13 Study Methods to try this year
This year Iâll be heading into year 13, so I decided to write 13 study ideas I will be trying to do
1: Use your syllabus to make a revision guide
These revision notes from vbio were incredibly useful when I was studying for my biology exams. They were focused, concise and gave all the answers you would need for the exams. Thatâs why revision notes that literally use the syllabus as a guide are pretty rad. I think that this year when revising I will return to look at the syllabus and directly take notes from that.
2: Study your Flashcards before bed
This study showed that studying just before you go to sleep increases the amount that you remember of what you study. I wouldnât recommend cramming at 11 before you go to sleep though, instead look over your notes and revise just before you go to sleep.
The easiest thing to study before you sleep is flashcards, which are simple to make. If you want them on your phone, there are several apps, including Memrise and Brainscape. If this doesnât suit you, you could re-read your notes or watch youtube videos- as long as you donât fall asleep during them.
3: Use 30/30 for long study sessions
30/30 is an app which allows you to make a list of what you need to do, then assigning an amount of time to that task. This is great if you have several assignments or subjects and you want to get them all over with in one sitting. It also allows you to schedule your breaks so that you donât rest too long. It also is great for workout timing and getting up in the morning if you have a routine.
I used it for a while last year and I honestly donât know why I stopped. It has pretty colours and is very simple to use. Itâs available on the Apple Store.
4: Donât make Flashcards of everything
Last year when I revised before my exams I made flashcards. Although they were very useful, writing them all out and was very time consuming. I made sure to write down every key point, even if I definitely knew that point.
That was a bit of a mistake, instead I should have only made flashcards of what I couldnât quite get. It would have saved me time, allowing me to focus on other things.
5: Use Google for online study groups
When used correctly study groups can be very good. They can be motivating, allow help in areas you donât understand, help share resources and teaching others can help you remember better. A lot of people donât do study groups because they have nowhere to go, feel awkward asking people to meet up or all live far apart.
A solution is to use google. Google Docs allows you to upload documents onto the group, and if that fails setting up a group email chat is a simple way to make an online study group. Other apps like the calendar, docs and slides mean you can easily share once you get the hang of it.
6: For exercise do the 7 minute workout
I think Iâve heard that exercise helps with studying about 100 times. You can always do little tasks like going for a short walk, or doing some stretches between our studying. However a lot of exercise breaks either take ages, like tennis, or usually require you to go far from your study spot, like swimming or going to a gym.
An alternative I found recently was the 7 minute workout, which is a short workout with simple moves like step ups, squats, tricep dips and pushups. You need basically no equipment and the site times it for you so you donât do too little or too much.
7: Make work you can post on tumblr
Chances are you probably already make lots of posters, notes and essays for school, so why not do some of it on your computer or scan it onto your computer? If you have a studyblr thereâs a lot of people who would want to look at your resources.
Posting your resources online also means you can possibly get feedback from people who notice mistakes or have more to add. It also means you might check more or try harder because you donât want to put up a bad post. It also will probably give you more followers.
8: Put your planner on your phone
This year I wonât be using a paper diary at all. I will still have notebooks and occasionally put reminders or lists on my wall, but if youâre anything like me, a paper planner doesnât work. It can seem fun and pretty to have a planner with colour coding, pretty stickers and nice writing, but thatâs very time consuming. For me personally, the time spent planning takes up the time Iâve saved by organising myself.
Instead this year Iâm going to completely do my planning on my phone. Iâve already used my calendar last year to remind me of my subject and everyone knows the put your timetable as your lock screen tip. There are several to do list apps and organisers. My personal favourite is MyHomework, which allows you to input homework assignments, and your classes. My favourite thing is it automatically assumes your work is due next lesson, so I donât need to type it in most of the time.
9: Change your computer brightness for better sleep
If you stay on your computer past 9 or 10, which you probably do, you probably know that the light can make falling asleep harder. Flux is an app you can get for your computer which adjusts the light so that your screen gets less bright during the evenings and night time.
Sleep is pretty important for having a good day and memory, so reducing the effect of computer screens is always good. Sleepy time also can tell you when to wake up or go to sleep
10: Look at your lesson beforehand and print off powerpoints
This is a lot easier if your college/school has a decent online system. For some of your classes your powerpoints of the lessons or lectures may already be online. Print these off before the lesson and have a look through. You donât have to fully understand everything (after all the lesson is there to teach you it), but just have a general idea. It means you can know what questions to ask in the lesson and be slightly ahead of the game.
This is also good for people who have social anxiety as a way of not being shocked by groupwork. Usually there will be a slide in the presentation or notice on the powerpoint that shows there will be group work in that lesson. You can prepare yourself for this then.
11: Do Things You Enjoy Learning
This doesnât really apply to the list of âThings I didnât do last year but want to this yearâ, however it applies to one of the main things I learnt last year. You need to study things you like. This doesnât mean that you have to like every single bit of the course. It means that you have to be interested in the topic overall, or at least have some sort of motivation of something youâll enjoy in the future, such as a career.
If you completely hate a subject and have no motivation for it, it wonât help you. If all your subjects are like this, no matter how much people tell you itâs great or how good your grades in it are, youâll be miserable learning it.
12: Write down your goals
This is pretty self explanatory. But think about what your goals are? Often people are one of two types. A) They have no idea what they want to do at all. B) They have an exact idea of what they want, i.e: they want this course at this uni and this job afterwards. But they donât have any goals beyond that.
Try to think about your wider goals, just picking a career is not only difficult but also a bit unrealistic. Hardly anyone has the same jobs nowadays, even people with vocational skills like nurses, electricians or hairdressers change jobs. Think about smaller things you want to do, places you want to see, things you want to learn that are not jobs. Build up a larger picture of what you might like, maybe you want to be able to own a horse, or live somewhere where you can walk to the sea. Small dreams like these can be not only motivating, but help with your major life decisions.
13: There isnât really any way round working hard
The unfortunate truth is that there is no way to get round working hard for your studies if you want to push yourself to the best you can do. Yes, there are many tips to reduce the amount of time you need to spend. Yes, there are ways to make it interesting. Yes, doing the things youâre good at and love makes it way better. However you cannot get round that youâll have to work hard. Youâll also have to do things you donât like, but you have to think about your happiness.
By happiness, Iâm referring to your long term happiness, not the short term. Would it be better for me to avoid job interviews now because I am socially awkward? No, it wouldnât. Because in the future I will need not to be awkward. Delaying it now will only make it more stressful, and hence make me less happy.
Sometimes youâve got to the bad stuff to get to the good. And even when you get to the âgoodâ, thereâll still be bad stuff you have to do, there isnât a paradise waiting for you in 10 years.
