More often than not, you find yourself grabbing a book to study. However, you might notice that this walk in the park isn't studying but it's more like just flipping through pages without retaining any of the information. We’ve all been there, right? The goal now is to stop studying without retaining anything and to start studying effectively so that you can truly assimilate all the knowledge you need and should have. Here are some tips that will aid you in doing just that!
Set Study Goals
One thing you need to understand about the human brain is that it requires structure and order for it to function to its optimum capabilities. In line with this, goals offer this order by providing a guideline that will help you understand exactly what you want to accomplish during each study session. So instead of planning on which subject to study, actually dive into the specifics by listing the exact things that you want to know by the end of your study session. This will help you focus more and it will help you retain your studied information more. So go ahead and list down your study goals and let the study session begin.
Have a Schedule
As aforementioned, structure is important when it comes to engaging your brain to function well. By setting a study schedule and sticking to it, you will help format your brain into automatically being prepared to learn when the time you set on your schedule clocks. You should, therefore, allocate your time effectively and state the time that you are setting aside to study daily so that studying becomes a regular part of your day. This will make studying a habit, making you comfortable to study even more.
Pick Your Environment Wisely
Our brain conditions itself to stay focused or to be destroyed based on the environment we are in. If you go to the playground, your brain registers that it is now playtime, making it difficult for you to study. Likewise, if you sit on your bed, it's like you are inviting sleep into your life, making studying difficult. You should, therefore, choose your study environment wisely so that you can stay focused and motivated. You may even want to consider personalising your own space by adding a desk, chair and lamp to it so that you become more focused. You can even add notes, charts and quotes that resonate with your study journey. This way, you are more likely to enjoy your studying, helping you to excel in your studies.
Take Notes
You need to utilise the power of writing down notes when you are studying. Taking notes is not just writing down everything that you are reading from your textbook. You need to summarise all the key things and then write them down, tailored to your understanding so that you can remember what you are studying. That way, you will have a source to kickstart your brain when you now have limited study time, towards exams or seminars.
Take Refresher Breaks
Your brain can only absorb a limited amount of information during a continuous study session. You need to remember that you are not a robot, therefore you can't just enter information in your ‘chip’ continuously and expect yourself to remember the information. You should, therefore, take breaks in between studying so that you can refresh at intervals and come back rejuvenated and ready to learn more. During your break, drink water, grab a snack and do low-energy activities so that you can re-energise yourself and come back to conquer your study session.
Test Yourself
Self-testing is a fantastic way to challenge yourself and monitor the information you can understand. Whether it's through a quiz or through going through a past examination paper, ensure that you test yourself on all the aspects that you would have studied. If you find yourself failing on some questions, take note of them and set them as the goal for the next study session you will have. This will help you to strengthen your skills and it is overall a very productive way of preparing for any exams that you may have in the near future.
Don't Multitask
In today’s world, multitasking seems to be the norm, but when it comes to studying, it can be counterproductive. Trying to cook, listen to music, scroll through your phone and study all at once can affect your studying focus levels, affecting the overall knowledge that you end up retaining. You need to focus on your studying only, if that's what you have decided on. This way, your attention is not divided and you'll get the results that you need from your study session.
Reward Yourself
Studying is not an easy activity at all. It takes focus and discipline to be able to study and retain the information that you study. You should, therefore, reward yourself when you hit your study milestones. Whether it's a test that you pass or you manage to finish a chapter in your study book, don't hesitate to celebrate this small win by treating yourself to your favourite snack or so. This keeps you positively reinforced, motivating you to study even harder.
Interchange Study Techniques
There are so many ways that you can utilise it to study, so don't be boring and monotonous, but explore all the studying techniques and interchange them for an enjoyable study session. Whether you choose to read, listen to educational songs or watch a related educational movie or YouTube video. Just interchange it all and you will notice how much more fun studying will be.