The PLRS Method: A straight forward approach to curbing procrastination and making time for You!
“Recite what you’ve learned to your dog...If you can teach it, you have probably mastered the material.”
The academic year can certainly be a stressful time to fit it all in: study and succeed in all required core and elective courses, participate in extracurricular clubs and SAT preparation courses, and not to mention prepare for college applications. Providing therapy to adolescents for about 8 years, I can certainly say that high school students tend to feel quite a bit of pressure to “beat the clock” and get everything done.
When I teach Introduction to Psychology courses to undergraduates, I introduce students to the PLRS method (Santrock, 2018) to strengthen study skills and increase time management. PLRS is an acronym for Preview, Learn, Review, and Study. Before your teacher instructs you on how to conjugate verbs in the past tense in AP Spanish, for example, previewing this material in your textbook will help you skim the material before taking notes in class on this subject.
The learning phase happens in the classroom. Ideally you are listening to lecture while writing notes or even creating drawings that depict what was discussed. Reviewing your notes each evening when you get home from class is strongly recommended. The less time delayed between each lecture, the stronger the review step in the PLRS will work to your benefit! Is there a YouTube video that explains it in a way that was easier to understand than your high school teacher? Check it out! Lastly, the study phase of the PLRS method means that you are studying after you review the new material. This is recommended to be a routine habit of quizzing yourself on material that was learned in and outside of the classroom. Recite what you’ve studied to your dog, your cat, or even your little brother. If you can teach it, you have probably mastered the material.
The PLRS method may initially feel like more work than your normal routine if you are not already in the habit of studying in this manner. However, it is strongly suggested to remedy the poor habits of procrastination that often leave us feeling burn out- which usually results in poor sleep followed by a weaker immunity. Ever wonder why you tend to catch the cold or flu after finals? Habits of procrastination certainly take a toll on our physical and mental state, leaving us more susceptible to illness.
So what is self-care, exactly? Self-care is the intentional practice of taking care of yourself on a daily and weekly basis by prioritizing pleasurable activities. This can include journaling, spending time with family or friends, completing something that gives you joy or a sense of mastery, or simply being in nature and tuning into the present moment.
As a clinical psychologist, I provide my clients and students with psycho- education on how anxiety can rob us of fully experiencing the present moment. We tend to feel anxious when we are thinking about the future, something that hasn’t even happened yet or may not happen at all. To reduce anxiety, therefore, it may help to take a step back and notice when you were stuck thinking about the future and not fully experiencing the present moment. Mindfulness is the art and practice of being in the present.
Being mindful in self-care activities may actually help us be more present and focused during tasks that are required of us, such as taking notes in Spanish class, studying for AP U.S. History, and reciting something you memorized for the debate team. We unfortunately cannot add more hours to the day but mindful self-care activities can allow us to perform optimally during long school days and a rigorous academic year. One way we can do this is tuning into our 5 senses and tuning into our emotions as we engage in the pleasurable activity.
So what is it that you truly enjoy doing that tends to relax you? Whether it’s playing soccer, watching a D.I.Y. YouTube video, or getting lost in a new book, make time for it and be present! To practice being present, notice what you see, hear, taste, and what temperature you feel in different parts of your body when you are engaging in your self-care activity.
Reference:
Santrock, J.W. (2018). Life-Span Development, Seventeenth Edition. McGraw Hill Higher Education.