The first month of classes coming to a close has us all checking our syllabi to see that it’s time to lock in for our upcoming exams and quizzes. We waste so much time either not studying or not knowing how to study. So, I come to you with my ins and outs for this school year, starting with location and going all the way down to how long you should be studying for, so we can all see success.
INS
- GET THAT IPAD!! Or, at the very least, using a good old notebook and pen for notes. With most of our schoolwork on the computer, typing notes out on a doc much like this one is becoming far too frequent, and if anything is going to help you retain notes, it is handwriting them.
- Sitting in public spaces while you’re studying and coffee shop hopping. One of the hardest things for me is sitting still for an elongated period of time just staring at words and numbers that eventually lose their meaning. To avoid losing your mind, location hopping (I love coffee shops) can clear your head on the walk and give you a new perspective along with the new environment.
- This is a very cold take, but do use Google Calendar or Time Tree, or even a physical daily planner. For a while, I was very anti-planning my days out, and I would overbook practically daily, and all I have to say is don’t let this happen to you. Keep track and get ahead.
- Don’t be afraid to use some sort of AI to make a study guide (like, maybe be a little wary of it), just be aware of where it can be wrong. If you link the slides your professor provides, it can spit out a study guide that breaks everything down for you. Last time I did this, I got a 91 on my biotech exam.
OUTS
- Stop forcing yourself to sit down and study for a certain amount of time every single day in a singular spot. If you are continuously doing this, you’re eventually going to get bored of the content, and even if you’re reading it you won’t actually be processing anything.
- On a similar note of studying, let’s all collectively stop with the flashcard agenda. Unless you’re in a subject like biology where most of the content is memorization, flashcards don’t actually help you learn anything. They are the equivalent to telling a child 2+2=4 over and over and over again, but not telling them how or why.
- Another agenda I’m done hearing about is using Grammarly. It is obnoxiously popping up on our screens every five seconds for absolutely no reason, and most of the time, it is not even accurate. One time I typed “effect” and Grammarly changed it to “affect” and then once it was changed, it told me to change it to “effect” again (and we went back and forth until I decided to remove it from my extensions).
- Coming from a procrastinating connoisseur, STOP PROCRASTINATING!! People will say procrastination is good for them, and working on a time limit allows them to be more efficient, but getting ahead of your work and ahead of your studies will be so much easier at the end of the day. (I do love a little cram sesh right before an exam, though).
At the end of the day, none of us are going to perfect the studying game, but exams are coming whether we want it or not. So, start taking real notes, grab a latte, and swap your flashcards for effective practice for an efficient semester.
