How to Study

When sitting down to study, how can you transfer a large amount of knowledge from the books in front of you into a reliable corner of your mind? You'll need to cultivate good study habits. Initially, changing your study approach requires a lot of effort. However, over time, it will become second nature and studying will become an easier task.

Manage your time effectively. Set up a weekly schedule and allocate a certain amount of time each day for studying. This will help improve your grades. The amount of time can vary, depending on whether you’re in high school or university, and it differs between fields of study. Be sure to stick to your plan as much as possible, but don’t hesitate to adjust it when necessary to study more for upcoming exams. Also, make sure your plan is realistic and achievable. - Balance studying, work, and extracurricular activities. If you're struggling with your studies, consider putting off extracurriculars or part-time work until your grades improve. Prioritize your time wisely, remembering that studying should always come first. - In university, the time you allocate to each subject should depend on its difficulty and credit hours. For example, if you have a 3-hour physics class that’s particularly difficult, you should study for 9 hours a week (3 hours x 3 due to the high difficulty). For a 3-hour literature class that’s somewhat difficult, you should study 6 hours a week (3 hours x 2 for medium difficulty).

Don’t rush. Find the pace of study that works best for you and adjust accordingly. Some concepts or subjects may come to you more naturally, allowing you to learn them faster. Others may require double the time. Use the time you need and adjust your pace to what feels comfortable for you.

• If you study slower, remember that you will need more time to learn.

Get enough sleep. Allocate sufficient time in your schedule to get enough sleep. Sleep well every night, and you will make the most of your study time. This is crucial when preparing for exams, especially just before taking the test. Studies show that sleep positively impacts exam performance by enhancing memory and concentration. At first glance, staying up all night to study might seem like a good idea. However, skip those all-nighters. If you've been studying throughout the week, there's no need for it. A good night's sleep will help you perform better in your exams.

• If you still find yourself sleep-deprived despite your best efforts, take a quick nap before you start studying. Limit your nap to 15-30 minutes. After waking up, engage in a physical activity (similar to a break) before continuing your study session.

Clear your mind of anything unrelated to the topic you're studying. If you have too many thoughts in your head, take a moment before starting to write down a few notes for yourself about what you're thinking and how you're feeling. This will help clear your mind and allow you to focus all your thoughts on the task at hand.

Eliminate distracting electronic devices. One of the worst distractions for studying is electronic devices. They connect to social media, you receive messages through your phone, and your laptop is connected to the internet. Put your phone on silent or keep it in your bag so it’s not right there, distracting you when someone calls or messages you. If possible, don’t open your laptop or connect it to the internet.

• If you find it easy to get distracted by social media like YouTube, Facebook, and similar sites, download one of the available apps that can block distracting websites on your computer. Once you finish your work, you can unlock access to all sites as before.

Find a good study spot. Control your study environment. You need a comfortable space to make studying more enjoyable. If you dislike sitting at a library desk, find a more comfortable place, like a sofa or a bean bag chair on the floor. Try studying in comfy clothes such as a loose sweatshirt or yoga pants. Your study space should be relatively quiet and free from distractions.

• Don’t choose a spot that’s too comfortable, making you fall asleep. You need to be comfortable, not unconscious. A bed isn’t the best place to study when you're tired.
• Traffic outside the window and quiet exchanges in the library are white noise and are completely fine. However, distractions like siblings or loud music from the next room are not. You might want to find somewhere away from people who could distract you.

Listen to background sounds. Background sounds can help you get into a good state of mind and stay focused without distractions. Natural sounds like waterfalls, rain, thunder, and forest noises create enough white noise to maintain concentration while masking other sounds. Many websites, including YouTube, offer these types of sounds.

Turn off the TV. Generally, turning on the TV while studying is a bad idea. It can be very distracting, and instead of focusing on your books, you'll find yourself absorbed in TV shows. Additionally, the voices are incredibly distracting as they interact with the brain’s language center.

Snack wisely. Eat nutritious, healthy foods while studying instead of junk food and greasy snacks. Opt for energy-boosting foods like fruits or foods that keep you full like vegetables and nuts. If you need something sweet, choose dark chocolate. Drink water to stay hydrated and tea if you need a caffeine boost.

• Avoid high-sugar and high-carb foods like instant noodles, chips, and candy. Don’t drink energy drinks or sugary sodas: they have high sugar content that can leave you feeling dizzy. If you drink coffee, avoid adding too much sugar.
• Prepare your snacks ahead of time to avoid getting hungry and searching for food during your study session.

Use SQ3R. SQ3R is an active reading method designed to improve understanding and facilitate studying materials. With this method, you preview the material and engage actively, which helps you prepare better when reading a chapter or article.

• Start with Survey, which involves skimming the entire chapter, looking for tables, figures, headings, and any bolded text.
• Next, Question by turning each heading into a question.
• Read the chapter while trying to answer the questions posed by each section's heading.
• Recite aloud your answers to the questions and key information you remember from the chapter.
• Review the chapter to ensure that all major content has been covered. Then, think about why each part is important.

Use the THIEVES strategy. When starting a new chapter, previewing with the THIEVES strategy can help make the information in the chapter more meaningful and easier to learn.

• Start with title. What does the title tell you about the section/chapter? What do you already know about the topic? Think about what to look for as you read. This will help shape your reading.
• Move to the introduction. What does the introduction tell you about the reading?
• Skim through the headings and subheadings. What do these tell you as you read? Turning each heading and subheading into a question will guide your reading.
• Read the first sentence of every paragraph. These are often topic sentences that help you understand the overall content of the paragraph.
• Look at the visuals and vocabulary. This includes tables, graphs, and charts. More importantly, pay attention to italicized or bolded words, underlined terms, colored text, and numbered lists.
• Read the end of chapter questions. What concepts should you know when you finish the chapter? Keep these questions in mind as you read.
• Look at the chapter summary to get a good idea of what the chapter aims to convey before diving into the full text.

Highlight important details. Use a highlighter or underline the most important points in the text so you can easily find them when reviewing. Don’t mark everything—doing so defeats the purpose. Instead, focus on marking key phrases and important terms. Writing notes in the margins of the book with your own words to summarize or comment on key points is also helpful.

• You can also focus only on these marked sections to quickly review material while it’s still fresh in your mind and reinforce the main ideas.
• If the textbook belongs to the school, use sticky notes or regular page markers. Write your notes on the sticky note and place it right next to the relevant passage.
• When you need to retain a large amount of knowledge for a long period, such as for final exams, comprehensive industry assessments, oral thesis defenses, or entrance exams for a major, periodic reviews in this way are also an effective method to keep the key content fresh in your memory.

Summarize or create outlines of the material. Rewriting the course material in your own words in notes and textbooks is an effective way to learn. This way, you can think about it in your own language rather than the textbook’s terminology. Combine summarizing with note-taking if they are connected. You can also create outlines, organizing the main ideas and the most important supporting points.

• If you have enough privacy, reading your summary aloud can help you process the material more effectively. If you’re an auditory learner or learn better when reading aloud, this method might assist you.
• If you find it difficult to summarize material in a way that it sticks in your mind, try teaching it to someone else. Pretend you're teaching someone who knows nothing about the topic or even create a Mytour page about it! For example, How to Find the Least Common Denominator was created as a study guide for elementary school students.
• When summarizing, use different colors. The brain remembers information better when it's associated with color.

Create flashcards. Flashcards are commonly made from information cards. A question, term, or idea is written on one side, with the answer on the other. They are convenient as you can carry them around and study while waiting for a bus, entering class, or during any spare moments.

• You can also download software to reduce space and costs for flashcards. Alternatively, use regular pieces of paper folded in half vertically. Write the question on the side visible when the paper is folded, and open it to reveal the answer inside. Keep testing yourself until you're sure you can answer all questions correctly. Remember: 'Practice makes perfect.'
• You can also convert notes into flashcards using the Cornell note-taking system—grouping notes around keywords you can later test yourself on by covering up the notes and trying to recall what was written from the keywords alone.

Create associations. One of the most effective ways to remember information is to connect it with something already in your memory. Memory techniques can help you recall large or complex sets of information.

• Leverage your learning style. Think about what you’ve learned that is easy to remember—songs? dances? images? Incorporate that into your study routine. If you're struggling to memorize a concept, try creating a catchy rhyme about it (or rewrite lyrics to a favorite song), choreograph a dance to represent the idea, or draw a visual representation. The sillier and more eccentric, the better—people tend to remember quirky things more than dull ones.
• Use mnemonic devices. Rearrange information into an order that makes sense to you. For example, if someone wants to remember the sequence of a metal's chemical activity series, they could use the phrase: 'Kangaroos Need Mighty Armor Going South Past Huge Cities All New Stuff'. This will be far easier to recall than a random list of letters. You could also build a memory palace or a Roman room to remember lists like the original thirteen American colonies in chronological order. For shorter lists, link items together using mental images.
• Organize information with mind maps. The final product of drawing a mind map will be a spider-like structure of words and ideas, connected in ways that are meaningful to the person creating it.
• Utilize visualization skills. Create a mental movie illustrating the concept you're trying to memorize, and play it several times. Imagine every detail. Use your senses—what does it smell like? look like? feel like? sound like? taste like?

Break everything down into smaller parts. Breaking things into smaller chunks is an effective learning method. This way, you absorb information piece by piece rather than trying to grasp everything all at once. You can group the information by topics, keywords, or anything that makes sense to you. The key here is to reduce the amount of information you need to process at once, allowing you to focus on one thing at a time before moving on to new material.

Create a study list. Try to condense the information you need into a page or two, if necessary. Carry these with you and review them whenever you have free moments in the days leading up to an exam. Use your notes and chapters, organizing them into related topics and extracting the most important concepts.

• If typing, you can better control formatting by adjusting font size, margins, and bullet point styles. This will be helpful if you're a visual learner.

Take breaks. If you're studying for several hours at a stretch, take a 5-minute break every 30 minutes or so. This helps keep your joints moving after sitting for a while, and it gives your mind a chance to relax, improving your ability to retain information. Rest also prevents you from getting distracted.

• Engage in physical activity to boost blood circulation and stay alert. A few jumps, running around the room, playing with your pet dog, doing squats, or any other movement will do. Just enough to feel refreshed without tiring yourself out.
• Try standing while studying. This could involve walking around your desk while reviewing what you just learned or standing against the wall as you go over your notes.

Use keywords to refocus. Find a keyword related to what you're studying, and when you get distracted or your mind starts wandering, repeat the keyword in your mind until you return to the topic at hand. This keyword doesn't have to be fixed; it can vary depending on the subject or task you're working on. There's no rule for choosing a keyword, as long as it helps you refocus.

• For example, when reading about guitars, the keyword guitar could be used. Whenever you feel distracted or have trouble focusing, repeat guitar, guitar, guitar, guitar, guitar in your mind until you regain your focus and can continue reading.

Take good notes in class. During class, make sure you're taking the best notes possible. This doesn't mean you have to write neatly or complete every sentence in full. You want to capture all the essential information. Sometimes, you might jot down a term your teacher mentioned and later write out its definition from your textbook at home. Try to write down as much as you can.

• Taking good notes keeps you alert and engaged in class. It also helps you avoid falling asleep.
• Use shorthand. This helps you write quickly without spelling everything out. Try creating your own shorthand system or use common abbreviations like ko for no, h2o for water, and h for hour.
• Ask questions in class as soon as they arise in your mind or contribute to class discussions. Another way to ask questions and create connections is by writing notes in the margins of your notebook. You can revisit those questions at home or make connections when reviewing later that day.

Rewrite notes at home. When taking notes, focus more on capturing the information than on understanding or organizing it perfectly. Rewrite your notes as soon as possible after class while the lesson is still fresh in your mind. This way, you can fill in any gaps in your memory. Rewriting is an active learning method because it forces you to engage your mind with the material. It's easy to lose focus when just reading, but rewriting makes you think about the information.

• This doesn't mean you shouldn't try to understand or organize your notes. Just don't waste time in class doing things you can do later at home. Consider your class notes as a 'rough draft.'
• It may be helpful to keep two notebooks—one for your 'rough draft' and one for your final rewritten notes.
• Some people type out their notes, while others find that handwriting helps them remember better.
• Try rephrasing as much as possible. This is similar to drawing. For example, when studying anatomy, try 'drawing' the systems from memory.

Make it interesting. Logical arguments can provide the motivation to study. Thinking 'If I study hard, I'll get into a top university and land a good job' might not be appealing. Try to find something interesting in what you're studying. Seek the beauty in every subject and, most importantly, link it to events in your life or things that captivate you.

• This could be a conscious connection, like conducting a chemical reaction, performing a physics experiment, or solving a math problem to prove a formula, or it could be unconscious, like going to the park, looking at leaves, and thinking, 'Hmm, let me see how those parts of the leaf I learned in biology last week relate.'
• Use your creativity to create stories. Try to build a narrative around the information you're studying. For example, try writing a story where all the subjects begin with C, all the objects start with B, and none of the verbs contain the letter D. Create a story with vocabulary, historical data, or other key terms you're learning.

Start with the most challenging topics. Begin your study session with the most difficult topics or concepts. This way, you have plenty of time to explore them and you're also more energized and alert. Save the easier topics for later.

• Focus on the most important content first. Don't simply read through materials from start to finish. Pause to internalize each new piece of information as you go. It will be easier to learn when you can connect new knowledge to what you already know. Avoid wasting time on things that won’t be tested. Devote your energy entirely to the critical information.

Learn key vocabulary. Look at the list of vocabulary words or bolded terms in each chapter. Check if your textbook includes a vocabulary section, glossary, or list of terms, and make sure you fully understand them. You don’t need to memorize them, but key concepts in any subject often come with specialized terminology. Mastering these terms will take you a long way toward mastering the subject itself.

Create study groups. Gather 3-4 friends or classmates and have everyone bring their flashcards. Exchange cards and quiz each other. If anyone is unclear about a concept, take turns explaining it. Even better, you can turn your study session into a game, like Trivial Pursuit.

• Divide concepts among the group members, and each person will teach or explain their assigned concept to the rest of the group.
• Divide the lecture among groups, and each group will summarize key concepts. They can present their findings or create outlines or one-page summaries for the rest of the groups.
• Make study groups a weekly routine. Dedicate each week to a new topic. This way, you're learning continuously instead of cramming just before the end of the term.
• Make sure your group is made up of people who are genuinely interested in learning.

• Instead of simply memorizing what you've learned, make sure you understand it well enough to explain it to someone who has no prior knowledge of the subject.
• Studying with a team of classmates who are as committed to the subject as you can be motivating and help you stay disciplined. Structure your study sessions into parts: review notes, summarize chapters, and discuss key concepts (Try teaching each other to ensure mutual understanding).
• Don’t procrastinate—start studying early to avoid stress. Get used to not delaying tasks. Procrastination is a bad habit. You’ll be glad you started immediately rather than waiting until the last minute.
• Most textbooks have review sections at the end of each chapter. Make sure to take advantage of them, as they’re a great way to test yourself. Some teachers even use those same questions in exams.
• Ensure you understand the concepts you're learning. If not, it will be harder to grasp subsequent material.
• When taking notes in class, do so clearly and colorfully. This will make reviewing them at home more enjoyable.
• Organize your study space and have everything you need on hand, so you don’t waste time searching for materials.
• Turn off your mobile phone while studying.
• Your study environment should have some ambient noise. You might find it harder to concentrate if the surroundings are too quiet. If you feel tense, try deep breathing, as you might not be inhaling enough air or holding it long enough.
• Always study for knowledge, not just for grades. If you understand the material, the good grades will follow.
• If you find it hard to concentrate, take a 5-minute break. Stretch, listen to music, or take a short walk to reset your mood.

• Be cautious of the tendency to procrastinate. For instance, are you reading this article instead of studying? No effort will lead to success if you procrastinate, and ultimately, you'll blame your tools for your lack of progress.
• If you're unable to study simply because you're feeling too stressed or anxious, managing your emotions might be the first step toward consistent success in your studies. If you can’t handle it on your own, consider reaching out to a school counselor for support.