Study Smarter with Better Study Habits

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Study smarter by following these simple techniques, and gain better study habits.

You will be able to do the following:

• Spend Less Time Studying
• Increase Grade Levels
• Read and Retain
• More time to do Things you Enjoy

The majority of people are passive studiers.

They skim and review, re-watching and listen to lectures if they missed anything the first time.

Active studies follow a more disciplined style where they learn the material and not just shove it in their short-term memory and forget about it right after the exam.

Active studiers are people who study smarter and develop better study habits.

4 Essential Steps for Active Studiers:

1. Identify what is essential

• To study smarter, you must sift through the information and keep it relevant, ignoring things unrelated to the material’s foundation.

2. Organize the information in a way in which you understand

• The best way to do this is by writing it out in a way you know.
• Utilize things like mind maps, diagrams, graphs, and any other items necessary to learn the information better.
• The Feynman Technique works well for this step to gain better study habits.

3. Memorize

• You have to have memorized the material actively, which will be discussed shortly.

4. Apply the Information

• Doing things like practice questions from the textbook or teacher/professor can help you study smarter.
• It would help if you located free practice tests online about your learning information.

An important factor when it comes to studying is ones’ environment well doing so.

That, of course, depends on the person as to what works best for you.

It’s best to trick your mind into liking what you learn, even if it seems boring.

Before reading something boring for school, say to yourself, “this is interesting,” before letting school kill your creativity.

It may be a lot of trial and error, or if you’re like me, you can just put headphones in and do it anywhere.

Your primary focus is to get the work done as comfortably as possible.

Some people prefer to study in a group setting, or if you’re like me, you like learning on your own.

Studying smarter is ideal in a group setting to learn with only one or two other people.

However, more prominent groups are because of distractions, and people are not as productive.

The most significant benefit to group studying is teaching others what you have learned. Teaching others is the best way to retain knowledge.

The teacher usually gives lectures with a PowerPoint to follow and a textbook to read in a classroom setting.

This is a very passive style of learning.

People learn better by writing their notes out by hand as opposed to typing them out can help you gain better study habits.

Study Smarter with Better Study Habits

All of your better study habits can help you better read and retain.

People tend to remember more of the material by writing it out slower. The motor cortex can help retain information more efficiently as you gain better study habits.

In a lecture, you are engaged because everyone around you is doing the same thing, which significantly cuts down on distraction and background noise, and you can ask questions in real-time.

When reading a textbook, instead of just highlighting and reviewing the highlights later, which is very passive, instead make as active as you can from the beginning by writing out what you have read in your own words.

You will have synthesized the information and written out the critical info in a way you understand.

This will drastically improve retention rates and help with improved test scores and a crucial step to studying smarter.

It’s good to study music if it is not too distracting.

Study check or study check to make sure it is relevant.

The most challenging part of studying for students is memorization.

Techniques to Enhance Your Memorization:

• You can gain better study habits by taking condensed notes. For example, try and turn 4-5 pages of lectures down to 1 page by pulling out the vital information and restructuring it so you understand it best.
• One of the best ways to increase memorization is doing a method called spaced repletion. A process in which you review the material spaced out. After the first review, look at it again in 48 hrs, then again 72 hrs after that, and so on.
• The idea is to review the material right before you forget it.