As requested on my Instagram channel, this weeks blog is going to focus on study tips I have come to find which will hopefully come to help you all on your journey through academia (at whatever stage that may be).
Finding study tips and tricks that work for each individual is a tricky process. Studying is a unique process and varies based on peoples personality, learning style, course, motivation and time. Hence, the tips I am going to share are going to be more generic and something that everyone will be able to make use of and adapt to suit them and their needs.
Top tip No. 1:
- Start early – this one always gets people. The key to success is to start studying early on in the academic year. All courses have a lot of content that is required for you to know and hence leaving revision until the end of the academic year will only leave you stressed and overwhelmed as you try and cram a years worth of knowledge into a few weeks/days. Starting early gives you a chance to make sure you truly understand what you have learned and also leaves you will enough time to ask for help if needed.
Top tip No. 2:
- Plan your time – this is possibly one of the biggest things to affect how well you succeed. You can have all the prettiest notes in the world, colour coded and wrote neatly up, but if you haven’t planned your time in advance to make sure you cover every topic before the exam then all the beauty of revision is wasted. Make a timetable, and stick to it!! It also helps if you plan as though your exams are a week or two earlier than they actually are so that you have some extra time incase you need it to go over some topics in a little more detail.
Top tip No. 3:
- Stay individual – in the midst of exam stress it is easy to start comparing yourself to others around you and tailor you studying to follow the way of your peers. But this can have detrimental effects. Everyone works differently, and what works for your friend may not work for you. Stay focussed on your own studying and follow the plan that suits you best. Think of yourself in this situation – it’s ok to be a little selfish.
Top tip No. 4:
- Test yourself – being tested and testing yourself is one of the most successful ways to ensure you know the content and that is remains known. Make mock exams, use flashcards, practice writing essays under timed conditions and work with groups to ask each other questions. However you do it, just do it! You’ll be glad you did.
Top tip No. 5:
- Think about your wellbeing – it is so easy to forget to look after yourself during times of intense study, but it’s not looking after yourself that can be of most detriment. Make sure you take regular breaks, feed your soul with activities you love, get outside, talk about something other than work, watch an episode (or two) on Netflix. Make the time for number 1 and make it regular.
While it’s easy to look at the list above and believe that they are silly and not actually ‘study tips’, it is even easier to fall into a negative cycle of studying and getting no-where which will leave you asking ‘why’. Taking the time to think about factors other than actually revising is key to study success and making sure you come out with the top grades that your hard work deserves.
I hope these tips will become part and parcel of your routines during this academic year, and bring you as much success and they did me!!
Best of luck with your studying.
H xx
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