Study Tips: Studying Smart
- May 21, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: May 15, 2022
Organise your study time
Schedule fixed timings to study
Create a daily to-do list that is detailed E.g. List of chapters to revise, concepts to memorise, Home-Based Learning videos to watch
Keep it achievable! Accomplishing them helps keep you motivated!
When studying, avoid social media at all costs
Turning your attention to social media causes you to have to re-read whatever you read right before you got distracted
Doing this over and over again takes more time that’s needed to complete your work!
This is harder than it sounds, but choosing to NOT open your social media when tempted - repeatedly… builds your discipline and keeps you focused
Don't just work hard, work smart.
Know what’s tested and how things are tested in your exams
Revise exactly the way concepts would be tested
Focus on important/tested topics
Topics that are not tested but you’re interested in, leave it for post-exam/holidays
Practise active recalling
After making notes and reading through, move into active learning by asking questions and testing yourself!
Start with understanding the concept, then explain it without referring to anything!
If you're not able to answer it correctly, look back at the notes and see what you've missed out, then have a go at the question again!
Do this for the different concepts that you have and it will be stuck in your long-term memory!
Study by teaching
Write down / explain the concept and pretend you are teaching it to someone! This highlights to you what you do / do not understand
Review and look back at the source material, see what you've missed out, re-learn it and repeat this process until nothing is left out
Minimise confusing wordings or languages. Find YOUR WAY to phrase concepts
Keep your motivation up
Mindsets to keep and hold on to: “EVERY EFFORT COUNTS” “THIS REVISION IS GOING TO MATTER”
Have snacks ready for the week - treat yourself to a snack after each/some tasks on your to-do list through the day! You get to decide the frequency! (There are snacks found in your study pack!)
When you are feeling unmotivated, remind yourself of the results and rewards that would come, and the undesired outcomes too
Write down your specific goals for each subject/module for your upcoming test/exam and paste it somewhere visible during your revision
Great tips on studying smart! One thing that helps me stay organized is knowing how much time I need for video-based learning materials. I found a playlist length calculator that estimates total duration of YouTube playlists, which is handy for planning study sessions around video lectures or tutorials.
The tip about avoiding social media really stands out, since re-reading material after a distraction takes so much extra time. Creating a detailed to-do list for chapters and concepts seems like a great way to stay focused and keep motivation up. For organizing all those study items, I might try using a grid maker to keep track of everything.
popemote really opened my eyes about how checking social media makes you re-read everything right before the distraction. That explains so much of why my study sessions feel unproductive! I'm going to try making a more detailed to-do list to stay on track.
The tip about avoiding social media really resonates, especially the point that distraction forces you to re-read material, which wastes a lot of time. Creating a detailed to-do list of chapters and concepts to revise seems like a great way to stay focused and keep motivation up. For anyone looking to structure their study sessions, SubtitleOps offers some practical advice on organizing your time.
I went through "Study Tips: Studying Smart" just now, and the examples made the message feel very concrete. I will revisit this post again. split image in 12