It’s that time in the semester when procrastination is starting to hit you and you realize it’s about time you buckle down and hit the books. One of the most important aspects when it comes to studying that tends to get overlooked is staying positive. It’s no secret college is extremely stressful and without the correct mind set, students tend to burn out quickly and lose motivation. But there are ways to prevent this! Remember to always make time for friends, family and yourself. This will stop you from becoming overwhelmed and unhappy. There are ways to utilize your study time more efficiently. The key is to study smarter, not harder!
Here are some studying tips to help you succeed:
1. Organize & Plan
The most important aspect of studying starts with organization and planning ahead. If you are a visual learner, planners are for you. Writing down all of your assignments and due dates in your planner will help you stay on top of everything and set up your study time more efficiently. Add all of your exam dates, assignments, labs, deadlines, meetings, appointments, etc. to your calendars and color coordinate them.
2. Set Goals
We tend to fall behind in our classes due to procrastination and laziness. A solution to this can be to set realistic goals and give yourself time limits to complete them. For example, give yourself one hour to complete an assignment and set a timer or decide to not leave the library until you finish it. This will motivate you to focus on trying to finish your work and prevent you from becoming distracted.
3. Use Blackboard
An essential app for college that should be on your smartphone is Blackboard. Blackboard provides updates and reminders for all your assignments. It also notifies you when your professors post class lectures, homework and grades. This will ensure you never miss an assignment again.
4. Attend Office Hours
Going to office hours is a resource all students should definitely take advantage of. Try to go to office hours at least once or twice during a semester for each class you are taking, especially if you are an introvert and are not comfortable speaking up in class. Professors are always happy to provide the extra help. Going to office hours allows you to build a strong relationship with your professor, which can prove to be very valuable for your grades and writing letters of recommendation.
5. Use Google Docs
Google Docs is a very convenient tool. It allows you to create and share your work online and access your documents from anywhere. It is especially helpful during group projects because it allows you and other group members to upload, edit and manage documents simultaneously, rather than the alternative of having multiple copies of the same documents.
6. During Exams
Remember the goal to studying is to retain the information. Start studying a week in advance for an exam by dedicating different days of the week to review certain chapters. This will prevent you from cramming the night before. The key is to turn your phone off and set a designated time. Make a goal to study for 30 minutes and then reward yourself with a 5-10 minute break before continuing again.
7. Find The Right Apps & Websites
There are many helpful apps and websites available to you at no cost to study from. AA Tutor for iPhone users or Acid Test for Android users is very helpful for reviewing bioorganic chemistry. Socscistatistics.com is a great website to calculate and interpret data for biology classes, biostatistics, labs and science related papers. Purdue Owl is also an excellent website to refer to when writing and citing papers and formal reports. Google Scholar grants you access to professional, credible and published papers for your research papers and reports. Khanacademy.org helps you review any topic or lecture you might be struggling with. Quizlet is also helpful to test yourself and provides you with banks of flashcards to study from for most topics. Best of all, all these apps and websites are free so take advantage of them.
8. Make Flashcards
It’s always smart to start making flashcards after every lecture because this ensures you will make detailed notes while the information is still fresh in your mind. Reviewing your notes soon after the lecture will also commit them to your memory more effectively.
9. Listen To Playlists
Countless studies have proven listening to music while studying helps you concentrate and memorize information. Making a playlist of instrumentals and calming music helps the time pass more effortlessly and prevents you from becoming distracted.