Study Tips!

"Study smart, not study hard"

That's why they say when it comes to studying efficiently. 

Here are some study tips that I gathered from observing some of my friends that are always on the front row seats of an academic award ceremonies!

   1.Block Out Any Distractions.

Probably the most important tip in this whole list. Without removing the distractions that are around you (yes, your phone is a MAJOR distraction), you essentially wasting time reading that science textbook or doing that maths problem. This is because technically you are multi -tasking, balancing your phone/listening to music/watching tv and doing your revision. Multi-tasking takes up your attention's space, which is divided between studying and your distraction. So, make sure you're in a quiet, distraction free zone and really focus on what you're reading or solving.

That Twitter notification can wait.

   2. Note Taking Is An Essential Part In Studying Smart.

When you're reading facts upon facts, it gets tiring and boring pretty quick. To help cope with that, writing down important parts of the content you're reading helps promote better memorization since you're reading AND writing the same important bit of information that you are trying to remember. Making creative notes by using colour and diagrams is popular among my friends who are girl as guys tend to write clearly laid out notes.

Mind Maps are a cool way to put your notes into one compact overview.

   3. Short Burst Sprints, Not A Long Distance Marathon.

No, I wasn't actually referring to running but it's an analogy that could help you study smarter. Studying in short intense periods of time is better than locking yourself up in a room for hours and studying. It's because your attention span drops while doing a repetitive task. Besides, studying in frequent short bursts is better because it re-introduces the information to your brain, this information then makes it way from the short-term memory part of your brain to long-term memory. Making it harder to forget.

Avoid those "uuuuuuuughhhhhh i'm so booooooooreeeed" moment when you study by studying in frequent shorter periods

  4.Make Your Teacher is Your New BFF!

Well, at least now you have another member to your #SqualGoals! But jokes aside, being close to your teacher puts you on his or her radar. In a class of 20, 30 sometimes 50 students, it's kinda hard for a teacher to keep tabs on everyone's progress. Being close to your teacher gives you the chance to comfortably confront him/her with any questions regarding topics that you might need more help with. And also who knows, you might get a few extra free marks :p

You'll get stared at but you'll also get that answer to your question that you need.

   5. Slay Your Workload Like A Pro.

Time management is key to breezing through your workload while keeping the stress levels at minimum. First things first, is going out to catch that movie or finishing that essay more important? Most people would say the essay but here's the thing, you have to have the willpower to put work first before play. Note that I said play, not family or other things that needs your immediate attention. Make a list, put everything you have to do on it, then rank them by their importance. This will help you clearly see what needs to be tackled first.

   6. Practise Really Does Makes Perfect.

I cannot stress on how much doing past year questions or doing exercises saved my life. It's like working out, you build muscle and get in shape. When you study, you take in information and when you practise answering questions, you're exercising your brain to look for the right answer in the sea of knowledge you've sucked up from learning. The more you practise, the faster you can identify the problem, look from the right answer and score that perfect mark! Don't get discouraged from making mistakes, as cheesy this sounds, you learn from making mistakes. You will tend to remember the mistake and try not make the same one in the future. 

I really do hope you gained something from this post! I know that there are more study tips than just 6 but this is what I typically see my friends do when studying. With that said, study smart and I'll see you on the front row seat of the next academic award ceremony!! :D

Thank you for reading!

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Cheers,

Faez Najmuddin.

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