Studying is a difficult task by any means. Even if you are studying something that you are truly passionate about there is a great chance that there will be several subjects and areas that are not very interesting to you. Having difficulties with areas that don`t hold your attention is a problem that everyone has encountered in the past but there are several tools and mechanisms at your disposal that you can incorporate into your studying to be as effective as you can be.
Here are five hacks that will help you optimize your studying to be more efficient and less time consuming!
Study groups
Study groups are of course nothing new, however, when used properly they are an extremely effective tool for covering a big and difficult ground. When you organize a study group with your friends there is a great risk of prioritizing fun over work so step one should be making sure everyone in your group is focused and dedicated to studying. Best practice is to divide the study material into areas and each person in the group is responsible for a certain part. When reviewing, each member will present their part and in this way you will repeat what you have learned while presenting and listening to others. Assign and do the homework from each area in addition to all other activities and you and your friends will know this material not just for the exam but for life! If you’re studying with a purpose of testing out of college courses via CLEP, be sure to not only form a study group but also check out CLEP study guides for additional help!
Sense stimulation
Sense stimulation is a really good mechanism to jog your memory and give your brain an extra tip for the information you are trying to remember. The principle behind this method is that your brain will make connections for certain information and a sense of your choosing. Take a hard candy of a certain flavor you don`t usually go for while studying something you find difficult to remember. When the time comes and you go to your exam take the candy with you. Your brain will have sort of a sensory cheat sheet for that specific information and it will retrieve it with ease.
Set Milestones
Each study session should have a specific goal that you are trying to achieve. You should adopt this mindset because starting a study session with no specific goal or purpose is not very efficient. By doing this you will tend to lose focus and your will to study much faster. Setting clear goals for each session will provide you with drive and extra motivation to persevere when the going gets tough. By the simple logic you will tend to push yourself harder when you know that you are so close to achieve your daily quote.
Work out
There is a vast number of researches performed which show that exercising regularly increases your brain activity and capacity to receive and store new information. Exercising will pump additional nutrients and oxygen to your brain that will prepare it to work on its most efficient level. This is beneficial for several reasons since long studying session are really bad for your back and lower extremities. Try to engage in a physical activity such as a short yet pacey walk before a study session. Every brake you take could be filled with some physical activity to help your body recover from a long sitting period and boost your mental power at the same time. Of course be careful, if you work out too hard before studying you will probably be too tired to study at all!
Eliminate all distractions
It`s hard enough to get yourself to sit down and start working as it is but today there are distractions literally everywhere you look. It is highly recommendable to reduce a number of potential distractions as much as possible. Turn off your mobile phone or block the usage of social media apps for a few hours. Seclude yourself in a quiet room and put off your chores and activities for after the session is over.
Organize and prioritize
At any given moment there is a large amount of study material to learn and a big backlog of homework that needs to get done. Going after this without any proper plan will most definitely result with you falling behind with your work. Prioritize learning in a way that you first do things that are the hardest for you and leave the work in which you excel at for a later stage. Hard and difficult subjects require most work and energy invested so it is very important to do them first while your energy levels are high. When you reach the material that comes easily to you it will almost seem as a brake.
There you have it, hopefully, these few tips will help you to better optimize and organize your study time and achieve better and faster results while leaving you with enough energy to even have a bit of fun!
BIO
Bria Pierce is young and creative. She started her work being a student and now has a lot of experience and out-of-the-box approach in writing. Also Bria is a big fan of horror movies. Follow her on twitter.
