Effective study strategies are essential for academic success, yet many students struggle to find methods that enhance retention and understanding. Research indicates that spaced learning, which involves distributing study sessions over time, is more effective than cramming for 90% of students.
Additionally, implementing the Pomodoro Technique—studying in focused intervals with short breaks has been shown to improve concentration and productivity. This article explores the top 20 study hacks, each backed by empirical evidence, to provide students with practical tools for more efficient and effective learning.
Why you should adopt a Study Skill?
Skill is required for most of the activities we carry out on a daily basis. Studying also is no exception, as there are various study skills strategies you can choose from. Depending on what you are studying for, there are enough study skills and strategies to utilize.
There are study hacks and tips for college students and effective study strategies for people writing professional exams, and lots more.
Given below are some of the key reasons you should have a study skill:
- Acquiring study skills helps you to improve your ability to learn and also retain what was learned for a longer time period.
- As a student, study skills help you reduce anxiety about the deadline for tests or exams, thereby increasing your self-esteem, confidence, and efficiency.
- Adopting a study skill helps you understand yourself better and help cut down the number of hours you use for studying which allows you more time for indulging in other things.
Are you a mathematics student? if yes, check our article on How To Study Math: 10 Best Study Tips For Students.
Top 20 Study Strategies Every Student Should Adopt
- Create a Space for Study
- Schedule Your Study Plan
- Find or Create a Study group
- Target Oriented
- As a Study Plan, Take Some Time off
- Make Weekly Assessment
- Create a Time Table For Study
- Eat Enough But Not Too Much
- Designate a location for your study
- Strive for total understanding of a particular topic
- Get Adequate Sleep
- Design Adequate Rewards for specific goals
- Equip Your Study Area With The Necessary Tools For Study
- Have your personalized Summary Note of What You Study
- Create Mnemonics
- Understand The Purpose For The Course(s)
- Practice Past Questions
- Make a record of all the lectures you attend
- Use Flow Charts and Diagrams as a Study Strategy
- Practice What You Have Learnt By Offering To Teach Your Class Mates Course Mates
#1. Create a Space for Study
This is one of the top three study strategies listed in this article. A viable and efficient way to get the most out of your study sessions is to have them organized properly. And to have it organized involves finding a particular place for study, which may be in your home or anywhere else that is quiet and helps you concentrate more.
All materials that are helpful for study should be placed or taken along while going to study, and all materials that have the tendency to cause distractions should be avoided. Preferably, your phone(s) should be switched off.
#2. Schedule Your Study Plan
Scheduling is one of the most effective study strategies for college students. What it means is that you choose the number(s) of days that will be appropriate for you. These days should be convenient for your study and must not be used for other things. Having chosen the days you should also pick the time for study for each day.
The time selected should not coincide with any of your other activities and you must be dedicated to keeping to your time.
#3. Find or Create a Study group
Get some students in the school who are likely to write the same exam with you to study together. Or sometimes if study groups already exist, you can join any. A group study helps to understand things from different perspectives.
And also, when choosing a study group, make sure your group mates are as serious about their studies as you are, or maybe even more serious than you are.
#4. Target Oriented
Being target-oriented is one of the study skills strategies every student should adopt. Objectivity in your study is key. For every day of your scheduled study, you should have set targets.
That is, You should list out the knowledge you wish to acquire after the study for that day. This tends to set your mind in a state to learn. And after the study for the day evaluate yourself on the ones you were able to achieve.
#5. As a Study Plan, Take Some Time off
I guess a glance at the heading will be misconstrued to mean taking time off from study… but that is not the case.
What it actually means is to take some break time in the course of your studying. This is also a study plan as sitting for hours can be quite tiring, so taking a walk or doing something else for at least 10 – 15 minutes will help the brain better assimilate what you had studied earlier.
#6. Make Weekly Assessment
Making weekly assessments is one Study plan every student of all levels should adopt. Answer questions weekly on what you have studied so far. Even as you study you should find out if still recall all you have studied during the week, and the best way to know this is to create test questions daily for yourself or ask a friend to help with the questions and see if you can answer them or not.
By doing this, you can actually tell yourself if you are making progress in your studies or not. This hack particularly helps you remember what you read.
#7. Create a Time Table For Study
Make a list of all the subjects or courses you are taking in school. Or, for those writing a professional exam, create a timetable of the topics for the courses.
The timetable will help ensure you cover all the topics. For students, it can even help them read ahead of their teachers in school.
#8. Eat Enough But Not Too Much
Energy is required for anything we wish to do as humans. Studying is no exception.
Ensure you eat before going to study as this will help your brain stay sharp and your mind ready for learning. Even as much as I advocate eating before studying, the food you are to eat should not be too heavy as this will make you feel lukewarm.
Therefore a moderate intake of food is required, not too much and not too little.
#9. Designate a location for your study
Make a decision on where to make your permanent study abode. If you will be studying at home, in the library, or with your friends, whichever makes you most comfortable will do.
#10. Strive for total understanding of a particular topic
For topics that might not have been really clear to you when they were explained in class. Make extensive research on that topic in order to get a thorough understanding of the said topic
The research can be carried out online or by going to a library close to your house. You can also discuss the topic with your friends perhaps they might have a better understanding of it than you do.
#11. Get Adequate Sleep
In as much as you are studying in an attempt to increase your performance as a student, sleep is also good for your health.
As a student, you might sometimes try to boycott sleeping at night for studying sake but this is not ideal as it is detrimental to your mental health. And when mental health is in jeopardy it tends to deter you from being in the right frame of mind to study.
Sufficient sleep should be part of your study plan.
#12. Design Adequate Rewards for specific goals
Sometimes your body system can somehow make you feel like not studying for a particular day. This is not entirely the fault of the student, as we are all humans. as you should attach a price for even small study accomplishments
Rewards should be allocated to specific goals accomplished. This will stimulate the body to work hard in order to get that price or reward. You might feel like not studying, but remembering the reward will make you study against all odds.
#13. Equip Your Study Area With The Necessary Tools For Study
Distractions can occur in diverse ways when studying. Hence, it is advisable you make adequate preparation in getting all your tools for study right there with you in your study area. Getting up and sitting down would make the study tiring for you.
#14. Have your personalized summary note of what you study
Keep or assign a particular note to be your study note. It should be more like a journal, where everything written is exactly how you understand it.
Taking notes to class is also advisable, as this will help remind you of some vital points or questions you didn’t quite understand and wanted to ask your tutor.
#15. Create Mnemonics
According to Literaryterms, A mnemonic, also known as a memory aid, is a tool that helps you remember an idea or phrase with a pattern of letters, numbers, or relatable associations. Mnemonic devices include special rhymes and poems, acronyms, images, songs, outlines, and other tools.
It simply means associating letters with words. For example, in “The United States of America” the mnemonic popularly known for this is “USA”. So it helps in remembering things easily.
From the numerous study strategies, mnemonics are relevant to the study.
#16. Understand The Purpose For The Course(s)
Before even practicing any of these tips, this point should be addressed first. Get firsthand knowledge of why you are studying the course, and how the course can be useful to you in the future.
The purpose of doing this is for it to be a drive for you. As the saying goes. “when the purpose of a thing is not to know”…. You know the rest.
#17. Practice Past Questions
When studying for a course also go through past questions on that course especially when you are a student preparing for an exam.
Attempting past questions gives you an edge as teachers/lecturers mostly ask questions from past questions they just tweak the questions a little. So once you understand the answer methodology of the past questions, it would help you in structuring how you study for that course.
#18. Make a record of all the lectures you attend
For every class you will be present in, you should make a recording of it; even for the ones you will not be around for, you should ask a friend to help you make a recording.
It is more like having a backup like phones have backups. Sometimes lecturers might say things that are not in the material or textbook recommended by them, and you might not actually write the point down with the belief that you already have the textbook.
So whenever you are listening to the recording you get to hear him say it again. which is instrumental to utilize as a study plan.
#19. Use Flow Charts and Diagrams as a Study Strategy
Remember when you were young and you learned the English alphabet using pictures?
This pattern can also be modified to understand better how the topics correlate with each other and the order in which they go. which can be achieved by creating a flow chart of a particular course. This can indeed be really useful for students.
#20. Practice What You Have Learnt By Offering To Teach Your Class Mates Course Mates
Einstein once said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
Putting yourself in the role of teacher, whether in a group study or with a friend, will steer you to structure and clarify the subject not only in your student’s mind but also in the mind of a teacher as well.
If your audience asks a question that you find difficult to answer, even better. This will help navigate specific weak areas that you need to understand better.
If you don’t have got a classroom full of people to teach, just explain the subject to an imaginary friend. Do a recording of yourself teaching as though you are in front of people teaching. Later listen to the recording and score yourself on how you performed, if you actually understand that particular topic or not.
Conclusion
These strategies are quite effective when applied properly, but applying them without actual study will yield an indifferent result. That is, studying and the right application are the guarantee for success in your studies.
Are you a college student? See the 15 Best study tips for Students on how to study in college. It will benefit you a lot.
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