Boost Your Study Skills: Seven Key Strategies

Today we'll learn seven study tips to master any subject. Now let's begin. Studying can help you gain knowledge and a better understanding of a chosen subject. While it's commonly associated with students, the act of studying is not limited to those pursuing a formal education. Studying can be applied to lifelong learning and personal development, helping you build a variety of skills and a more meaningful engagement with the world around you. There are plenty of people who struggle with studying. They find it boring and time consuming. It takes him away from the things in life that they love the most, and those same people also may find it ineffective. When you're bored and zoned out, it's harder to retain information since you're not retaining the information. You then may find yourself studying longer and harder to try to catch up. This leads to further boredom and the vicious cycle just continues. By finding ways to study smarter, not harder, you'll start to find it more effective, rewarding, and maybe even enjoyable. Whether preparing for a test or pursuing self-improvement, studying doesn't have to be a slog. With these seven simple adjustments to your daily routine, you can develop a study habit that will allow you to master any subject. 

1- Develop a Study Plan

Sitting down to study with a sense of intention can lay the groundwork for your success. Examine your schedule to see what would be a reasonable amount of time for you to study and how often, without getting fatigued. Studying for too long can become counterproductive, as your mind just wanders and you tune the subject out by setting up a routine, studying can become second nature, and you'll always have time for it to develop your routine, look at your calendar and then write out a schedule of exactly when you'll study and for how long. Set reasonable amounts of time, and be sure to build in breaks to let your brain and your body recover. California State Polytechnic Institute recommends about 2 to 3 hours of studying per each hour spent in class. Now, don't try to tackle all the content at once. Instead, divide it into chunks or chapters and incorporate those segments into your new schedule. Include key goals and deadlines for yourself so that you have something to work toward. Even if you don't have an actual test coming up, you should still create a goal for yourself so that you can measure your success and feel a sense of achievement. If you're still struggling, you might consider trying highly structured study sessions like the Pomodoro Technique. This method involves 25 minute stretches of focused work, interspersed with five minute breaks. After four consecutive intervals, a long break of 15 to 30 minutes is taken.

2- Choose the Right Environment

Your surroundings can have a huge impact on your ability to focus and retain information. As a result, it's important to arrange your study area for maximum success. Keep your desk clean and tidy with your office supplies at the ready. Include highlighters, post-it notes, note cards, and pencils, whatever you might need to interact with the information at hand. Some people may find physical interaction with the material more effective than only reading it. A comfortable chair with good support will allow you to stay in one place for longer without getting fatigued. You may find that listening to certain types of music keeps your mind alert and focused. If you're doing a lot of reading or dealing with complex concepts, instrumental tracks will be better than those with lyrics. There are many hours worth of free instrumental study playlists available to stream online. Not everyone will have a quiet area to study at home due to a lack of space, noisy roommates, or a variety of other factors. You may have to seek out an area conducive to study elsewhere. Libraries, outdoor parks and coffee shops can all be great choices. Identify local spots that have minimal distractions but still provide a peaceful and stimulating environment.

3- Improve Your Note Taking

Most students studying for school exams aren't just using their textbooks and handouts to prepare. They're also relying on the notes they took in class. If you didn't take good notes, then you may be missing out on key concepts. Conversely, you may have written down so much that you can no longer identify which are the most salient and pertinent points to remember. Your notes should be visually clear, concise, and evenly spaced. Underline key concepts and consider making lists if appropriate. Include names, dates, keywords, and definitions that you think you may need to memorize for the future. Creating flow charts and graphs to compare information or show how key points are connected can also aid you in deeper understanding of the subject and write down your questions. These could be for you to look up later, or possibly to be questions that you need to know for an exam.

4- Honestly Test Yourself

If you're studying for school, you might be nervous about an impending test. You might even hate tests. But there's a reason that schools have relied on testing for years. It's not just a measurement of learning, but also a way to ensure that information retention happens to begin with. A study from the University of Louisville showed that among students in a statistics class, those who were given regular quizzes greatly outperformed those that weren't by the end of the semester. Testing forces your brain to focus and provides incentive, even if artificial, to succeed. As you study on your own, you can seek out practice tests online or use flashcards to quiz yourself and others on the material. Regular testing will also get you used to the process, hopefully calming your nerves for when the real test comes around.

5- Limit Distractions

After developing a reasonable study schedule, you should hopefully have your moments for rest and recovery planned out. That said, it's still easy for your environment to impact your ability to concentrate. Breaks are good, but too many unplanned pauses can derail your study session. Technology can be a study killer. Silence your phone and wait to respond to texts until you're taking an official break. If you need to be on call for work or family reasons, set a special Do Not disturb on your phone that allows you to only receive messages from those key people. And as tempting as it is, don't study in front of the TV. Music can be helpful, but the combination of audio and visuals on TV, not to mention the engaging stories, can make it impossible to focus. So if you have a lot of trouble avoiding distractions while you study, try to focus on how diligent work at the beginning of the day frees up dedicated time for rest and relaxation at the end of the day. If you put in a few hours now, you'll have stress free time to enjoy your life later. Maybe you want to spend time with friends or play some video games. Either way, time management is the key to getting you there.

6- Reach Out to Others

There is no rule saying that you must study alone. In fact, reaching out to others can help you along your learning journey. Online forums are a great resource to ask questions of experts and to gain new perspectives. Study groups can also provide these resources while also helping you develop a routine and sense of accountability. Plus, research shows that teaching the material to someone else can help you develop a deeper understanding of it yourself. Having some social interaction while studying can reduce some of the psychological strain. No one will understand your struggle better than those going through the same process. You may even build lifelong friendships rooted in the common cause of your educational journeys. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Other students and teachers can provide you with a new perspective and learning tips that could totally transform your understanding of a subject. If a teacher is offering a special study session or after school help, then take it. Not only will you gain new insight into the material, but you also may develop a mentoring relationship that could serve you long after the course has ended.

7- Take Regular Breaks

Studying is a marathon. It's not a sprint. Cramming might be effective for retaining information long enough to pass a test the next day, but a study from York University shows that cramming just does not support long term, meaningful learning. Taking a break allows your brain to rest, recover, and process the new information over time. Breaks also help you stay physically and emotionally engaged with the world around you, so that you can eventually hit the books again, feeling positive and refreshed. Taking a break can be a reward, something for you to look forward to and to work toward giving.