Effective Studying

Find a good study area

Having a good study area can make a huge difference to how well you learn. Your study area should be: well lit, quiet, as away from noises & people as you can get. Depending on where you live & who you live with it might be better to study at the library. If you know you get distracted around a lot of people, reserve a room at one of the libraries. Finally, make sure your desk/table is clean & organized – it will help you concentrate on studying & learning, not trying to find information.

To do lists

Make a to do list before each study session. Breaking tasks down into small, manageable tasks will make it less overwhelming. And we all love the feeling of crossing off things we’ve completed, it will keep your motivation up. You can manage your tasks rememberthemilk.com & sync it with gmail, iPhone, droid, etc.

Find out about the exam

Find out what format the exam will take i.e. Are the questions in essay, short answer or multiple choice format? Is the exam open book or closed book? All professors go over this, but if you missed that class e-mail an acquaintance & ask. (But please, don’t email the entire class through the Angel system, it’s extremely annoying & a sidenote…profs can read message sent to the class through Angel. Think a little.)

Study groups

Forming a studying group can be a helpful way to revise your notes and work through past exam questions (it can also help you feel supported, keep you motivated and focused). If you have questions about your work, a study group may be a good place to have them answered. Ask your teacher if they know of anyone else interested in studying with other people. Again, you can reserve a room for your study group.

Switch the phone (& fbook notifications) off!

If you find that you are being distracted by your phone going off, it might help to put put it on silent (not vibrate)  or just turn it off. Vmail was invented for a reason. & turning off your facebook notifications for a few days (or if you’re on gmail filter them to a skip the inbox & archive so you can go back & look at once finals are over). Everyone knows it’s finals time, your friends will understand. – this is super hard, especially for those of us addicted to our Crackberry (including me) or iPhone, but it will truly help.

Wallpaper your pad

Write down key concepts you have to learn on post-its maybe with examples. Post these up all around your apt/dorm/house. Eg – by your bed, on the bathroom mirror, along the side of your tv, on your Wii…wherever! It helps with remembering things like equations, quotes and foreign languages.

Take regular breaks

Getting up, moving around & away from your desk at least every 50 minutes for 10 minutes makes you concentrate and learn better. If you use gmail, there’s a lab for that: E-mail Addict.

MOST IMPORTANTLY…GET SOME SLEEP

No, seriously. U.S. researchers have directly linked higher grades with getting adequate sleep. (study) You will do better on your exams if you adequate sleep the night before. Lack of sleep impairs motor skills, causes higher stress levels, depression, anxiety.

I learned this from an article in Ing Magazine: Sleepless in East Lansing. “If you are stumbling around when tired, your body is in the same state of mind as if you had had one to many drinks. Conclusion from the article: using an all-nighter to remedy educationally unproductive periods, such as parties, Facebook, or “study group” meetings at the bar, greatly hinders your body’s performance the next day.” So Spartans, get some sleep.

Adapted from: Exam time: Hints for effective studying

This post was orignially posted by me on cashforcareers.com; Career Advice & Services Hub – a blog I helped start and work for part-time at Michigan State University.