your learning. Check out websites, books, and apps that can help you learn. Ideally, these should explain the topic simply (but in detail), and include practice questions. You can also use edX or Coursera to learn from MOOCs created by universities, which you can also list on your CV!
Review your work often
Because of Ebbinhaus’ forgetting curve, it’s imperative that you review your work periodically. Otherwise, all your hard work will have been for nothing, since you’ll just forget the topic anyway. You can do this by trying to write down all you remember from the topic, or by testing yourself with your flashcards. Just don’t forget that you shouldn’t just read over your notes, since that’s a form of (ineffective) passive recall.
Self-studying is more important than ever, It’s also easier than ever, thanks to the Internet and online resources. I hope that this article has helped you self-study! Don’t forget to sign up for my mailing list so that you can get more study tips, straight to your inbox!
