If there is something all college students can collectively agree on it's that we all despise studying. Studying is time-consuming, exhausting, and if you aren't interested in the topic, it can be physically painful. Unfortunately, it is something we all have to do a lot and especially as we are getting into week four of college, exams are starting to pile up and become more of an everyday thing than just a weekly thing. After coming into college last year unaware of how to study in a productive way, I had to quickly learn, and over time, I've gotten better at it and have come up with some tips that are hopefully useful the next time you study.
Put Your Phone On Airplane Mode
Trust me, I know what I'm saying sounds crazy, but it actually works. We are so distracted by our phones and have the constant desire to be on them, especially when we are trying to avoid studying. When I am studying, I always put my phone on airplane mode so I don't get distracted by it and am able to focus on learning the material. If you listen to music while studying, download it so you can still listen without internet. Since doing this while studying, I am so much less distracted and it's a good incentive to keep yourself focused so you can use your phone to relax after working hard.
Spread Out Your Studying
Essentially don't wait until the last minute to start studying. In high school, I was one of those people who waited until the night before to start studying but in college, that method din't work for me. What I do instead is I start reviewing my notes and looking at the study guide if there is a study guide about four days before the exam. I finish filling out the study guide three days before the exam and normally two days before is when I attempt to learn a majority of the information. The day before the exam is spent doing light studying and going over any topics that I don't totally understand. You don't have to start studying as early as I do, but starting before the night before will save you a lot of stress.
Study The Topics You Know The Least First
Every time I have an exam, the first thing I do when I begin to study is I rank the topics on the exam by how well I know them and I study the ones I know the least first. I find that studying the ones I know the least first is helpful because normally those are the topics that are more time-consuming and require more effort. Then when you have mastered those topics you can move on to lightly reviewing the ones you know the best. This saves you some time in that you may find that you know some topics better than you think and therefore, can spend less time on those.
Take Breaks
One of the biggest problems with studying is that you attempt to learn a ton of information in a short period of time so breaks during studying are often an afterthought. You need to take breaks to allow yourself to rest before continuing to learn new information. I take a fifteen minute break every two hours where I go on my phone, get a snack, or sometimes I attempt to power nap which I don't recommend because I promise you, you will sleep for way longer than you intended. Breaks are essential to ensuring you are successful because if you attempt to study for two long without breaking, you will lose motivation and will probably get distracted.
Attempt To Get A Good Night's Sleep
This is probably the tip that I have the hardest time following in that I tend to never get the nine hours that is recommended. If you have the ability to get nine hours of sleep, do that but I aim for seven hours the night before an exam. I am someone who cracks when they are overtired due to lack of sleep and have found that if I attempt to take an exam with anything under four hours of sleep, I will fail. If you are someone who can take an exam on no sleep, I am honestly impressed but for most people, attempt to get some sleep and give your brain time to recharge so you can be successful on your exam the next day.
With those five tips, I have honestly become a better student and am able to study more productively. Even though I don't use all five of these every time I study, even using two or three tips has helped me do so much better on exams and assignments. I really hope these tips are helpful and good luck studying for your next exam!
