Anyone studying for the GED is probably already pretty busy – between work and families, building prep into the calendar is nothing short of a miracle for some people. So, our advice this week may seem counter-intuitive, but it’s been proven to be effective: Sleep. And take regularly-scheduled days off from studying. Really. This Kaplan instructor has just sanctioned it.
I’m of course not saying to take off two out of the three free nights that someone may have in a week, or clock a solid eight hours of sleep every night instead of spending an hour studying. But working when you’re exhausted is only marginally more effective than sleeping with your prep books under your pillow and attempting to learn through osmosis. Many preppers are so beat after a long workday that they don’t even try to study, and that’s fine. But here are questions to which most preppers can say “yes”: Can you get up a half-hour earlier? Bring your GED book to the office and do science questions over lunch? Do a set of ten social studies problems on the bus or train? Practice your strategic reading skills on newspaper articles? Breaking things down into 15-20 minute chunks done throughout the day means that preppers don’t have to study (at least as much) after a long day, and is more manageable than trying to do a four-hour marathon session (those don’t go well.) Does it involve planning ahead and carrying study materials around with them sometimes? Yes. Is it worth it? Double-yes.
Similarly, preppers giving themselves planned days or hours off is beneficial for multiple reasons. First, they need the opportunity to rest and recharge – pro athletes get days off, and so should anyone studying for the GED. Second, knowing exactly when they don’t have to study achieves two ends: It keeps them from feeling like they need to study all the time, which will then help them focus that much more when they are working. I give myself one day off a week from exercising, and knowing when I won’t be working out makes me focus that much more the other six days of the week.
The key to all of this, as I’m sure you’re seeing by now, is organization. Anyone who can get a clear study plan set up that fits into his schedule will be well on his way to GED success!
