Self-Study for Beginners

1. Find your motivation and define your learning goals. Why are you looking to learn? What do you want to get out of this self-study? Write down your initial goals - it's okay if these change as you continue on your journey. Sometimes we make big goals and find out that it's more time and effort to complete these things than expected within a certain time frame. If that happens - that's okay, too! Re-evaluate, and re-define your learning goals. 
   
   
2. Dedicate / Block out time. Determine how much time you can allocate on a weekly basis to self-study. Research shows that short, repeat study sessions are the most effective for continued learning. Are you able to block off a half hour? Maybe only 15 minutes a day? The amount of time doesn't necessarily need to be long (in fact, long study sessions can cause issues with burn out, mental fatigue, and knowledge retention) but what it does need to be is consistent. Don't procrastinate; use the motivation you're written down above to coach yourself, and create a time slot - either daily or set of time blocks weekly - to learn. 
   
   
3. Choose a learning space.  Now that you have a dedicated time for learning, how can you make the most of it? Find a learning space that is conducive to what you're trying to learn, and the amount of time you have to learn; this can be a small room, or even just a desk or table tucked away in your home, free of distractions. This space should be somewhere comfortable that you want to spend time in. Decorate it to your tastes, and fill it with supplies that are conducive to learning (notebooks, paper, pens). If you're unable to find a space at home, commuting somewhere to study can be an additional effective method for getting into a learning mindset. Look around for cozy cafes, rooms at the library, or other temporary spaces where you can set up shop for the day, and turn a backpack into a mobile learning station that contains all the necessities and ideal comforts to keep you in the right mood to learn. Make sure that the space you're choosing is easily accessible to you (not too far away and open at the times you need to utilize it). Not sure what supplies would be helpful? We've got you covered.
   
   
4. Leverage local resources. Wherever you are --  your local library is a wealth of information and available resources that you can utilize to learn new things. Whether you go there in person or take advantage of digital options, the library likely has a wide assortment of available knowledge on your chosen field of study. If you're currently a student or an alumni of a nearby university, you can also take advantage of their libraries to continue your education over summer break. Don't forget the world wide web is a resource as well (just make sure that you're checking your sources)!
   
   
5. Choose a Textbook or Learning Avenue that works for you. There's no shortage of learning materials available for any given subject, but you need to make sure you're looking for one that matches your learning style and environment. Some textbooks are designed strictly for classroom use, where you're expected to participate in suggested group activities regularly and you're expected to be able to spend at least an hour a day learning. Others are designed for fast-paced work environments, where you may only have 15 minutes every few days and offer bite-sized lessons for you to chew on over time. There's online classes and lectures available for free (or paid) to supplement, but keep in mind these materials typically require dedication. 
   
   
6. Pick up supplemental books and resources.  One textbook or resource may do a really good job of explaining things, but there may be pieces of information that are explained in different ways in learning materials. The more you read on the same subjects, the clearer the picture of what they're trying to ultimately convey becomes, and it becomes easier to distill that down into the intended message.
   
   
7. Read or watch a chapter a day. If those are too big, break them up into sections based on book or resource format. Take the information you're collecting in the chapter, and summarize it on paper. If something is important, see if you can look around online and find tests and quizzes for the textbook material. 
   
   
8. If your textbook has an optional workbook, use it. Practice with it, even if some of the exercises seem silly. If you're doing self-study, note that many publishers provide answers keys and are happy to either sell these or provide them when asked. If you have a mentor, you can also ask them to check your answers if you feel uncomfortable or are unable to find an answer key for your optional workbook.
   
   
9. Take physical notes. In the current digital age it can be incredibly appealing to take notes with a computer - but studies show that taking handwritten notes is (pardon my pun) hands down the best way to retain new information. 
   
   
10. Talk about what you're learning. Find a group of people interested in the subjects or even teach a bit of what you're learning and feel comfortable answering questions on. One of the best ways to master a subject is to teach it to others. Don't be afraid of not knowing everything - that's how we all learn. Just say you're not sure and that you'll learn that info together. If someone corrects you, take it with grace and be grateful for the experience of someone being willing to help teach you, too. This can be a hard thing to do, as taking criticism even when constructive, is not an easy thing to swallow, especially if it's phrased meanly/rudely.

Example Studying Activities

While you're learning on your own, it can be hard to come up with effective ways to study. There's re-reading your books, re-watching videos, or trying flash cards, but the best way to retain knowledge is by actively utilizing what you've just learned. There's a few simple ways to do this:

• Studying activity #1:

Turn to a blank page and rewrite/summarize the main ideas of the chapter you just learned. Look back on your notes and see how much you got right, and what could use expanding on. Add those corrections and additions in a different color. Rinse and repeat with this activity. 

• Studying activity #2:

Answer some questions using your notes; how can you apply what you've just learned in your day-to-day? Where would this information be useful in the future? How could you have used it in the past? What is a way you could utilize this information in a current project you're working on? Take this, and if it seems useful, apply it to your current work. Some of us learn best with hands-on experience, so take what you're learning and apply it.

• Studying activity #3:

One of the best ways to study and to learn, is to teach others. Make a presentation or help someone else who is also learning your chosen subject. Go onto web forums if you're not comfortable doing this in person and assist. I can't stress this enough, but teaching others is one of the best ways we ourselves can learn and retain information. We're faced with a bunch of scenarios and situations we may never get into ourselves when helping others, and it forces us to think about the information we've accumulated in different and unique ways that helps ingrain it into our brains better.