- Put your books and materials down and stretch for a minute or two.
- Sit down, put your head down, and take 4 deep breaths.
- Sit up, close your eyes and imagine being in a pleasant place where you feel relaxed.
- Keep your eyes closed and switch scenes.
- Imagine a situation in which you had an academic success.
- Congratulate yourself for a job well done.
- Open your eyes and find your assignment. Say, “Now I’m ready to work for about 15 or 20 minutes.
- ”Read the assignment, Ask, “What questions, problems or tasks are assigned?”Work for 15 to 20 minutes using your books, papers, or other materials.
- Take a few minutes to stretch, breathe deeply, rest your eyes, and have a healthy snack or drink.
- Review and recognize your effort and progress.
- Resume work.
Leave and study at the library if your home or dorm setting is too distracting.
- Stop the distractions; impose an Electronic Lockdown by turning off email, text messages, phones and music.
- Study your most difficult courses in locations where there is no computer or television.Brighten the study space; make it inviting and appealing, but not distracting.Change your location to stay alert and on track.
- Early in the day, go to a coffee shop, later to a library.
- Select a non–distracting location to study. Make it a habit to go to this place at the same time each day.
- Select a location in which there is access to healthy snacks and comfortable places to relax or walk.
- Avoid studying on a bed or overstuffed chair since it tends to be too comfortable, especially if you are already tired.Find a study buddy who will help you get to the library or other non–distracting location.
- Use a fan or other white noise if the study setting is too quiet and you find it difficult to maintain your focus.
- Use a watch or timer to help stick to a productive study schedule.
- Include a break every 20 to 40 minutes of study.
- Move your location if it becomes too distracting to concentrate—even if you are with friends.
- Find a location in which you can stand and perhaps, write on a white board, especially when memorizing facts and details.
- Remind others whose phones ring incessantly to put their phones on vibrate or study somewhere else.
- Take a short nap when you’re too tired to learn.
- Just put your head down on a desk for a few minutes.
- Clear the desk clutter so you can focus
- You might need to throw a tablecloth over the mess so it is not distracting.
- Plan to have periodic stretch breaks and eye rests when working on a computer for long periods.
- Post a checklist of assignments in a visible place to help you remember what you need to do.
- Buy your study supplies at the beginning of the semester so that your materials are easily accessible.
- Create an inviting study setting by using refreshing scents such as evergreen or lemon zest
- .Keep yourself motivated by posting a graph on your book or computer to show number of problems you complete.Have a pair of earplugs or ear buds available in case things get noisy and you can’t change study locations.
- Find a secret study location that is out of the path of friends who distract you when you are trying to focus.
- Post motivating illustrations and slogans to help you start working on your most difficult courses.
- Wear a special study hat or visor to trigger your study and focus time, and to screen out visual distractions.
- Fast and effective study tips
- Don’t do all your studying the night before. Instead spread it out, review class materials several times a week, and focus on one topic at a time
- Find a comfortable place to study with good lighting and few distractions. Avoid studying in bed, as it will be too tempting to take a nap.
- Take short breaks frequently. Your memory retains information that you study at the beginning and the end better than in the middle.
- The best way to study is to focus for between 40-90 minutes, then take a 10-minute break where you do some kind of exercise. Regular exercise helps with concentration.
- Be a hermit! A few weeks before the exam, it may be necessary to isolate yourself from your friends, stop watching television, etc.
- Get plenty of sleep. Generally people need at least 8 hours of sleep per night. Your brain needs this time to recover and organize information to strengthen its memory.
- Keep a calendar or planner and mark it with important dates, like exams and assignment due dates.
- At least once a week, read through your notes from class. Consistently reading about the subject can help you to understand and remember better.
- Before lectures, look over the notes from the previous class and read the course material pertaining to the lecture, so that you can anticipate the main ideas that the instructor will cover.
- Carefully choose what you do during your down time. Relaxing your mind is important during study breaks, but TV and video games don’t allow the mind to relax properly.
- When you’re studying, it helps to keep in mind your reasons for working hard, like a course grade or career you’re working towards.
- Ask questions! Don’t be shy about asking to have something explained in a different way, so you can understand it better.
- Set clear goals. This will help to motivate you, as you’ll want to achieve the goals you set out for yourself.
- Repetition! It’s true that practice makes perfect. Read your notes over and over until you remember the information well.
- Meet deadlines! If an assignment is due by a specific date, meet that due date! Late submissions are often penalized and will impact your grade.
- Get things done early. Start assignments as soon as they are given. Work first and have fun when you’re finished.
- You can easily pace yourself by following tips like starting early, creating a study schedule, and taking breaks when necessary.
- Keep up with your readings! Even if you just skim the main ideas or summary of each chapter before a lecture.
- Buy small index cards and write small bullet points to help jog your memory. Carry these around at all times, and use them in your free time.
- Want more Study Tips? Go back and Unlock more Study Tips! Unlock and get new tips with every update!
- Eliminate everything that might be a distraction. Make sure there’s nothing nearby that might tempt you to lose focus.
- Getting up to look for needed supplies will break your concentration. Make sure that you have everything you need before you begin studying.
- If something unexpected happens, revise your schedule so that you stay on track as much as possible.
- Avoid distractions by sitting at the front of the classroom, and away from disruptive classmates.
- Make sure to study the most difficult material when you are most alert, and do the easier stuff when you aren’t quite as focused.
- Protect your studying time/environment by making a “Do Not Disturb” sign, or by studying in a private place where you can concentrate best.
- It’s important to write a list of all things that you need to study. Plan carefully and specifically.
- Always take notes for the same class in the same notebook. Keeping related materials consolidated helps with organization.
- Before going to bed each night, revise the summary notes on a topic. You will be amazed at how much you’ll remember.
- Good lighting and temperature are essential. If it’s too hot, it will be more difficult to concentrate, so it’s better if the temperature is a little cool.
- Do not move onto the next paragraph of a textbook until you understand the previous one. Reviewing something immediately will help your understanding.
- Time management is essential. Make sure you’re studying key ideas and avoid absorbing useless information.
- Understand your study topics! If you don’t understand a concept that you will be tested on, then you won’t be happy with your grade.
- Create a flexible study plan. The closer you get to your exams, the more concrete your study plan should be, but allow for some changes.
- Create a system that allows you to color code material, that’s going to be on the exam, by what’s most important, less important, etc. This will help you focus and prioritize.
- If you find it hard to take notes quickly, then stick to key points and go over examples and extra information with a classmate later.
- The fastest way to take in new information is by reading. You can read a lot faster than a person can talk.
- Pulling an all-nighter won’t help. By the time you arrive for the exam, you’ll be so tired that it will affect your work/memory.
- Use A3 paper to construct mind maps/spider diagrams. Add color and small pictures to visualize the text and absorb the knowledge by using both sides of your brain.
- Even though you use your computer for almost all assignments, the Internet is still the worst distraction. Make sure to limit your Internet time, and focus on your studies.
- Studying at the same time everyday helps. Most people find it more effective to study during the day, rather than at night, because they can concentrate better.
- Eat plenty of fruits like blueberries and apples, which reduce the level of toxins in your bloodstream and improve memory function.
- If you’re stressed about your exams, meditation can help you keep calm and reduce pre-exam anxiety. It can improve focus, as it improves both your mental and physical health.
- Relate every study topic to your life, and try to solve your own questions relating to the topic.
- Use a tape recorder. This is especially handy on test review days when instructors share what material may be on the exam.
- Have someone test you on the material to find out what your weakest and strongest areas are. You can use the review questions at the end of each chapter, practice tests, or other materials.
- While studying, instead of drinking energy drinks drink plenty of water and the occasional cup of coffee. This will help you stay hydrated and maintain a high level of cognitive function and energy.
- Talk to your lecturer about the things you don’t understand, and actively participate in study groups.
- Study guides aren’t always comprehensive, as they are usually just suggestions of the main concepts to learn. Use your study guide for its intended purpose: a guide.
- Make sure you understand the material well, don’t just memorize information.
- Have all of your study materials in front of you: lecture notes, course textbooks, study guides and any other relevant material.
- If you always start ahead of schedule, you’ll never be cramming the night before an exam. You’ll almost always perform better this way.
- Study aloud for at least one hour everyday, record yourself and listen to it afterward. This will help to improve your memory of the content.
- Visual aids can be helpful when revising. At the start of a topic, challenge yourself to write down everything you already know about a topic, and then highlight where the gaps lie. That way, you can recognize what you need to focus on most.
- Avoid comparing yourself to others, because you’ll usually just end up feeling bad about yourself.
- It’s easier to focus if you adapt to studying by quizzing yourself, creating acronyms or rewarding yourself for a job well done.
- Switching up your subjects is a helpful way to learn everything for your exams. It will prevent you from getting burnt out on any individual subject.
- Ask for feedback. If you don’t understand why you got a poor grade on an assignment, talk to your instructor about what you could have done better.
- If you have a lot on your mind, take a moment to write about it and put it aside. This will help to clear your mind so you can focus on your studies.
- Make sure to study at least 40 minutes at a time! 10 minutes here and there just won’t cut it.
- Eating something with protein before studying will make you sharper and more alert. In contrast, going with no food or eating something high in carbohydrates will slow you down and make your mind sluggish.
- Take into account the amount of time you spend traveling to and from school each day. This can add up to a lot of time that you could have used to read or study.
- Don’t study later than the time you usually go to bed, as you may fall asleep. Instead try studying in the afternoon or early evening
- Reduce your sugar intake. Sugar disrupts concentration.
- Organizing class materials is one of the most important study tips. Use sticky notes to remember important textbook pages and make flash cards for key terms.
- Listening to relaxing music, such as classical or jazz, can relieve some of the boredom of studying.
- Creating a compare/contrast chart is helpful when studying complex theories and models, or for studying multiple theories in a single chapter.
- Splitting the material into chunks can be beneficial. That way, you keep track of what you’ve accomplished, instead of looking at the big picture and getting overwhelmed.
- Motivation is an important factor that will help you to study well. This is not a complicated art or unusual technique. It is as simple as remembering to feed yourself daily.
- Reward yourself for studying. This will keep you going.