Study Smarter, Not Harder

By Chiyierrja Grant on April 25, 2017

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com

We’ve all heard of the famous saying “study smarter, not harder,” but how many students are actually doing it?

Far too many students believe in loads of caffeine, cramming for hours at night into the next morning before a huge exam, and studying while surrounded by distractions. Each individual has preferred methods but here are five need-to-know study tips to help.

1. LOCATION

This is one of the most important tips to consider when studying. It’s best to pick a place that is distraction free. This is different for everyone but the bottom line is that if you have a roommate who loves to Skype for three hours, hall mates who like to have lots of company over at once, or you are tempted to reach for the television remote, your dorm room may not be the best place to study.

2. BE PREPARED

When you have everything you’ll need to begin studying there won’t be any excuse as to why you have to interrupt your study session.

3. USE A TIMER

Most people lose their attention span after 20 minutes; when it comes to reading assignments that can be a problem. To help it may be a good idea to study for 20 minutes with 5-minute breaks. This doesn’t mean break for an episode of your favorite Netflix show, as chances are it will turn into a binge-watching session.

This will also help retain everything you’ve reviewed. When trying to remember information this tip can be done repeatedly with a set of vocab or information you want to retain.

4. GET SOME REST

You’ll hear it a million times that 8 hours is a good amount of sleep to stay refreshed for the next day. When it comes to studying this is crucial. If you’re not letting your body rest properly the day before a big exam, you may actually have trouble recalling information that you’ve studied. Pulling all-nighters can do more harm than good.

5. TAKE OUT THE FLUFF

When reviewing information from a textbook be mindful that it tends to have information you won’t need to know. To get a better understanding of key notes that you will need it’s important to stay in touch with your professors. They can tell you exactly what to study and key points to highlight out of a 20-page chapter in your textbooks.

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