I just finished taking my first round of exams for this semester and I will be the first to admit that I should have studied more if I plan on keeping my four-point. But, it’s still early and I have time to turn things around if I start actually following my own advice and tips from past semesters. So this is me shouting it to the universe so I have no choice but to follow through now: I WILL practice what I preach, watch less Netflix, and study more.
- QUIZLET!
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There’s no better feeling than Googling a question and finding a Quizlet that has all of the answers for your assignment, but I also love using Quizlet to study at any time. I downloaded the Quizlet app on my phone so I can flip through the flashcards whenever I have a few minutes. It’s a lot more convenient than trying to make and carry around traditional flashcards.
- Schedule Out Your Time
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Now, I’m horrible about procrastinating anything and everything, so I really need to work on following this more often. When I actually do take the time to plan out how I’m going to spend my time, I get so much more work done. At the end of each week, I like to look over my schedule to figure out what assignments I need to get done and tests I need to study for for the next week. When I have a lot of work for different classes going on, I like to set a timer on my phone and only work on each class for 30 minutes and then give myself 10 minutes in between. These times could easily be adjusted depending on how much work you actually need to do or how big the test you need to study for is. I try not to give myself more than 20 minutes of break, though, and not go on my phone because suddenly 2 hours will have gone by with me getting absolutely no work done.
- Switch Notes with a Friend
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Okay, so this one sounds a little weird, but hear me out. Everyone comes into class with a slightly different knowledge base. Maybe I already have a basic understanding of part the lesson, but my friend knew about a different part. The person who didn’t already know about a specific part most likely took more detailed notes. People also usually focus on different parts as being important so if you can get through someone else’s notes and still know what’s going on, you probably have a pretty solid understanding of the material. Having someone else also means that (hopefully) they can explain what they meant if there’s a part you don’t understand in their notes.