As a new academic year is starting, students will start asking the ‘how to study?’ question. As a student, finding the best study tips should become a priority. Studying, always sometimes can be a struggle for students. Whether you’re in highschool or college, preparing for a test or exam, I’ve put together 11 easy ways, otherwise called ‘hacks’ on how to study effectively.
1 Set goals
You should be delibrate about planning study sessions. Draw a time table for the hours you want to allocate to each subject. In each session, an outline of what you want to achieve should be made. But don’t stress too much if you didn’t achieve your objective.
2 Study in serenity
Research has shown that students who study in quiet areas, retain information better. Staying in a quiet place makes you concentrate on your subject better.
3 Comfort
Be comfortable, but never lie down on the bed to study, it only gives room for laziness. Sit in a comfortable chair by a desk with proper lighting.
4 Be in the right headspace
Sometimes our mind may not be in the right emotional state for studying. So ensure you have a clear and focused mind before studying. Being in the right headspace include:
• Taking deep breaths
• Meditating
• Getting enough sleep
• Eating healthy snacks i.e dark chocolate, apples etc.
5 Remove distractions
Before sitting down to study eliminate all distractions. Most significantly your phone. if you have to turn it off, do it.
6 Find out what works for you
Some people may retain information better when listening to music and some may prefer subtle background noise or perfect silence. It might be different for you, so you may want to experiment and find what works for you.
Note: song with lyrics may pull your attention from your books and you find yourself subtly singing along to it. Try listening to lofi music or binomials.
7 Break down notes into smaller units
In order to make studying easier it is advisable to learn in smaller units. Don’t cram all your notes at once, take them bit by bit.
8 Apply subject to everyday life
Applying subject to everyday life will familiarize you with the topic and therefore increases the chance of you remembering during exams. Imagine what it’ll feel like to experience the topics in person.
9 Take your own notes
A good way to remember information better is to tell it in your own words. Take notes in your own term to make the subjects more understandable. You will find that reading ‘your’ own notes will be much easier.
10 Take breaks
Take planned breaks so as to make the workload easier. Feel free to even check your social media. But always remember to focus on your book when the break is over.
11 Quiz your self
To test the knowledge of what you’ve studied, quiz yourself. You can make use of flashcards or write down your own question based on what you’ve learned.
While taking to these tips will guarantee you good grades, remember, the most important tip for studying is starting early and actually listening in class.
Anjola Writes 