If you’re struggling through the semester, you’ve come to the right place to procrastinate, or rather, glean some useful study tips to help you finish that essay or ace that test. Whether you leave everything to the last minute or like to accomplish a little every day, these tips should help you hone your study skills to a point where looking at a unit guide won’t make you cry.
At first, study tips like this may seem like a method to get even less work done. But if you and your friends agree on some guidelines before studying together, you’ll find your time spent more usefully. Guidelines could include a blanket ban on memes, no discussing tv, and absolutely no phones. Instead, encourage testing each other on topics. A great way to reinforce your own learning is to try and teach it to someone else, so you can meet with friends from different disciplines and study together. You can even swap your own study tips and methods with each other! It’s an easy way to hang out with your friends regularly, while also committing to study.
It’s important to have space designated to study, with other spaces reserved for recreation. By following this study tip, your brain becomes conditioned to getting work done in a certain area and finds it easier not to get distracted there. Make sure you don’t blur the boundaries between these spaces; i.e. don’t browse through Instagram in the library, or you’ll become tempted to do so every time you go there. Leave Netflix out of the study spaces, and keep your text books out of your bedroom. Another easy study tip is to get work done in a space where everyone else is busy and focused. Their energy might just rub off on you! At the very least, you will feel guilty for scrolling through Reddit instead of working.
Studies suggest that your brain starts to lose focus after thirty-minute blocks of strain. When the time’s up, you should take a short break, and then begin a new task. Useful study tips advise that you plan your time accordingly. Spend half an hour doing research for an essay, then take a quick but strict five-minute break. Afterwards, start compiling that information into an essay plan. After another break, you can easily draft that paragraph. Rinse and repeat, and you’ll have soon finished your essay.
Testing yourself on the material regularly is a great way to check how much you know, and what you’ve got left to learn. There are apps, like Quizlet, that are great for compiling definitions and terms you need to know off by heart. Or follow old-school study tips, like flashcards. Bug your tutors to scrounge up some old exam papers for you to do. Another essential study tip is to also go through and correct your tests. Understand what you did wrong, whether it was misreading the question, or overlooking an area of study. Testing yourself will teach you valuable skills like perseverance and time-management, as well as the topics you need to know for the test tomorrow.
Having a treat in mind for the end of your hard work is the best motivator, study tips reveal. It keeps you striving for that end goal, and is worth all the struggle you put yourself through. Whether you’re motivated by food, social events, or your favourite movie, make sure to plan a reward at the end of your study. The delayed gratification makes it even sweeter. Nothing beats the feeling of finishing your test, and coming home to your prize. Good grades are an added pay-off, but nothing can really contend with a tasty Mars bar or whatever tickles your fancy.
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