To study effectively is an art that can be mastered by everyone! Pivotal for academic success & lifelong learning, being a great student is no big challenge!
You can have the best intentions and ideas in your head but when it comes to remembering 120 pages of scientific research, math formulas, or new vocabulary, you might fail more often than succeed. To help you out, we have prepared a comprehensive list of tips on how to study effectively and perform any test successfully.
1. Pay Attention if You Want to Study Effectively
The first and foremost tip is to pay attention. You can read and learn all about how to study effectively but if you don’t pay attention to the actual subject, nothing will help you achieve desired results. We remember how difficult it is to sit in a lecture or a class and listen to the teacher, hence, just saying ‘pay attention’ isn’t very helpful. Our recommendation is to practice focusing. However, we have to warn you – it’s not a ‘one-day success’ kind of action. On the first day, set a timer to one minute, sit down comfortably near the window or outside, and describe in your mind what you can see. Continue until the timer goes off. Repeat the same on day 2, only this time, your timer should be 1 min 30 seconds. If you feel that you can stay focused longer, increase the time. However, do not start with something overwhelming, such as 20 minutes. Even if you can stay focused for such a long time, it will be too tiring to do it every day and shortly, you’ll give up on this new practice.
You can also practice paying attention with your family members. DO NOT read your text messages or scroll through your social media when your mom/wife, dad/husband, or children are talking to you. Pay attention to what they are saying. This will not only lead to a better and longer attention span but also improve your ability to focus in the class/lecture/meeting and so on.
2. Get Organized
Paying attention is the first step to learning something new but another good tip on how to study effectively is to organize your surroundings so you can focus on studying the actual material. If you tend to take notes on your computer one day and use your notebook another day, make sure everything is in one place before you start studying. Put everything in a logical order so that all you’d need to do is to read, understand and learn. Having some sort of sequence is one of the crucial things to study effectively. Your brain has enough difficulty to learn new things; don’t overwhelm it with unnecessary struggles.
3. Create a Positive Environment to Study Effectively
To study effectively means not only putting your notes together but also clearing up the space you’re working in. Start with your desk, make sure you have enough space and also add some creative touches to make your environment feel good. If you like flowers, put some nearby. If you like music, play some in the background while focusing on the material you have already learned. However, if you want to really retain the information you are studying, we do not suggest playing music that you haven’t listened to before. Your brain will have to focus on both the new sounds and the new material all at once, which is the opposite of how to study effectively.
4 Set Goals
These words are often being overused in today’s world, yet, it is important to remind you that if you can’t see where you are going, you can’t reach it. If you can remember only one of the tips on how to study effectively, then this is the one – set achievable and realistic goals for what you want to learn and how much time you have; split your work into smaller tasks and do one at a time.
5. Follow Your Energy Level
Are you a morning person? A night owl? Each human has a rhythm that the body is most comfortable in. Some might jump out of bed with a 100% energy level and ready to conquer the world. Others are grumpy until midday and vibrating after midnight. Which type are you? What time of the day do you feel the most creative, active and ready for work? Observe your typical day and set your studying schedule during the most productive time. In order to learn how to study effectively, you need to create your own personal method to succeed in the long term.
6. Plan Study Blocks
So, you have created a more appropriate environment, collected all the material and prepared mentally. Now, let’s get to some practical steps on how to study effectively. Start with planning your study time in your calendar. Set aside 25 minutes and then take 5-10 minute breaks in between. You can read more about this technique in our 23 time management ideas on how to accomplish more in a day.
7. Be Prepared
The next step in learning how to study effectively is always being prepared. Wherever you go, you might get some new viable information related to your studies. Be ready to take notes, type up some ideas or scribble some keywords even if you are not actually studying. Any champion athlete would tell you that they succeeded because they were preparing themselves for success every single day and not only at the time of the competition.
8 Learn How To Research in order to Study Effectively
Similarly, not only do you have to learn how to study effectively but also how to research well. Performing well in an exam, presentation, or another form of assignment means learning the right kind of information. This step emphasizes that you have to learn WHAT to study. You don’t need to learn your book chapters by heart or remember everything your lecturer said. No, what you do need is to find the most relevant and important information,
9. Study Effectively by Staying Away From Distractions
We will be repeating this a lot: MONO-FOCUS. Whenever you are following any of these tips on how to study effectively, you have to eliminate any distractions around you. It’s pretty simple but many of us just aren’t doing it. Tell your family not to disturb you until a specific time. Tell your friends not to text you, even better, put away your phone so you couldn’t see or hear any updates. Also, make sure the temperature in your room or other study/work place is comfortable. You got the gist, so get going and no more excuses!
10. Meditate and Rest
You are probably overwhelmed by how many things are required to study effectively, but it’s not all that scary! Many scientists and other successful people talk a lot about work/study and life balance. It’s extremely important to take time for yourself, meditate and rest. However smart you are or how good your memory is, do not forget the one basic principle – you are human and you need a rest. In contrast to whatever ‘hustle is the new way to success’ lovers say, nobody can work 24/7 and sustain a world-class performance. Work hard, seek the best performance, yet don’t forget to recharge.
11. Reward Yourself
To have even more fun, we highly recommend that you reward yourself for any achievement or progress. Sometimes, taking the smallest action toward your goals is all you need to move forward and succeed. While we love all of the tips on how to study effectively, this one is the closest to our hearts. Think of all that chocolate, ice cream, theme parks, swimming, sunbathing, and hiking you can reward yourself with after just one small successful step.
Besides the tips above, we also want to suggest some actual techniques that may help you.
12. Use Technology to Study Effectively
It is, after all, the 21st century where we get so distracted by our daily routines and struggles that we forget how much help there is around us.
How to study effectively reminder No 1: Use technology to your own advantage. Find applications, devices, and suggestions online that can help you progress faster. For example, an app called ‘Loop – Habit Tracker’ can help you observe how consistent you are with your new habits. Another app ‘Daylio’ shows you how your mood changes over time depending on the things you do during the day! And don’t forget to use the simple Calendar that every phone or computer has, it’s a lifesaver tracking your daily to-do’s!
13. Learn Speed Reading to Study Effectively
How to study effectively Technique No 2:
Learn speed reading. While you will not master it in a day or a week, it will tremendously change your results in the long term. Surely you have seen one of those futuristic movies where a robot can get all the information in a heartbeat? Imagine being able to read and get information faster! Besides, from a personal experience, learning fast reading is also very fun. Our Smart Camp might be a great place to start your Speed Reading adventure.
14. Learn Touch Typing or Shorthand
How to study effectively technique No 3:
Learn to type fast or to write in short. Most of us talk a lot faster than we can process and write down the information in full. If you learn how to master writing down/typing faster, you will more likely succeed in gaining more information. Actually, our SMART Camp participants leave the camp having mastered this skill after just 3 weeks of all kinds of fun international adventures.
15. Use Different Techniques Such As Mind Maps And Flashcards
In order to learn how to study effectively, we also recommend employing numerous techniques such as mind maps and flashcards.
Mind maps can help you remember information in logical order. Firstly, decide on the main branch keywords, such as in the picture below and then branch out into smaller relevant pieces. To start with, you will likely do this on paper, however, after a bit of practice, you might choose to use your imagination and build virtual mind maps in your brain. It all depends on how much time and energy you will spend on learning these new skills.
In terms of flashcards, it’s probably a lot more self-explanatory and simple. Write down key information on one side of the paper and the details on the other. It’s extremely popular for languages, methodologies, and similar subjects that use definitions and explanations.
16. Use Different Senses, Including Visual Aid, Hearing And Touch
To reinforce all of the tips on how to study effectively above, we recommend using different senses to retain and solidify the information. You may want to think about which external sense is your leading one, but either way, the more of them you use, the more likely you will remember the study material.
If you are more visual, anything that you learn should be attached to images, real or imaginary. For example, if you are studying the capitals of the countries, open Google and search for each capital’s image. The more impressive and memorable the image, the easier it is for you to recall it. The name would no longer be just a word but also a visual memory.
If you learn better by listening, make sure anything you learn can remind you of sounds, music and so on. For example, you might want to study your flashcards while listening to your own recording of the same information.
Finally, you may be a person who needs to do, act, and touch in order to remember things better. While not always possible, the majority of the time, you can go and experience whatever you are learning. For example, you might be learning about what happens when water freezes. Go to your kitchen and see how it happens in your freezer. Yes, it’s an extremely obvious example but you would be surprised by how many things you can experience yourself just by asking for it.
17. Gain Knowledge From The Experts
At the end of the day, you might not always be able to figure out how to study effectively. If you are feeling totally lost and any progress seems impossible, go and talk to some experts in the field. It may be a lecture in your school, city or even online. Any direct interaction with a professional will likely inspire you and motivate you to learn and understand it all better. In fact, in our Smart Camp, we have lectures pertaining to the topic of studying effectively.
18. Ask For Help
Don’t be afraid to acknowledge that you are struggling. Today’s world is becoming more stressful, with high expectations for both young people and adults. There is no shame in being realistic and asking for help from those who have been where you are. It might be your parents, a counselor at school or a colleague at work. Most importantly, focus on the progress even if it means one little step at a time. You may have used some or all of the tips on how to study effectively above, but one little detail eludes you and someone else could help you figure it out.
19. Negotiate With Yourself
This tip comes from our own daily experiences. We are all tempted by distractions, fun activities and people we want to spend time with. So, when it comes to studying effectively, we negotiate with ourselves. You may decide to study for 25 minutes and then watch an interesting video for 3 minutes. There is, of course, the danger of overindulging, but if you practice the art of discipline, a little bit of work with a little bit of pleasure can bring you the results you desire.
20. Focus On Your Interests
What’s more, these tips on how to study effectively will only work if you are interested. Physics might sound boring at the moment, but if you spend a little time every day studying and gaining a deeper knowledge of the subject, eventually, it may become an interest, or at least it may pique your curiosity. Start with the things you are extremely passionate about, then move on to studying those you are somewhat interested in and so on.
21. Short Term vs Long Term Memory
If you learn something the night before your test, you will most likely succeed in the test and then struggle in the next one because the knowledge will not be retained in your long-term memory. The difference between how to study effectively and how to study fast is VAST. While last-minute studying is hands down more effective for tomorrow’s test, it actually wastes your time in the long term.
22. Review And Rewrite Your Notes to Study Effectively
Organizing your notes and studying a subject once a month may bring some results, but without reviewing and rewriting/retyping the information, you will not be able to remember it in the long term. We have created this list to not only teach you about the techniques but also to give you a push to work harder and produce world-class results.
23 Record And Listen To Your Notes
In addition to rewriting, we recommend recording your notes as often as possible. As we mentioned before, using different senses is the key to studying effectively. Reading your notes out loud helps you memorize even the smallest details.
24 Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
We literally cannot say this often enough – REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT. How to study effectively in short – repetition is the way.
25. Test Yourself
Finally, don’t forget to test yourself. All may go well, and you may feel confident in your knowledge when you use the techniques from the list on how to study effectively, but when it comes to testing, there’s more in play—stress, anxiety, time limit, and so on. Put yourself in some uncomfortable situations in advance, and you’ll avoid the real struggle later.
26. Imagine Success
Last but not least, it’s the practice of visualization that helps us achieve great results. These ‘26 Tips on how to study effectively’ have been created by imagining what it would mean to be a great student and what it would take to become one. Seeing your success in your mind and acknowledging how you feel at the time will bring you the motivation and perseverance needed to become your personal best.
Consider joining our SMART camp to meet like-minded individuals who are invested in creating a bright future for themselves and the world around us.
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