Time constraints can be a significant challenge for adult learners who may be balancing work schedules, families, and personal lives on top of their continued education. It may also feel overwhelming to think about studying for classes and exams after a several-year (or more!) break.

Fortunately, having the right resources can help make adult learning more accessible, and that all starts with the right study strategies and techniques. In this post, we’ll look at seven different study tips that come from experts and are backed by research.

#1: Discover Your Learning Style

It’s important to keep in mind that every learner is different. Some retain information best if they hear it instead of seeing it, while others process knowledge most effectively if they’re actually writing it down.

There are four main types of learners:

• Visual. Prefer to take in visual information, including maps, graphs, diagrams, and charts. Photos and videos may not always be effective, but visual aids with patterns and shapes typically are.
• Auditory. Benefit from consuming auditory information by listening or speaking. If you sort out your ideas by speaking, you may be an auditory learner. Repeating lessons, recording lectures, and explaining ideas out loud may be advantageous.
• Kinesthetic. Learn by doing, ideally with hands-on experience. They learn best through personal experience, examples, simulations, experiments, and practice.
• Reading and writing. Consume information most efficiently when reading or writing down information. These learners can take notes on visuals or hands-on experiments to help retain the information better.

If you aren’t sure what your learning style is, take some time to experiment. Do you retain information from a lecture better if you take notes instead of just listening? Or do you need to apply theories to real life examples to remember them?

Once you’re familiar with your learning style, you can use that information to be strategic about a study plan. An auditory learner, for example, could re-listen to lectures before an exam while walking on a treadmill, helping to fit studying into your schedule.

#2: Don't Rely on Reading Alone

Though some learners can process information most effectively by reading pages of text, we know now that many benefit from doing something else.

To most effectively grasp concepts or retain knowledge, consider study activities that actually force you to “interact” and think critically about the course content. This may include the following:

• Create a study guide.
• Use concept graphs.
• Practice a new skill.
• Come up with real-life or hypothetical examples to understand how a theory actually works.

A student that’s taking a class on management techniques, for example, may write down different examples of techniques their own managers have used and how effective they were. Breaking down information and finding ways to relate to it can be essential to more effective understanding of the source material.

#3: Take Breaks

Multiple studies show that taking regular short breaks can improve productivity and memory retention. This study, for example, found that short breaks facilitate “wakeful rest,” which allows the brain to compress and consolidate what was just practiced. It can also help you ensure you’re not getting too burned out at once, keeping you motivated and productive.

As a bonus: Knowing that you’ve got plenty of breaks can help make longer study sessions feel more accessible. Knowing a break is coming in fifteen minutes can help you focus now.

To stay on schedule, you can use timers or apps to determine when breaks are needed.

#4: Plan Ahead

Finding time in a busy schedule can seem overwhelming, but having a plan in place can help it seem more approachable.

It’s important to plan ahead when considering your studying schedule so you can find dedicated times to learn throughout your course and not cram last minute. This can give you time to take the breaks you need, engage in different study techniques, and space out content to improve retention of the content.

When in doubt, you can bake studying into your routine. You may know that you’ve got an extra hour while the kids are at soccer on Thursdays; use that time to re-review the week’s lectures or assess the next week’s study materials.

#5: Have Dedicated, Intensive Study Sessions

If possible, find a time and place when you’ll be uninterrupted. It may not be effective to study when your kids are doing their own homework and may need to be supervised, given help, or provided with snacks. Similarly, you might not want to try to study in the break room at lunch if you know that you’ll constantly be distracted by coworker conversations or the microwave beeping.

Intensive study sessions are more effective, meaning you need to give your full attention to the source matter when possible. Some adult learners may choose to work in their cars or offices during lunch to study, or wake up before or stay up after kids in a quiet location to be able to get their study hours in.

#6: Find a Distraction-Free Space

Where you study can be just as important as how you actually study.

You need to be comfortable and able to focus. For some that may be at a library, while others may be too distracted by other people coming and going in a public setting and prefer their own kitchen table. Similarly, some students may want complete silence while others prefer listening to background music, or need an area where they can pace to think.

Whatever you prefer, make sure that it’s a distraction-free space. You shouldn’t be tempted to start cooking dinner, knock out the laundry, or chat with a coworker.

#7: Take Advantage of Resources Available to You

If you’re struggling to find your footing— or if you want to be proactive— look into the resources that are already available to you.

Many schools offer study workshops, which discuss different study techniques in-depth to help you find what works best for you. They may also grant you free access to libraries or study rooms if they’re local, which can provide quiet learning spaces for you to work.

Organizations working with education development partners like EdAssist may also offer different kinds of coaching. Our expert coaches can direct you to available resources that can help you refine your study habits and get the most out of your continued education.

Final Thoughts

You’re unique, and that means your preferred study style will be, too. One student may only be able to focus in complete silence, while others want to jam out to anything from Mozart to Taylor Swift. Take some time to find what works best for you, testing these different study tips and customizing them to your lifestyle and learning styles.

Looking for help finding the right resource to excel with continued education? Learn more about your education benefits to get started.