Study Hard

Study tips and motivation

[how-to-study]

Rewrite your class notes

To study well, you need to rewrite your notes from class. You have to do more than just read your textbook and think that you are studying.

[how-to-study]

Talk through assignments

I have found that I do much better when I talk myself through an assignment. To do this makes me concentrate hard on what I am doing.

[how-to-study]

Prepare for class

I read in advance and then make an outline of what I have read. This makes it easier for me when it’s class time.

[how-to-study]

Rewrite your study notes

Rewrite the information that you are studying into your own words. This will help you to understand the information better.

[how-to-study]

Venn diagram

A Venn diagram is useful for showing how two things are alike and different. It was named after John Venn, who invented it 1880. Follow these steps to construct a Venn diagram.

[how-to-study]

Tips for Remembering

There is no "magic pill" for remembering. But here are some tips that can help.

[how-to-study]

Understanding a Topic

First, always make sure you understand the topic. Second, form questions about the topic and think of the answers. Third, think about the questions and answers often. Fourth, discuss them with your friends.

[howtomusicmajor]

How to Handle Having TOO MUCH To Do

So let’s say you’re in the same boat I am (this is a running theme, have you noticed?) and you’ve just got, like, SO MUCH STUFF that HAS to get done YESTERDAY or you will DIE (or fail/get fired/mope). Everything needs to be done yesterday, you’re sick, and for whatever reason you are focusing on the least important stuff first. What to do!

Take a deep breath, because this is a boot camp in prioritization.

Make a 3 by 4 grid. Make it pretty big. The line above your top row goes like this: Due YESTERDAY - due TOMORROW - due LATER. Along the side, write: Takes 5 min - Takes 30 min - Takes hours - Takes DAYS.

Divide ALL your tasks into one of these squares, based on how much work you still have to do. A thank you note for a present you received two weeks ago? That takes 5 minutes and was due YESTERDAY. Put it in that square. A five page paper that’s due tomorrow? That takes an hour/hours, place it appropriately. Tomorrow’s speech you just need to rehearse? Half an hour, due TOMORROW. Do the same for ALL of your tasks

Your priority goes like this:

5 minutes due YESTERDAY

5 minutes due TOMORROW

Half-hour due YESTERDAY

Half-hour due TOMORROW

Hours due YESTERDAY

Hours due TOMORROW

5 minutes due LATER

Half-hour due LATER

Hours due LATER

DAYS due YESTERDAY

DAYS due TOMORROW

DAYS due LATER

At this point you just go down the list in each section. If something feels especially urgent, for whatever reason - a certain professor is hounding you, you’re especially worried about that speech, whatever - you can bump that up to the top of the entire list. However, going through the list like this is what I find most efficient.

Some people do like to save the 5 minute tasks for kind of a break between longer-running tasks. If that’s what you want to try, go for it! You’re the one studying here.

So that’s how to prioritize. Now, how to actually do shit? That’s where the 20/10 method comes in. It’s simple: do stuff like a stuff-doing FIEND for 20 minutes, then take a ten minute break and do whatever you want. Repeat ad infinitum. It’s how I’ve gotten through my to do list, concussed and everything.

You’ve got this. Get a drink and start - we can do our stuff together!

[allydsgn]

WOAH THIS SOUNDS HELPFUL. I’M GOING TO TRY THIS IMMEDIATELY. Also, I made a chart for myself, but if anyone else wants it for reference (or if this is wrong and I misread you can tell me) here it is:

[autisticphding]

Going to try this.

[animatedamerican]

huh. this … this looks useful.

[studytipsforall]

Study Tip #12

- Make a comprehensive summary of the material you have to learn

- Summarize the summary into a smaller summary

- Make a conceptual map of the summary of the summary

- Now make a clear diagram of the conceptual map of the summary of the summary

- Compile a list of all the important things from the diagram of the conceptual map of the summary of the summary

- Make a summary of the list of the diagram of the conceptual map of the….