Study Tips

AHOY fellow net users,

First of all EID MUBARAK! 

For those unaware, these few days mark a special celebratory occasion for the Muslim population. That is basically the time of year where you get those huge festivals in Broadmeadows and all the wogs and arabs gather to eat and ride and lord knows what else. 

These holidays have been quite short (well all holidays are hehe) but remarkably rapid; reason being that exams are fast approaching. Essentially, when the teachers tell you it is a study break, and that it is sensible not to flat out study, we all gonna catch up and try to go ahead. Well if you are in my boat anyway.

I wanted to dedicate this post to study tips! Efficient study methods, timetabling and whatnot. You have probably seen or heard of these millions of times, but it helps to be reminded of things that contribute to healthy studying. Keep in mind; these things work for me! Some people are able to read material once and remember it (ah y’all are blessed if you fall in that category), or others requiring tedious revision to do so. So here are some of my no-nonsense tips:

• Find what time works for you best, in terms of studyingMany people swear by the whole studying til 2am thing, but I remain a complete sleep fanatic, so deprive me of sleep and I cannot function so well. What I like to do is study during the evening, till about 10pm, then sleep and wake up around 6am. I go to school earlier than it begins, giving me an hour of quiet study. For me, I cannot comprehend numbers at night so I like to leave things like that for the morning or early evening, whereas with wordier subjects like English and Biology, I can study those in the dark hours. Experiment and see what is best for you, and try to stick by that, ensuring you get sleep.

• Find an ideal study spotAs I mentioned before, the uni library is great for me. My study desk and school library are also brilliant as the resources are nearby and I am usually uninterrupted. Some people study on their beds, but I many studies have proven that it is not beneficial to study there, for many.

• Turn off all distracting devicesThat’s right, phones, laptops, iPads, lock ‘em away. If your study is on your laptop, a great thing to have is this web extension called StayFocusd which you can manipulate to block out distracting websites, or nuke em all. I know of an app on phones which allows users to plant trees, however if they go on their phones within half an hour of doing so, their forests turn out ugly. This sort of keeps you motivated to get off your phone as you may grow an attachment to the forest J
• Sleep!You have probably heard this many times, but it is hella important, even if you have to cram the night before a test! The 8hrs of sleep nightly is a good indicator.  Some people I have talked to function best on 6.5 hrs of sleep, some on 9hrs. I personally require no more or less than 7hrs for good performance. Also ensure you eat healthy and exercise to stimulate positive vibes and brain activity.
• How long do I study for?On a school night, I aim for 3.5 hours of studying, not including homework and stuff, then have an hour the next morning. On the weekends, about 6 hours shared over the two days. Some people may consider that very little, but it is not about quantity but quality. Ensure that you make the most of your time. Before, when I trialled the 10hr study day thingy, I found that most of it was spend staring at blank pages of paper, but this system works much better for me.
• Study in short bursts!Give yourself 55 minutes of study and a 5-10 minute break, depending on how much you expended yourself. However during the break, keep the brain stimulated by drinking water or eating nutritiously, exercises like star-jumps and squats are great. These short bursts are to make sure that you don’t tire and lose focus.
• Study efficiently and effectivelyThey are different words guys haha. Ensure that you do not do things you find unnecessary or not beneficial to your progress. For math-based subjects like physics and mathematics, practice definitely makes perfect. Do as many practice papers and questions you can, and ensure that you correct them. What I do is keep track of all my mistakes on the front page of my exam notebooks for each subject. Then, if you are allowed a cheat sheet, or for revision sheets, just right out those problems and the common mistakes you make in big letters.For the sciences and basically any writing subject, I recommend reading the text book, where you deem necessary. I always read it because in class some content may be overlooked. Highlighting is great, especially if you are going to rewrite to make notes. Same rule goes; do practice papers! And for English, another writing subject, aim to do 15 minutes of whatever writing DAILY. My subject is based on linguistics so I have this online data base where I retrieve written transcripts and basically analyse for 15 minutes before calling it quits. Next year, I aim to write an essay a week. But as tedious as it gets, writing over and over is a great task. Try to handwrite where possible, because that replicates exam and test conditions best, and many students come out of exams or essay write ups in class complaining about sore wrists. Also, multitasking is not a great idea in studying as it clouds your brain and reduces performance, so avoid doing that.
  Something I started at the beginning of the year is this: I created a Powerpoint for every subject but maths, and after every class, I would immediately update each of these powerpoints with one slide entailing the new concept learned, during that day. Putting in diagrams where necessary. This is really useful during exam revision time as you can download these on your phones and play the slideshows in the bus/ car, or just read through. Make it a habit to view the slideshows at least once a fortnight, so the info stays fresh in your mind.
  
   
• KEEP UP TO DATE!It is crucial that you keep up. Do not try to go ahead if you cannot, but stay at class pace. If you are aiming for high marks, only go ahead so that you know the information for the next class, and so sitting in the class is merely revision for you. Again, this is different for everyone. My teachers are all lovely in the fact that they give out timetables of what is covered each class, and what reading and questions are required. If your teachers don’t do this, ask them! Keeping up means that if you have a test on the subject, you only need to increase your study time for that subject slightly.
• Equal study timeSome people expend more energy into subjects they find difficult, but it is best to keep all of them at relatively equal importance, only studying slightly more for the upcoming tests
  
• Aim to finish homework earlyFinishing homework gives you room for studying! Unless the homework is a high contributor to my grades, I will keep my response succinct and only at the necessary level, so I do not spend too much time on it. Teachers endorse this system.
• Study in groups to mix it upMake a group with people in different subjects and meet up! I study with my mama at the university library regularly. It is great because the library is silent and I tend to work best in those conditions. During study periods at school, work with friends and test each other. Not only is it fun but you are more motivated.
• Keep busyDo not drop piano or violin, sporting team places, hang outs with friends, or simple hobbies like running. Keep them! And your part time job! Apparently if you have time restrictions for studying, the time you do spend studying will be much more efficient! IN fact, those with wide palates of activity tend to be more successful. My FantasyPremierLeague account is still in business peeps! And I ain't quittin' anytime soon.
• Seek help!Teachers, parents, friends. My mum reads my essays twice, giving me heaps of critique, given her background in academic writing, and I take her advice seriously! Furthermore, going over key points with teachers in emails, or during lunchtimes is brilliant to keep your knowledge straight.

I did not think I would write for this long sorry guys ><

But seriously the most important thing is to go to your study place with positivity and regard it as a task that builds you, not something that depletes you.

HAPPY STUDYING ALL :)

P.S: Isaac approves of this message