I get it–most people hate studying (or as it is sometimes referred to in internet meme world: stuDYING), but I also think that a lot of people aren’t doing it right. As an A-obsessed nerd who still maintains a social life and other interests, I’ve pretty much got my study regimen down, and let me tell you, it really works! Follow these tips and you too can study like a hardcore, academics-loving nerd (whether or not you actually want to be one, if you do though then that’s awesome! Nerds rock.)!
1. Treat yourself to some cute school supplies (because when did spending money not solve any problem ever?).
I know it sounds stupid, but I actually do think that investing in fun school supplies makes collegiettes more excited about classes, which means they’re more excited to learn, which leads to them being more excited to study! So head to the campus bookstore and get yourself some cute pens, notebooks or whatever! It’s sure to improve your study enthusiasm. My favorite school supplies brand is Bando, check it out:
Pens, $14.00 http://www.bando.com/collections/desk-accessories
Notebook, $10.00 http://www.bando.com/collections/desk-accessories
2. Study wayyyy ahead of time, in little chunks.
I know this sounds annoying and tedious and just like something you generally don’t want to do, but trust me, it works and it’s not as sucky as you think. Two weeks or so prior to a test (if it’s a mid-term, you’re probably gonna want replace weeks with months here), make flashcards or start a study guide, and then study them for five or ten minutes every few days. This way, after you’ve done all that cramming the night before the test, even if you blank on something, your long-term memory will likely be
able to help you out!
3. Set a timer on your phone for designated study time.
If your goal is to get an hour of studying done but you have trouble focusing, you can set a timer for four chunks of fifteen minutes and take a couple minutes to unwind in between! Reward yourself with a snack at the very end. :)
4. Be colorful!
I had a teacher in high school who color-coded everything, and I was literally obsessed with her and the class and studying for the class, even though it was totally outside the realm of what I am now studying in college! My point is, even if you really don’t like your math class or your physics class, everyone loves RAINBOWS!! So break out your markers and devise a system of color-coding that makes sense to you. If you’re taking a language class for example, you can make pretty, color-coded word lists with different colors for nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.
Highlighters, $10 http://www.bando.com/collections/desk-accessories
5. Go to office hours, or as I like to call them: DISTRACTION-FREE INTERACTIVE STUDYING!
You’ve probably got questions, and guess what, your professor has the answers! As someone is always going to office hours, I can attest to the fact that they are one of the most untapped resources in college. I’m not sure how it works at big universities, but at small ones like USF you can literally go to the professor’s office at whatever time is listed on the syllabus and OMG THEY WILL BE SITTING THERE WAITING TO HELP YOU. I know, crazy. I once had a professor who, during office hours, hinted to me what the big essay question for the final was going to be, and guess what? I totally nailed that final! That’s right, office hours are great, and one of the best ways to improve the effectiveness of your studying, so go to them as often as possible! One last thing: even if you don’t need help, just go to them to review things that have been covered in class, because that’s literally what studying is, and think about it, once you’ve got the professor explaining something to you you’re not gonna do what you do at home and be like “Please excuse me for just a minute while I flip through my Twitter feed that I’ve already seen.” No, you’re gonna pay attention and review with them because you literally cannot escape! See? Distraction-free interactive studying!
6. Memorize and retrieve.
So maybe you’re not a natural genius, but that’s okay! Neither am I, which is why my number one go-to method for studying is memorizing any useful material by writing it down over and over and over again. If you look under my bed, you’ll probably find papers with the same German words and sentences written on them over and over again. It’s crazy, but it totally works! It’s not enough to just look at words on a page, you’ve gotta write the words, become the words. Write them while you eat, write them while you’re on the bus, write them while you’re waiting for class…And once you think you’ve got it memorized, quiz yourself! Practice retrieving that information from your brain now and you’ll be well prepared to do the same thing on the test!
Happy studying, collegiettes!