Distracted While Studying in Groups?

Our Top Four Tips for Staying on Task and Maximising your Productivity 

I’m sure there have been times where you have organised a group study session at the local library only to find that you get distracted within the first 15 minutes, spend the whole time talking, decide that KFC is a necessity, and get nothing done. And you might decide… “I really don’t work well in groups because whenever I do, I get distracted.”

Despite this, group study can still be a highly effective study method. When done well, group study sessions can be engaging, provide an opportunity for you to ask questions, keep you accountable, and provide an opportunity for you to test your knowledge by teaching it to others (remember that old saying… “the best way to learn something is to teach it!!”). 

So that raises the question… How do you make your group study sessions more productive? Well, here are our top four tips that will help you and your group stay on task and maximise your results. 

The first tip is straightforward… 

#1: Agree on a ‘study agenda’.

This involves setting an agenda with all the tasks you will complete as a group in that session. For example, you might dedicate your study session to revising quadratic equations, or you might agree upon completing a past paper and going through the answers. Setting a clear goal for what you want to achieve as a group is key to maintaining focus and direction.

When setting your ‘study agenda’, also make sure you schedule in study breaks (yes, you can still get KFC with your friends!!) and that you are reasonable with the amount of content you can cover in your session. 

Now, an important implication of tip #1 is also this… 

#2: Accept that ‘group study’ also involves ‘personal study’.

Why do I say this? Because group study is effective not only when you have a direction to begin with, but also when each member prepares for the session by revising the items on the study agenda. Going back to our example with quadratic equations, it would be best if all group members revised their class notes and any questions they attempted. Even better, group members should also prepare a list of questions they are still having difficulty with to get clarification on when studying together. This way, your study will be more efficient because everyone is mostly on the same page and you do not need to waste time learning the material from scratch. 

Let’s be clear, I’m not saying that all group members need to have absolute mastery over the material. What I am saying is that the idea of “rocking up” to a group study session with nothing done doesn’t work because the study session becomes less focused. 

There’s also another rationale behind emphasising ‘personal study’ before ‘group study’: Independence. Exams and assignments mostly involve individual work. Going straight to the ‘group study’ aspect can foster an unhealthy dependence on friends for help. Remember this: Everything involves balance. Yes, ask your friends for help, but make sure that you still take some time to be independent and to try to work things out for yourself.

Now, moving onto our next tip…

#3: Know when to stop studying.

If none of you have prepared for the study session and you’re all hoping to ‘wing it’, the best thing to do is to reschedule it for another day. Go home, do some personal preparation, and come prepared to your rescheduled study session. Alternatively, if everyone starts drifting off , don’t push through the session because the result will be poor. There’s nothing worse than trying to focus on a task when you’re tired!! 

So, we’ve gone through three tips: Agree on a study agenda, accept that group study involves personal preparation, and know when to stop studying. There is a fourth tip that will significantly help make group study more ‘manageable’…

#4: Keep your group small.

It might be nice to let other people join because they happen to be studying the same topic, or because they are friends of your best friend’s friend’s friend (I think you get the picture!!). However, more people can mean more distractions. It’s also more difficult to manage large groups logistically because organising the same time and place for 9 people is much harder than for 4 or 5. 

Keep your group small, preferably no more than 5!!! 

Recap

Let’s recap our key tips:

1. Agree on a ‘study agenda’.
2. Accept that ‘group study’ also involves ‘personal study’.
3. Know when to stop studying.
4. Keep your group small.

Try implementing these and you’ll see the results!!