It’s time to start preparing for finals week! You probably have your go-to studying method—flashcards, rereading notes, highlighting. However, we challenge you to try a new method of studying based on your zodiac sign.
Aries: Laugh
Use your great sense of humor and spontaneous personality to your advantage when studying. Studying tends to not be a characteristically funny task. However, laughter boosts your likeliness of retaining information. Try using a silly mnemonic device to remember information for your test. For instance, using the phrase “King Henry Died Unusually Drinking Chocolate Milk” to correspond to “kilo, hector, deca, unit, deti, centi and milli” is a useful and humorous mnemonic phrase to remember how to convert metric units.
Taurus: Teach
As a Taurus, you are very patient and practical. Since you want to be efficient with your time and help others, teaching other people what you are learning is a useful studying strategy for you. By teaching a subject to others, you will realize whether you truly understand the concept. Furthermore, explaining an idea to others helps solidify the concept in your mind by reducing the complexity of it.
Gemini: Reward Yourself
Geminis strive for balance in their lives and tend to work best when they find ways to motivate themselves. When you’re studying, set goals and reward yourself when you meet these goals. These rewards can range from buying Starbucks after studying for a certain amount of hours to eating a gummy bear after you finish reading a paragraph in your textbook. Just don’t eat too many…
Cancer: Take a Break
As a Cancer, you can easily become stressed and need alone time to relax. Don’t feel guilty when you need to retreat from studying. After an hour and 30 minutes of straight studying, it is difficult for your brain to absorb new information. Therefore, short study breaks ever 45-50 minutes are vital to allowing your brain to effectively learn information and to staying motivated.
Leo: Surround Yourself with High Achievers
As natural born leaders, Leos tend to also be high achievers. Surrounding yourself with fellow high achievers allows others to inspire you to study harder. Furthermore, directly before taking a test, write down all the relevant information you can think of on a piece of paper. This serves as a quick review to remember the most vital information on the test.
Virgo: Study with Friends
Virgos are excellent teammates who work well with others. Therefore, study groups are the perfect study method of for you. Your study group will work best if you keep it to 3 or 4 focused students. Your group can review notes to make sure you have not missed any points. Also, you can quiz each other on questions and concepts that you think will be on the test.
Libra: Find Balance
Libras enjoy balance in their lives to help them achieve their goals. By moving to a different location to study every few hours, your brain is forced to make new associations with the same material. Therefore, you are more likely to remember the information on the test and in the future. So try studying in your room, the library, and your favorite coffee shop.
Scorpio: Test Yourself
Scorpios can overcome any obstacle with their unshakable focus. Begin your study session by quizzing yourself to see how much you already know. Don’t worry if you can’t remember a piece of information the first time around. Since this process will allow you to see what information you already know, you will have more time to study more difficult information.
Sagittarius: Study Multiple Topics at Once
As a Sagittarius, you have stellar focus. However, if you aren’t interested in the material, you are likely to procrastinate. To stay engaged in your work, try alternating between different subjects. For instance, if you have a math test and a history test next week. Switch between each subject every hour instead of studying for the same subject for consecutive hours. Since your brain has to work harder to remember the correct strategy to solve each problem, you will more likely remember the information.
Capricorn: Write It
Capricorns have great organizational skills and achieve their goals through purposeful, systematic means. Since you work best when you have a plan, you should create a calendar of times you plan to study and what you specifically plan to study during those times. Furthermore, instead of just reading your notes, try writing them out. Physically writing out your notes allows your brain to receive feedback from your motor actions and making it more likely to remember the information you study.
Aquarius: Draw It
As one of the more creative members of the zodiac, you tend to use unconventional yet effective means to achieve your goals. Try drawing diagrams or visualizing images to help you recall information on your exam. Another unconventional but psychologically proven method you can use is spraying an unfamiliar sent or chewing an unfamiliar gum when you are studying and then repeat this action right before you begin your exam. The unfamiliar taste or smell reminds you of your experience of studying and makes it more likely for you to recall the information.
Pisces: Say It
Although you can be quiet and shy, it’s time to make your voice heard. Trying saying your notes aloud. Saying your notes makes a stronger memory in your brain because you both say and hear the information. Just make sure you are alone when you’re reading your notes aloud or it could be awkward.