Every student knocks just how much the stress piles on when it comes up to exam times. The classic method of coping is drinking mountains of energy drinks and staying up for hours on end, but what if there were some more productive, and healthy, hacks that can help you ace your exams?
These 10 study tips might just be perfect for you.
Reward Yourself
Rewarding yourself is a really important trick when you’re studying. When you know you are going to reward yourself, you give yourself something to work towards. So when you’re drawing up a plan for when you are going to study and when you are going to take a break, include some delicious treats, a YouTube or social media break, or some other kind of reward to look forward to.
Using Online Study Tools and Apps
Thanks to the Internet, there are so many tools we can use to improve our studying.
If you need help referring your work, Cite It In can help.
Drink Lots of Water
It’s tempting to drink sugary sodas and energy drinks to keep you going, but these only serve to damage your study performance. When you drink lots of sugary drinks, it’s only a matter of time before you begin to crash.
When you crash, you become lethargic and tired. This is the worst thing that could possibly happen when you’re studying – so instead, be sure to drink lots of water. This keeps you hydrated and healthy, and doesn’t make you tired!
Take Regular Breaks
Regular breaks are important. You don’t need to be taking hour-long breaks all the time, but a few breaks that are ten minutes long will be sufficient. These allow you to rest your brain for a minute, and they give you a fresh perspective on areas of study you might be stuck on.
Write Your Study Notes
Writing down your study notes, instead of typing them, leaves a more significant impression in your memory. Numerous studies have shown that simply typing your notes doesn’t aid your memory, whereas taking the time to write down all your notes leaves a longer-lasting impression. So, get yourself a comfortable pen!
Use Different Colors
When you are writing your notes, be sure to use different colors. By visually separating different notes using different colors, you can remember important points more easily when it comes to exam time.
Don’t Wake Up Too Early
Waking up extremely early to study before your exam can only work if you have gone to bed early the night before. If you go to bed late and wake up early, you will be disrupting REM sleep, which has a huge influence on your memory. So if you intend to wake up early and study before your exam, it’s important you get to bed nice and early the day before.
Read Out Loud
Writing down your notes can help you remember statistics and information, and so can reading out loud. When you read out words as you read them, you are more likely to remember them, according to multiple studies. Reading aloud also gives you a chance to comprehend parts that you previously struggled to understand.
Turn Off Your Phone
Turn off your phone and social media, and put them in a drawer. Even seeing your phone or tablet in the corner of your eye gives you thoughts of being distracted. Merely thinking about checking Facebook can be as distracting as checking Facebook.
Watch Videos
If you do need to use YouTube, be sure to watch videos that relate to your exam topic. Watching videos can be a really great way of improving your study experience, taking you away from the tedious task of reading and giving you a chance to learn in different ways.
For more tips, check out The 6 Best College Study Habits.
Gloria runs WomenLed.org, which celebrates women’s achievements in the workplace and beyond. She believes that while women have made many advancements toward “shattering the glass ceiling,” there is still much to be done. It is her aim to help increase the number of women-led businesses by educating others about the topic.
All views and opinions of guest authors are theirs alone and are not representative of the views of Petersons.com.
