Sometimes, simply studying just won’t cut it. As classes get bigger, exams become worth more, and reading gets more intense, it’s important to find a few above-baseline study rules and methods to stick to.
Fortunately, many before us have created an endless list of reliable study methods, ideas, and skills for us to pick up on. These minor, yet efficient strategies display a set of benefits that perfectly align with a more rigorous education.
Below will be listed several tips to keep in mind when considering effective study. Applying even just a few of these tips to your study sessions will help you become a student who studies smarter, not harder.
1. Actively Learning
Reading and re-reading textbook pages won’t get you anywhere. Being actively engaged with the material is the most effective and efficient way to go about studying.
Reading can be a very important part of pre-studying; however, the actual learning and overall retention come from the active interaction with the material. So, what does actively engaging look like?
Below will be listed several ways in which one could go about studying actively, rather than passively:
- Create a study guide by topic. Formulate questions and problems and write complete answers. Create your own quiz.
- Become a teacher. Say the information aloud in your own words as if you are the instructor teaching the concepts to a class.
- Derive examples that relate to your own experiences.
- Create concept maps or diagrams that explain the material.
- Develop symbols that represent concepts.
- For non-technical classes (e.g., English, History, Psychology), figure out the big ideas so you can explain, contrast, and re-evaluate them.
- For technical classes, work on the problems and explain the steps and why they work.
- Study in terms of question, evidence, and conclusion: What is the question posed by the instructor/author? What is the evidence that they present? What is the conclusion?
Studying actively is studying smarter.
2. Find a Study Space
In 2012, a study was done on insomniacs who were told to stay away from their bed until they felt tired. Once they were sleepy, they were allowed to get in bed to only sleep and nothing else.
Over time, the insomniacs found it easier to sleep at night. This is because they began to develop a strict relationship with their bed that consisted of only sleeping; no phones, no TV, just sleep.
This same relationship-building idea can easily be applied to studying: find a place where you feel comfortable studying for long periods of time, and only study there. You will begin to develop a strict relationship with that area that consists of only studying; no phones, no TV, just studying.
Soon enough, that will be the area where you work hard, focus, and engage the most. I would recommend choosing an area where you feel comfortable speaking out loud or an area with lots of space to draw, write, lay out papers, etc.
3. Utilize Downtime
Piling up a week’s work with no time to get anything done is very recurrent in anyone’s daily life. In those cases, using downtime, or “easy weeks,” to your advantage would be in your best interest.
Life will occasionally, but naturally, give us days or even weeks that are lighter and less stressful. It would be smart to plan out and use this time to get extra work done, get ahead on new projects or papers, or work towards your primary goals.
However, burnout is a real, and very common thing among the population. If you have all your work done or need a few days off, It’s okay to just chill and relax for a bit.
Whether it’s relaxing or working, the key here is to utilize this free time in whatever way will benefit you the most.
4. Silence Isn’t Always the Solution
Know where you study best. The silence of a library may not be for everyone. Science is all over the place, trying to figure out if a noisy background while studying is a good thing or a bad thing. So far, the results have varied.
Listening to music is more of a preference that may or may not have a positive impact on your cognitive performance. With that being said, I would try listening to subtle music (without any lyrics), nature sounds, etc.
Trying out new things to study with is like investing your time to flourish in the future. If you find out that sound ruins your focus, then don’t bother using it. However, if it helps you stay active in your study, then you can keep sounds in the background for the rest of your study sessions.
Set aside some time to try this out. This could really work for you as it has for others.
5. Space Things Out
One of the most impactful study strategies is distributed practice—spacing out your study sessions over several periods of time throughout the week. This method is a lot less intense and negates the pressure of trying to cram everything at the last minute.
The total amount of study time over a week with distributed practice will accumulate the same amount, if not more, of study time as one or two last-minute marathon study sessions; just without the stress and intensity. With short and spaced-out study sessions, you will be reducing the effects of long, stress-inducing study sessions: lack of concentration, focus, and motivation, thus a lack of learning and retention.
When spacing out your study sessions, it’s important to consider a schedule. Having a list of specific study/work times will help reduce procrastination and will allow you to consistently fit your study sessions in with the rest of your day.