When I started my first year, I had no idea how to study. I was lucky enough to have gotten through high school without putting in a ton of effort, but I quickly realized that that would need to change. I am a major procrastinator, I always have been, so what would that mean for how I studied?
Well basically, it meant that I was always worried I was studying wrong. I would finish writing my notes the day before the midterm and review a maximum of 8 hours before. But what were all of my friends doing? It felt like they all had their notes done weeks before the midterm, they were reviewing days ahead of me, what was wrong with me that I was still so far behind?!
Here’s the reality of it, I wasn’t studying wrong. I was studying the way that I study. I was still getting good grades, I was still passing my classes, but I was so used to comparing my academic habits to others that, to me at least, it looked like I was bound to fail.
I’m here to tell you that there is no “wrong” way to study. There are strategies for studying better, and we all know those, we’ve heard them a million times. There’s no foolproof study method, there’s no one size fits all. I can’t imagine studying ahead of time, it’s just not for me, but what I do isn’t wrong. If it works for you, then it’s right for you.