Study Tips: Audiobooks and studying on public transport

Studying efficiently means using the best of your time and resources to absorb study materials regardless of where you are or what you are doing. Here are a few tips to maximise study time using audiobooks and public transport:

Using Audiobooks to Study

Today, students already have a variety of tools to help them study more productively and effectively. One of the most popular is audiobooks. As their name suggests, audiobooks are simply books or lengthy notes that are recorded and are meant to be listened.

The Benefits of Audiobooks

The main advantage of audiobooks is they are portable. You can study while you are on the road, on the bed, or even in the classroom while waiting for the other students or your professor to come in. In fact, you can spend your summer break someplace else and still listen to your studies way ahead of time. Another reason to use audiobooks is you can rewind them. If there are some points you do not understand, you can simply press the Rewind button. Audiobooks are a less hassle to use than notebooks. Third, you can study at your own pace.

How to Study with Audiobooks

First you need to download the audiobooks, if they are still sold or saved in a server. You can also create your own audiobook by recording lessons from your professors. Second, properly label your audiobook. It is possible you can have so many of them, and it is easy to get overwhelmed or be confused on the contents. Third, complement the audiobook with a reliable piece of sound equipment. Though this does not mean you have to pick the most expensive one, you should still consider the value of it by checking on the quality and volume of sound.

Using Travel Time (on the Bus or Train) to Study

The truth is it’s really not a good idea to study when you’re on the move. There are a lot of distractions, and normally you retain only a few things on your mind. Nevertheless, if you’re already running out of time or you don’t want to waste every opportunity to learn, you can bring your study load when on the road. Here are tips to do it:

1. Find a good time to ride the bus or train. If you can, select a schedule that is before or past rush hour. This way, you’ll have fewer distractions. These days, finding the right schedule shouldn’t be difficult as most transport authorities or providers publish times in their respective websites. Some of them also have apps you can download in your mobile phone.

2. Listen to the notes. Instead of reading your notes, listen to them instead. That means record your transcripts. Better yet, instead of taking notes during classes, turn the recorder on. You’ll spare yourself the hassle and neck pain of always looking down on your notes. Moreover, you’ll find listening to recorders more effective when it comes to memory retention.

3. Ride with a friend. There are a lot of benefits in riding with a friend. One, you can have him or her as your temporary study partner. He or she can ask you questions for review. Second, you can have someone familiar to talk to when you need a break. Third, just in case you get too absorbed with the lessons, he or she can remind you it’s time to disembark.