Are you tired of pulling all-nighter study sessions for tests? Do you find yourself constantly distracted or falling asleep while studying? Or do you end up with low grades despite your best efforts?
You may benefit from learning how to study:
1. Use daytime hours to study.
Prioritize academics when you are more alert and have access to resources. In college, this might include tutors, professor office hours and labs. In high school, it might be teachers, parents, friends and others. Reward yourself during the evenings with social and personal time. With less on your "to do" list, you can also maintain a consistent sleep routine, which is crucial to effective brain health.
2. Establish specific study times each day.
Those study times also need purpose, which means "to do” lists. Create both a “must get done” and a “should work on” list each day. Make these academic tasks specific and attainable; so you will be less likely to procrastinate.
3. Review material close to when it was first presented.
Don’t wait until the CATS or final exam to study. Revisiting your notes with the lecture still fresh in your mind helps you both reinforce and clarify the information. Confidence in your notes during follow-up reviews is essential. The longer you wait before reinforcing the material, the more difficult it will be to connect to upcoming concepts.
4. Review in an active way.
“Looking over” notes is the most common way students explain studying. Students are confident they “know their notes,” but become frustrated when “the test didn’t look like my notes!” Silently reading over notes, which are always in the same order and the same wording, often leads to an illusion of competence. You think you know the material, but have only memorized bits and pieces. Your instructor will be assessing how you can connect and apply multiple concepts.
5. Use short and focused study sessions.
Break your study sessions up into intensive, 25-minute segments with two-minute review periods and breaks in between.
6. Set specific goals for study segments.
Instead of setting a vague goal like "look over my communication notes from yesterday," figure out exactly what you want to accomplish. For instance, maybe you want to "learn the seven steps of communication." Just like going to the grocery store with a list helps you spend less time, less money, and get exactly what you need, starting a study session with specific tasks is an efficient use of your time and can lead to effective learning outcomes.
Conclusion
The key is to understand that learning is not measured by the amount of time you spend in class or with your books and notes, but by what additional knowledge you've gained from those experiences. With effective study habits, you have the potential to accomplish much more in less time. Think quality — not quantity!
