A deep dive into the best study tips

By Deepikkha Vijey

Struggling to be a successful student? Don’t get discouraged, it isn’t magic!

But it does require desire, dedication and a lot of work. Finding the best way to study is an ongoing process. Mastering effective study habits not only makes it easier to learn but will also help you get better grades in school.

Study group, anyone?

Studying in solitary silence can be rather… well, silent. Sometimes it takes a group of people to liven things up.

If you’re a social person, studying can be difficult because you don’t like solitary silence. Motivation can be harnessed by just solving problems together, or even struggling together.

And the best part is, you aren’t just limited to studying with a circle of friends. You could also get your teacher or professor in on this one. Teachers really do want to help, so they’re not likely to say no if you ask them for help studying.

Ask if you and a few friends can come in early, stay late, or hang out during a study hall period to study. Being in the presence of your teacher will help motivate you to actually study, and you have the added bonus of having an expert in the room to help.

If you’re putting off studying because the material is confusing and overwhelming, this strategy is bound to help.

The Tomato Timer

Aside from having various nutrients like potassium, vitamins B and E, and other stuff that others know is good for them but chooses to ignore it anyway, tomatoes can help you study more efficiently without being consumed.

Francesco Cirillo developed a technique to study within timed intervals and decided to name it after a tomato shaped timer. Hence, the Pomodoro Technique.

At its core, the Pomodoro Technique is very simple :

• Study for 25 minutes

• Take a break for 5-10 minutes

• Repeat the cycle 4 times

• Take a longer break

Of course, there are variations of this technique, and you might find that you like shorter study intervals, or maybe you can only repeat the cycle three times until you need a longer break. No matter how you customise it for yourself when you know the end is in sight and a break is coming up, it makes it easier to study for longer periods of time.

To help keep track of time and make sure you’re not constantly checking the clock, set a timer for both your study sessions and your breaks. You can make the most of your breaks by getting up and doing something physical that gets your blood pumping. If you use your breaks to watch 10 minutes of a TV show, you probably won’t be very motivated to jump back in.

5 star workspace, 5 star results

Adapting to our surroundings is a skill that comes naturally to humans. Having a clean and organised space helps your mind be clear and organised.

It might seem strange or silly, but you might find that you can think more clearly when you clear up clutter. If you need to take a break or want to procrastinate for a few more minutes, clean up your workspace.

When your space is cluttered, your mind is subconsciously making mental notes of everything else you need to do and what you need to clean up. Sometimes, we don’t even realise how cluttered our workspace is until we clean it up and can all of a sudden think more clearly.

Cleaning up your workspace could also mean cleaning up your notes. If you took sloppy notes and everything is unorganised and hard to read, you’re not going to want to sit down and decipher what you wrote.

That’s asking your brain to do a lot of work before it even gets to the actual studying. Take some time to type or rewrite your notes, and the task of studying won’t feel so overwhelming.

Me? My own Secret Santa?

Be it a box of cookies, a break to go for a run, a trip to the movies, etc. Whatever it is, use it as a reward for completing a study session.

Maybe you buy some cookies but only allow yourself to eat them once you’ve studied for an hour or decide to go see a new movie, but you can only go once you’ve studied for three hours or mastered 20 terms.

Creating shorter reward intervals as in the example with the candy after each question might work better at first if you’re really having trouble focusing. Once you get in the groove or start to find a little more motivation, you can work up to more delayed gratification.

To really put the pressure on and encourage yourself to do well, try creating a reward for yourself that you can only receive if you do well on the exam or in the course as a whole.

And there you have it. The best study tips I could possibly offer. With so many strategies and tips, there’s bound to be at least one that works for you. But how would you know if you don’t take that first step?