The Ultimate Study Guide

Since I've been doing a lot of studying these past few months, I thought I would share some tips on how to study smarter and not waste too much time on unnecessary things. Hopefully, this blog motivates you to pick up your books and finish your portion. To begin with, here are some things you need to do-

1. Establish a routine: some people study better at night and some people study better at the crack of dawn. Some people like to study till late at night and some people like to get up early and finish whatever they couldn’t accomplish the day before

2. Try removing all distractions: notice how I used the word *try*. I know it’s not that easy to just completely focus. Try leaving all your devices in the other room so as to not keep checking your phone. Put your phone on do not disturb, so it won’t inform you of each and every notification you get. Try finding a quiet space to study in silence or if you work better in chaos, find a noisy room

3. Don’t bite off more than you chew: organize your portion ahead of time so as to finish studying in time for your exams but don’t overburden yourself with work because it will decrease your productivity which will lead to burn out faster than you think

Now, here are some tips for studying:

1. Make notes: during class try to jot down the key points in your own words that your teacher is saying or from the presentation on the board, so when you are about to start studying the topic you retain the information that you jotted down which helps in your learning

I did some research and here are two very effective methods of note-taking-

- The Cornell Method: Developed by Cornell University-

There is a narrow column (like a margin) called the cue where you write down the key points and test questions that you think might come or acronyms that help you remember a certain thing

A wider column for you to take your actual notes, where the main content of the body is written

A summary space at the end where you sum up the topic in one or two key sentences helps in quick recall

Here is a picture for better understanding:

- The outline method: you select four or five main points from the topic and you expand on each of them, go more in-depth. It is a very simple method of notetaking

To learn more methods of note-taking here is a website- https://www.lifehack.org/856826/note-taking

2. Be regular: this is kind of hard to follow. Personally, it is a challenge for me as well but if you are regular, by the time your exams roll around, you will feel less pressure and you will so much more prepared

3. Organize: you obviously cannot study all over the place because it will be hard to keep track of what you have finished and what you have not. Here are some tips to organize your studying

-Write down all of your portions according to your subjects and pin it somewhere you would at glance at it almost daily

-Write down your schedule for your exams (which exam is which day and date and the duration of the exam)

-Get a planner (or you can just use a piece of paper). I recommend planning out your studying weekly instead of all the days until your exams because you never know how you feel that day and how much of your work you will actually get done. If you leave something out you can always shift it to the next day

-Try time blocking- if you have allotted a certain time chunk of your day to your studying, it will help you stay motivated and you can always finish before or after the time you gave yourself but having a structure in your day is important

- Make sure you are leaving enough time to yourself. You need some time to wind down and relax and just do something for yourself, it will help refresh you for the next day and reduce your chances of getting burnt out

4. Help retain your memory: do things like make flashcards to quiz yourself after you’ve finished studying the topic. Practice as much as you can, use practice tests or any medium of practice that your teacher has provided you. It can also help to come with your own questions for revision. It can help you revise quickly before the night of the exam

5. Some other tips:

-sometimes if a chapter is too long, try spreading it over a few days and revise the previous days part before you start studying the next part

- manage your time to the best of your abilities, try finishing your small tasks if you need a sense of accomplishment or on the flip side you can spend time accomplishing your biggest task so you can then complete all the small tasks faster

-listen to study appropriate music, there are so many playlists. Preferably music with no lyrics so it can help you focus better

Mediums to help you study:

1. Notion: this helps increase your productivity. You can make a study timetable and pretty much keep track of your entire life via this medium. It helps you plan and you can customize it according to your likes and dislikes

Here’s an example of a homepage:

2. Plantie: it's an app that helps you study. Basically, when you are studying, you set a timer on your phone for the amount of time you want to study, and then you cant reach any of your other apps otherwise the plant that you are growing will stop. It is more about self-control. You need to keep distractions away from you as much as you can

3. Zoom: there are many sites where you can join a zoom call where many other people are studying, kind of like a study session but between strangers. You can always just ask your friends to hop on a Zoom call with you and you can have a study session with them

4. Apps: there are many apps like Quizlet which helps you make flashcards and there are even game modes that you can use to revise the content you study throughout the day

5. Google calendar: it helps you plan out basically your life and it syncs to all your devices, perfect for planning out your study schedule

6. Focus to-do (Promo do): it’s an app that helps you time your studying and you can make to-do lists on it as well.

Now, here are some motivational quotes to help you start studying as soon as you finish reading this blog-

1. When you feel like giving up remember what you are working for

2. Don’t stop until you’re proud

3. You will never always be motivated, so you must learn to always be disciplined

4. We cannot become what we want by remaining where we are

5. Tomorrow you wish you had started today

6. Sometimes if you don’t sacrifice what you want, what you want becomes the sacrifice

7. Don’t let one bad grade define your abilities, it’s a minor setback. How you chose to overcome it, is what sets you apart from the rest

8. Don’t tell people your plans, show them your results

9. Your future depends on what you do today and your today has already started

10. Ask yourself if what you are doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and I hope you took some study tips away. Good luck with any future exams/ tests!!

Thanks for reading,

Xx Mahika

(question of the day: where do you see yourself ten years from now?)

(Ps: follow my Instagram: @blogbanterandbigwords where I share polls and put teasers for my upcoming blogs, you might also find some nice quotes in there)