Why do some students find successful study so easy while others struggle with it?
In this article I’d like to reveal some of the hard-won techniques that I myself found to be tremendously successful when it comes to study – whether that is writing an essay or learning huge swathes of information in readiness for an exam.
Check out my top tips to help you stay focused while studying today.
1. Remove Distractions
Whilst it sounds obvious I am astonished at the number of people who try to study infront of the TV or with loud music on. It’s also why I personally opt not to study with others – because invariably you end up chatting rather than working.
I like to either study in silence in my room where nobody will disturb me, or even better, in the library. Wow, study in the library – that sounds exciting you must be thinking! But I found it works really well. The library is silent so even if you see people you know they are unlikely to talk to you. You are surrounded by books that can be helpful for research. The lighting tends to be ideal for reading. And you are surrounded by other people also studying and reading and so subconsciously this will encourage you.
Also consider studying at different times of day. I found early on that I did best late at night when other people were asleep. This way I knew there would be no distractions – it was just me and the moon.
2. Give Yourself Time
Putting yourself under pressure can lead to you spending more time worrying over whether you’re going to get done than actually studying. Your best work is typically done when you are relaxed and laid back and so your creative juices are flowing.
So don’t ignore your essay until the night before then try to work for 12 hours straight to get it finished. We both know that the end result will be far worse than if you had got started a week or two before.
In short, plan ahead and take as long as it takes to do a decent job.
3. Set Time Targets
With revision, when there are vast numbers of things you have to learn, start off by seeing what you can learn in what period of time. Once you have an idea of how many lectures you can learn in an hour, for example, carve up the rest of the work to keep you motivated. Aim for, for example, 3 lectures per hour learned.
This will keep you organized and motivated and will also ensure you get all your work done in time.
4. Provide Rewards
If you did nothing but study your results would quickly start to drop off so take the time to reward yourself. Maybe take 15 minutes off for every hour you study, or promise yourself you will treat yourself to some healthy foods, dinner out and a movie if you finish your essay before Friday etc.
These little treats are vitally important so don’t underestimate them.
5. Have Breaks
Have time to enjoy yourself to break up the studying structure. Its healthy to have a social / study balance, so do go out every now and then or do something fun.
6. Essays Early, Learn Late
When you are writing an essay, and you have the time to really make a good job of it, you can often come up with additional ideas worthy of exploration and so by starting an essay early you have the time to expand and improve it to make it a fantastic piece of work.
On the other hand, I have found that my short term memory is excellent while my long term memory is less so. Adding this up, it means that the later before an exam I actually revised, the better my final results were. I would therefore carve up my revision as outlined earlier, and work backwards from the exam so my revision would be done as late as possible for maximum retention yet would all get done just in time.
It’s a technique I suggest you consider.
7. Acronyms Win
Use creative memory techniques such as acronyms to help you remember complicated things. If there are, for example, 10 steps to a process, firstly learn each step individually. Then place all 10 in order, take the first letter of each and make them into a word, rhyme or other memorable format so you can just repeat the word in your head and immediately reel off all the steps in order.
8. Write Up Your Street
Finally, evidence suggests that when we write things down we remember them twice as well so get into the habit of not only reading your notes but also rewriting them. This physical act of writing will help burn the details into your brain and will greatly increase the amount your remember later on.