Welcome back, collegiettes! Perhaps you had some study habits that didn’t work as you planned. Maybe you didn’t even have any study habits last semester. Either way, you probably want to do well this semester! Every semester has its own set of challenges. By setting a schedule, organizing your notes, and remembering to take a break, you can make it a simpler one. Now you’ll be ready to take on the semester. HC Montclair is here to assist you. Check out our list of tips that will help you ace your way throughout this semester.
1. Listen to a playlist. Music provides us with a nice soundtrack for studying while also keeping the surrounding noise(s) from being a major distraction. A website such as 8Tracks.com is a great place to find a study soundtrack. You can search “Study” to get a variety of study playlists. If you want some background noise, but are more likely to sing along to songs than study, we suggest using Spotify. You can add your mixes to a list of favorites, so that you can listen to them again.2. Create a schedule. We all have class schedules. We all get syllabi. Many of us have extracurricular activities. By this point, you probably have various post-it notes and planners reminding you of what to do each day. This is also the point where you can avoid such a mess. Websites like GetRevising.com will help you create a detailed daily schedule-down to the hour. This way, you can have a visual on when you’re able to study, as well as when assignments are due. You can do similar things on Google Calendar.3. Rewrite your lecture notes shortly after class. You’re probably thinking, “BUT I ALREADY TOOK NOTES!!!!” Just hear us out on this. You complete your reading for a class. You may or may not take notes. You highlight things here and there. Now, you get to class and rush to take notes. You go to study for an exam, and none of your notes make sense anymore. When you rewrite your notes after class, you can combine key terms and ideas from your reading and lecture. You can divide your notes by topics. More importantly, you have time. You have more than the twenty-five seconds per slide you encounter in class. This added time means that you can organize your notes and not miss any details.4. Study with others. When we say this, we don’t mean a study group. What we mean is to study somewhere where you’ll be surrounded by other people studying. This can be in a study room, the library, or your dorm room with friends (if you can focus enough). When you see your friends studying, you feel like you need to study, too. The same happens when you go to the library. The intellectual environment motivates you to actually do my work. This tip is especially helpful when starting something that you have a hard time motivating yourself to do. By seeing others working you’ll think “I can do it, too!” Next thing you know, you’ll be half done!5. Take breaks. Everyone wants to get their work done as quickly as possible. Sometimes, we compare our progress with that of our classmates. While that might work when starting assignments, as in #4, it can also cause us to not take any breaks in an attempt to catch up to others. The issue with not giving yourself a break is that your brain gets tired. When your brain gets tired, you lose your focus. When you lose your focus, you get frustrated, and you close all your books. Any motivation you had before is gone. Your books are abandoned at your desk. Semo.edu suggests that you study for 40-90 minutes at a time with 10 minutes breaks. This way, you can get a good amount of studying done without exhausting yourself.