The stress of midterms combined with the excitement of a fun social scene—college life in general—can produce some pretty weird study habits. We all have to study, but some people don’t stick to classic studying patterns of going to the library, sitting and studying all day before a test.
Cramming can produce a slough of compulsive rituals and weird ways people use to try to shove as much information into their heads as quickly as possible. Regardless of whether or not some of these strange ways of dealing with an insane workload actually work, we stick with them.
Creating motivation to actually start the mounds of work sometimes sparks quirky study habits.
“If one of my roommates needs motivation to finish an assignment, she’ll ‘race’ someone else who is working to see who can finish it first” said sophomore Becky Davis.
Becky also has special study spots, as do a lot of Dukies, because the comfort of being in a place associated with only studying is helpful.
“I always do busy work in my bed, but I tend to mix up my study spots a lot," she said. "I have special places in the Duke Hospital where I like to study.”
By now, most college kids have hopefully realized that sleeping with a notebook under their pillow will not make them smarter in the morning—we can’t just absorb information through osmosis. Despite knowing this is true, people do still depend on other random habits while studying.
Freshman Margaret Rote has to be poised to write at all times while studying.
“I can’t study unless I’m holding a pencil,” she said.
Other people use music as a way to help them get through studying.
“My roommate likes to sing bad country remakes of songs that are otherwise good while she studies,"said sophomore Genny Olson. "With or without headphones on."
Music seemed to be a theme among many Duke students.
“I listen to classical music because it doesn’t have lyrics, and its supposed to make you smarter,” said freshman Natalie Fahey.
Many of the weird things we do while we study result from an overload of facts that can make us feel overwhelmed. Study habits are a coping mechanism to make us more comfortable in tackling the massive piles of work we are assigned.
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