There are a lot of tropes when it comes to being a university student. These can include late night cram sessions, eating greasy food at all hours of the night, and needing an essay writing service to bail you out at the very last minute.
But what if you could do some of those things in a better way? For instance, becoming better at studying can help you with test taking and your papers. It just means knowing the proper ways to study. Here are seven tips that can make you better at studying.
- Take Breaks
One of the tropes about university life is that you have to be studying all the time. But our brains are only equipped to handle so much information at one time. This makes taking breaks your best friend when it comes to studying.
Taking a 10-minute break for each hour that you study can give you the proper reprieve. It also gives your brain the time that it needs to soak in the information that you are trying to put in. Otherwise, you are just shoving information into your brain that won’t wind up sticking.
- Find the Right Space
Some people are able to study in just about any place. But where you study is just as important as any other factor when it comes to retaining information. Having the proper environment means feeling comfortable in your space and being able to focus on the material at hand.
For some, that might mean the library. For others, it may mean a coffee shop. Some listen to music, others need total silence. Whatever the case may be, you need to find the environment that works best for your studying needs.
- Don’t Overdo it
As much as the essay writing service has become a last-minute tool, so too has the cram study sessions. But what most people don’t realize is that those last-minute cram sessions actually don’t allow you to retain the information that you need.
It can be tempting to put studying off until the very last minute, but you are far less likely to retain the information that way. With good study habits comes pacing. Study a little bit each day instead of cramming everything in the last few hours before the test. You should find that you retain the information far more effectively.
- Don’t Over Study
This might seem like the same thing as cramming but there is a difference. Cramming is last minute but you could also be doing yourself a disservice by studying too much on a regular basis. Again, your brain can only handle so much information in one sitting. Overdoing it means giving your brain more information than it can handle.
Part of creating good study habits means pacing yourself. Study in 20- to 30-minute increments. Take a break and come back. It can make it a lot easier to study while also ensuring that your brain has a chance to soak the information in.
- Limit Screen Time
This can be a difficult thing to do considering so much of our lives – and the lives of students – are on their computers. But staring at a screen for a long time can be detrimental to your study habits.
Try to limit your screen time when you can. Maybe don’t do so much browsing or spending time on social media as you would otherwise. It can help keep you fresh when it comes to studying, which will pay dividends when it comes time to take your exams.
- Keep Organized
It doesn’t matter how well you think you study or what kind of student you are. If you do not keep your things organized, you will lose track. When you lose track, it puts you in a position where you have to scramble and ultimately lose focus.
When you organize your study materials, you won’t have to go far to find them. When you can access the important notes, you can help yourself retain the information that you need. When you get to exam day, you will be thankful that you have kept detailed, organized materials.
- Notes Are Everything
If you really want to give yourself a leg up when it comes to studying, there is nothing more beneficial than having good notes. When you take good notes, you have all the necessary information to ensure that you study properly.
Start by recording your lectures so that you don’t miss anything. Jot notes as you go throughout the class but when it is over, you can listen to the lecture again and fill in the blanks from what you may have missed. This ensures more comprehensive notes than you would have gotten before and ensures that there are no gaps in information.
