studying tips for ex-gifted kid academics :)
Just thought I’d share some of my personal tricks to make studying easier and efficient;
• Planning one week ahead
It’s super important to stay ahead of schedule, especially in university, so organize your planner as efficiently as possible and make sure you stay on top of your assignements and readings
•Sticky notes
Write down key aspects or vocabulary, whatever it is you need to memorise, on sticky notes and put them in your textbooks. This will highlight the main ideas and make it easier to retain information.
•Find a study cycle that works with you and stick to it
Personnally, studying in 20/10 minutes cycles work best for my attention span. Other popular cycles include studying for 40min/break for 15, or studying for 15min/break for 5min. However any tempo that suits you is what you should try to keep. I try to aim for at least 6 cycles daily (add up to about 2 hours of actual studying)
• Summarizing
After each class, try to mentally go through what you learned and write it out on a piece of paper. This will help you train your memory and help you retain information easier.Also try to make recap sheets for your classes and put them at the beginning of your notebook/textbook.
• Keep in mind your goals
Keeping in mind your long-term and short-term goals will really motivate you to do your best and study more.
•Don’t overwork yourself
Now,I know that time can pass really quickly once you actually get down to work, however, overworking will cause more harm than good. Please do take breaks, keep hydrated and do things that you enjoy, otherwise you will very likely experience a burn-out.
• Music
Finding a playlist, podcast or background music that you can work to will both make you more efficient and definitely more focused. I personnally recommend classical music or cafe/library asmr or lo-fi beats (I find that music with lyrics end up distracting me when i study)
That was it, feel free to comment if you have any other tips!
