These are the common questions that many students have on their mind:
How often should I take breaks? / After how many hours of studying should I take a break?
How long should my break be?
What should I do when I take a break?
Should I take breaks at regular time intervals or after I complete a certain topic?
Let’s examine each of these questions.
1. How often should I take breaks? / After how many hours of studying should I take a break?
This is a topic area dealt with in this article. Broadly, you need to experiment and identify for yourself, the right combination of breaks and study hours. There isn’t one fixed answer. For some, 45 minutes of study followed by a 15-minute break works, while for others, 2-3 hours of study and a 30-minute break works. Try out these different models and find out what works best for you. It is a one-time effort, after which you can reuse this insight for all your upcoming examinations.
2. How long should my break be?
For an upper limit:
If you’re someone who finds it difficult to get yourself in the mood to study, then the break shouldn't be too long so as to completely take you out of a ‘study mood’.
On the other hand, if you can comfortably start studying after doing something else, it is alright to take longer breaks
For a lower limit:
There isn’t any lower limit as such. You could take even just a 5-minute break every 20 minutes or so if that works for you.
3. What should I do when I take a break?
Two things to keep in mind here while deciding this:
The break should be relaxing/ refreshing
The break should not be very distracting, such that it completely pulls you away from your study schedule or your mind away from a ‘mood to study’
Identify a few activities that you enjoy doing such as drawing, or watching a movie, or taking a quick walk, talking to a friend, or anything else, keeping in mind the above two parameters.
4. Should I take breaks at regular time intervals or after I complete a certain topic?
It’s really a matter of personal preference. Go ahead with what you’re more comfortable with.
In case you prefer topic wise breaks, make sure you aren’t spending too long at a stretch that might stress you out and at the same time ensure that you aren’t taking a break too soon if the topic is relatively smaller. So use the regular time interval that you set for yourself to guide you as a lower and upper limit when you use a topic wise approach.
Do let me know if you found these techniques to be helpful. If there are any other specific questions on your mind, related to breaks or anything else in the academic realm, feel free to ask them.
Further Reading: Study Hacks #1 - Optimizing Study Schedule
Subscribe to the website and follow on Instagram or LinkedIn to be notified of new resources on education, examination, and career-building. If you need further assistance, sign up for a session.
Wishing you all the best!
Comments