Studying is no fun. However, the harder things are, the more satisfaction and joy they will bring us when we turn out to be successful, so here are some tips that will make you study more efficiently and keep your confidence and motivation high.
1) Organized space means organized mind
A tidy environment is an essential element for the premises of a long session of studying. It’s important to have everything you need near you and to keep distracting objects away: the fewer objects are there on the table, the better. In addition, it’s always useful to keep in mind that procrastination is your number one enemy, and so an organized and quiet space (even if some like to listen to soft music for better focus, which is totally okay) is probably the strongest remedy against it.
2) Set a study program
Planning journals will be the death of our bank accounts, I know, but they may turn out to be useful in some cases. This is one of those, with the exception that they don’t have to be super complex, both visually and practically. By that, I mean that most of the time it’s better to even have just a sheet of paper divided into days and hours of the week; in this way, everything is easier and no time, which should be used to actually study, is wasted in the planning of it.
Additionally, the plan should be kept light and realistic to boost your sense of achievement at the finish line.
3) Take breaks
Intervals of study time and breaks are needed, especially if there’s a long session ahead. The most used technique is the Pomodoro one (25 minutes of studying followed by a 5-minute break, everything repeated 4 times), but others can work as well. The important thing is to keep concentration levels high throughout the hours, so the time intervals’ length can vary from person to person.
4) Memorization
The central part of the activity consists of memorizing the various pieces of information you need to learn. To help to do so, there are various techniques you can use, some of which being mental connections (associating a name or information to a mental image you are familiar with) or the famous “memory palace”: you design a route through your house and connect specific locations (like the bed or a drawer) to a notion so that whenever a review is needed you can replay the path in your head.
5) Review with Active recall
To ace a test or a performance, a review is crucial. As we all know, our memory tends to fade away the more time passes, and so the activity named “active recall” is essential not to forget the information learned. Flashcards can be very helpful, even though making them can be time-consuming; if that’s the case, it’s better to proceed with alternatives.
Another great approach is oral repetition, by imagining explaining something to a class or someone who doesn’t already know the content; setting a series of questions to answer with the help of your memory only is equally, if not more, advantageous. The important thing to keep in mind is that everything needs to be assimilated over a relatively long time to not be forgotten easily. Given that, spaced repetition plays a key role: over the week everything needs to be reviewed more than once, giving priority to what we find to be most difficult. To solidify what learned, even more, practice tests or essays should be taken.
Even if it means spending more time sitting on a chair, in the end, it will be rewarding, and you’ll be thankful for it.
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