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Planning a personal curriculum? Excellent choice! Before you get started, I strongly recommend you review this list of most effective study tips for busy adults.
In this personal curriculum series, I provide detailed guides about…
- What a personal curriculum is (and how to avoid common mistakes),
- How to create the perfect self curriculum step-by-step,
- Personal curriculum ideas for topics, including things to research, new skills to learn and hobbies to try,
- Free learning websites to find reputable educational resources,
- Personal curriculum ideas for fun assignments, and
- The most effective study tips for busy adults
The personal curriculum trend is so exciting because it’s an opportunity for personal growth in which you are in the driver’s seat for your learning journey. But let’s be honest: it’s hard to concentrate and learn outside the formal structure of a course.
Fortunately, my “day job” involves creating adult curriculum. I have some useful guidance to share to make sure you succeed at your personal curriculum project.
Here are the most effective study tips for busy adults who want to keep learning new things.
What Is a Personal Curriculum?
If you clicked on this because you’re interested in effective study tips, but you’ve never heard of a personal curriculum, I’ll quickly explain what I mean by the term. If you want to go more in depth, check out this post for a more comprehensive description.
Basically, a personal curriculum is a way for adults to pursue personal development and never stop learning, even outside of formal education programs.
You create the entire curriculum. That means you choose what you want to learn. And you design your own study path based on what you like doing, what you find fascinating, and what your schedule looks like.
Your personal curriculum will include all the stuff you remember from school – a schedule, required readings, and assignments. The big difference is that you pick all those details. Everything you learn will be fascinating (or at least useful to your life), and you’ll actually enjoy completing the assignments.
The trend is generally attributed to TikTok – specifically, creator Elizabeth Jean (@xparmesanprincessx).
You might think its main proponents are nerdy types who treat research as a hobby. But actually, most people jumping on the trend say their primary goal is to fight back against “brain rot” – the feeling that your mind is less sharp after years of near-constant passive consumption of low-quality, short-form online content.
(But of course, there are many reasons someone may want to design a personal curriculum.)
Why Self-Study Is So Hard
As much as I love the personal curriculum trend, one of my concerns is that people will hop on it without really considering how much effort it will take. They’ll end up failing and feeling disappointed.
You can avoid that fate if you recognize that it’s hard and approach it accordingly. Specifically, here are some things that make self-study challenging:
1. No One is Holding You Accountable
Many of us found the highly structured environment of school to be stifling. The set class times, strict deadlines, and penalties for not doing work applied constant pressure.
For those with ADHD, this environment may have been especially taxing and impossible to succeed in. And a self curriculum can be a great alternative.
But for most, as much as we hated it…the structure and pressure worked. We did our homework, got assignments done on time, and learned what was necessary to pass tests.
When you’re doing a personal curriculum, none of that pressure applies. That’s a blessing because it makes it more fun. But it’s also a curse because no one is holding you accountable.
We’ll talk about how to create gentle structure for yourself below.
2. You’re an Adult. You’ve Got a Lot Going On.
I’m assuming that most people launching a personal curriculum are not currently enrolled in school. And most are adults.
That means you have a lot of other priorities. You likely have a full-time job. Maybe you have kids, a house to keep up, elders to care for. There isn’t a ton of time for you to deeply concentrate on learning new things. Unlike when you were a kid and school was your main responsibility.
It’s important to recognize that fact when you set the timeline for your personal curriculum. Yes, you need structure. But you also need to be realistic. Otherwise you’re setting yourself up for failure.
Below, we’ll talk about how to use realistic time management when setting up your personal curriculum to ensure you succeed.
3. “Brain Rot” Is Real
I mentioned above that many people are embracing the personal curriculum trend to combat brain rot – a feeling that their cognitive skills are weaker as a result of too much passive consumption of media.
Even if you think you’re exempt from brain rot, I can almost guarantee you’re not. All of us with smartphones have experienced this over the past few years.
That means sitting down to study or even read something longer than a blog post might be even more challenging than you remember from your school days.
As we’ll discuss below, you’ll need to train your brain to regain this skill. It’s completely possible, but you need to be patient with yourself.
And remember that that’s actually one of the main purposes of the self curriculum. Through completing it, you’ll learn something new. But you’ll also get offline and practice flexing your brain.
(If you’re interested in reversing brain rot, I highly recommend checking out the book Deep Work by Cal Newport. It teaches you how to train your brain to focus deeply for longer periods of time.)
Most Effective Study Tips to Succeed at Your Personal Curriculum
So, how do we overcome these challenges? Here are my 10 most effective study tips.
1. Know Your Objective
First of all, make sure you set at least one objective before you begin. (See this step-by-step personal curriculum creation guide for an explanation of how to set objectives.)
Your objective is your purpose – it’s what you want to achieve by completing the curriculum.
You might want to learn a skill that could help with your life or career. Or you might simply want to learn something that interests you. It doesn’t really matter what the objective is. It matters that it motivates you.
When things get challenging, you need to be able to look back at the goal you set to stay motivated to push through.
2. Use Realistic Time Management When Setting Up Your Timeline
In my first personal curriculum post, I talked about how vital it is to set up a timeline. But – it’s only effective if it’s realistic.
You can learn more about realistic time management in this post. But to summarize, it means objectively assessing how much time and energy an activity requires versus how much time and energy are available and planning accordingly.
Essentialism teaches us that you can’t just stuff an extra activity into your current schedule without giving anything up.
Even if all you’re giving up is watching Netflix after work, that means you’ll need some other form of relaxation. Be realistic about the fact that your brain can’t be alert and focused 24/7.
So, when you set your schedule and plan how long you’ll spend on your curriculum, make sure you’re realistic. Consider all your other commitments and what you’re willing to give up to make time for this project.
3. Set Up Accountability Checks
As we discussed above, self study is hard because no one is holding you accountable. We can solve this challenge by setting up accountability checks ourselves.
Tell others about your personal curriculum project. Ask them to check in with you every week or two to ask about how it’s going.
Set deadlines for readings and assignments on your calendar with automated reminders.
It’s also helpful to set up assignments that involve other people. For example, you can meet a friend for coffee to teach them what you’ve recently learned.
4. Use the Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique involves setting a timer for 25 or 50 minutes and focusing only on your task for that amount of time. Then, you take either a 5- or 10-minute break. There are even some great videos on YouTube that have background music for concentration that time out these intervals for you.
I’ve found this is an excellent productivity tool. We talked above about how brain rot has affected pretty much all of us. It’s honestly hard to concentrate even for 25 minutes. The Pomodoro technique is a mental trick to convince you to concentrate. Because you know it’s only for a short time.
Yes, you’ll be tempted to check your phone during that time – especially in the beginning as you get used to studying again. But you’ll have a better chance of fighting the temptation when you know you have a break coming up soon.
I also find it super useful for assignments. When I sit down to write and have no ideas, a Pomodoro timer solves my writer’s block every time. I tell myself I’m just going to work on this for 25 minutes. Even if that means just staring at a blank page.
And you know what happens every time? The staring turns into outlining which turns into inspiration and writing.
5. Schedule Specific Times for Regular Study
I know, a lot of free-spirited people are going to balk at the idea of setting specific times to explore their interests. But it really is the key to success.
Have you been interested in a topic or wanted to learn a new skill, and you think,“I’d love to do that! I’ll definitely look into it sometime when I have some downtime.” And then…years pass and it doesn’t happen?
That’s not because you’re unmotivated or lazy. It’s a natural consequence of not blocking a specific time to pursue this goal.
When you set up your curriculum, look at your calendar. On which days do you tend to have some extra space? Block a couple of hours for studying or doing assignments on those days. And set reminders.
If something comes up and you can’t study that day, move the time block to another day to make sure you make up the time.
6. Make Sure Your Topic and Assignments are Realistic
Again, this comes back to realistic time management. As we discussed in this post about personal curriculum ideas for topics, it’s important to select a topic that can realistically be tackled within your chosen period of time.
If a topic often requires a two-year advanced degree, don’t try to fit it into a three-month curriculum. Either extend your timeline or choose a subtopic within your main topic that excites you most.
Similarly, formative assignments shouldn’t take you longer than an hour. If they require much more than that, you’re probably not going to do them. For example, don’t try to write a six-page essay about what you read this week. Plan for a one-page summary.
A summative assignment can take around 8-10 hours total. But make sure you budget enough time on your calendar to achieve it.
7. Set the Tone When You Study
Concentration is hard enough these days with so many distractions at our fingertips.
It helps to assign a specific place where you study. This might be a room in your house, a coffee shop, or the library.
Try ambient music or white noise in headphones to keep you focused.
Put your phone on “Do Not Disturb” or, better yet, leave it in another room for the duration of your study time.
For myself, it helps to make myself a drink – a latte, a cup of tea, etc. – that reminds me that I’m supposed to be “in the zone.” The habit of bringing the beverage to my desk puts me in the “study” frame of mind.
8. Don’t Try to Multitask
One of the reasons I recommend setting specific times on your calendar to study is that you need to only be studying during those times.
Sure, sometimes you can get away with listening to an audiobook or educational podcast during your commute to work. But don’t try to also answer e-mails at the same time.
In general, most people think they’re good at multitasking. But the reality is almost no one multitasks effectively. The human brain is not set up for it.
So, when you’re reading, watching a documentary, or doing an assignment, only focus on that one task for a certain amount of time.
Don’t try to fit in study time while you’re eating lunch, in a boring work meeting, or home alone with young kids.
9. Get Enough Sleep and Relaxation
This is one of the most effective study tips that I never hear people talking about. When you’re asking your brain to learn something new, you need to give it time to rest and synthesize the information you’ve fed it.
The first person to point this out to me was a staff member when I was in the Peace Corps. We needed to learn a new language to a reasonable level of competency in just 10 weeks in order to move ahead with our service. He pointed out that we need to dedicate about 10 hours a night to sleep in order to compensate for the fact that we were immersed in a new language environment, in class 4 hours a day, doing homework, and just trying to get our bearings.
That was a wake-up call for me when it comes to learning in general. If you’re requiring your brain to work harder, it also needs to rest.
As for relaxation, one of the mistakes I see people make when it comes to setting goals is trying to wedge a new activity into where they used to relax. It’s natural to think, “I don’t need to read fiction for 30 minutes before bed. I could use that time exercise or study a new topic.” But if you have no relaxation time in your schedule, you’ll procrastinate to make the time. You simply can’t be “on” all the time.
Make sure you schedule sufficient time for sleep and relaxation during your personal curriculum timeline.
10. Create a Community
This tip is optional, but it’s truly effective. Especially for the extraverts among us.
You’ll be more motivated to learn if there are others around you interested int he same topic or pursuing the same goals. That’s one of the reasons a school setting is effective for learning.
You can create a community on your own in a few ways. First, you can check Meetup to see if there are any local groups dedicated to your personal curriculum topic. If not, you can look online to communities like Reddit to find others interested in exploring your niche.
You can bounce questions off others, debate topics, or just check in for motivation throughout your curriculum journey.
What Do You Think?
Have you successfully completed a personal curriculum? What were the most effective study tips that helped you do it? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
You May Also Like…
What is a Personal Curriculum and Why Should You Make One?
How to Make a personal Curriculum: Your Step-by-Step Guide
Personal Curriculum Ideas: How to Find Your Perfect Topic
Free Learning Websites and Other Resources for Your Personal Curriculum
Personal Curriculum Ideas for Assignments (That Are Actually Fun)
How to Use Realistic Time Management: 5 Tips to Crush Anxiety
How to Use Realistic Time Management: 6 MORE Fail-Proof Tips
How to Break the Phone Addiction: Easy Steps for Massive Impact
