12 Study Tips

Studying for exams is what students dread the most and ironically, its required in all forms of education. Especially if there is a certificate involved in the end. If it is so important why are we still cringing at the thought of sitting in an exam hall. Why are we having anxiety attacks 24 hours before the exams? Here are possible reasons: -

• Procrastination
• Afraid to be a disappointment to your parents
• Afraid of failure and the repercussions you will get as a result
• Everyone’s partying…why should you be the only one studying

  Basically it boils down to being afraid which will eventually become a force of habit. How do we get out of this funk and be better prepared for the inevitable? (There’s no point avoiding exams, as it will catch up with you in the end right?)

The fear of exams is a curable symptom. So here are 12 tips to help improve your studying habits…

1. Buy yourself a beer, kick back your shoes and relax…NOT! Jokes aside, you should study in short frequent sessions instead of having a huge cram session. Speaking from experience, you rarely remember a lot of what you read. The brain needs recovery and recharging time for “protein synthesis.”

3. Honor your emotional state. Do not study if you’re tired, angry, distracted or in a hurry. When the brain is relaxed, its like a sponge and naturally absorbs data without effort.

4. Review the same day. When you learn something new, try to go over the points the same day. If you wait a few days and then make efforts to review the material, it will seem much less familiar. However, a quick review later in the day will tend to cement the information into your brain so that the next “official” study session, you will recognize it and it will seem easy.

5. Observe the natural learning sequence. When you study, if you try first to grasp the big picture and then fill in the details, you often have a more likely chance of success.

6. Use exaggeration. For example, if you are studying spelling, exaggerate the sound of the letters to help to remember them.

7. Prepare your study environment. If you require certain elements in your environment to help you study, try to always make these a priority. For example, do you need special lighting, silence, music, privacy, available snacks, etc.? Pay attention to what works for you and repeat it each time you study for best success.

8. Respect “Brain Fade”. It is normal for the brain to have an attrition rate and to forget things. This does not mean that you are stupid! Instead of getting mad about this fact, you should expect it and deal with it accordingly. Stay calm when this happens, as it’s a normal process you can’t expect to remember everything unless you have photographic memory!

9. Create a study routine. Generally, if you schedule certain times of the day to study, you will get into a routine and accomplish more. If you just “fit it in” during your day, chances are that there will never be any time. An effective way to do this is to literally mark it down in your datebook calendar as if you have an appointment, like going to the doctor. For example: “Thursday 3-4:30 P.M. — Study.”

10. Set reasonable goals. Don’t set your goals too high as they might be unreachable. If you set goals that are manageable, even if they seem too simple, you get in the habit of accomplishing them and gradually you can set higher goals. Also, recognize the difference between long-term and short-term goals. Set your vision on the long-term dream, but your day-to-day activity should be focused exclusively on the short-term, enabling steps.

11. Avoid the frustration enemy.

12. Relax and be confident with what you have learnt so far.