Get studying tips

Study sessions will be more productive if you allow yourself to take planned breaks. Consider a schedule of 50 minutes spent working followed by a 10-minute break. Your downtime provides a good chance to stand up and stretch your legs. You can also use this as an opportunity to check your phone or respond to emails. When your 10 minutes are up, however, it’s time to get back to work. At the end of a long study session, try to allow yourself a longer break — half an hour, perhaps — before you move on to other responsibilities.

The things that your teacher talks about in class are most likely topics that he or she feels are quite important to your studies. So, it’s a good idea to become a thorough note-taker. The following tips can help you become an efficient, effective note-taker:

• Stick to the main points.
• Use shorthand when possible.
• If you don’t have time to write all the details, jot down a keyword or a name. After class, you can use your textbook to elaborate on these items.
• For consistency, use the same organizational system each time you take notes.
• Consider writing your notes by hand, which can help you remember the information better. However, typing may help you be faster or more organized. Recording important points is effective because it forces you to pay attention to what’s being said during a lecture.

If your notes are incomplete — for example, you wrote down dates with no additional information — take time after class to fill in the missing details. You may also want to swap notes with a classmate so you can catch things that you missed during the lecture.

• Rewrite your notes if you need to clean them up
• Rewriting will help you retain the information
• Add helpful diagrams or pictures
• Read through them again within one day If you find that there are concepts in your notes that you don’t understand, ask your professor for help. You may be able to set up a meeting or communicate through email. After rewriting your notes, put them to good use by reading through them again within the next 24 hours. You can use them as a reference when you create study sheets or flashcards.

Let’s face it: There are some subjects that you like more than others. If you want to do things the smart way, save your least challenging tasks for the end of your studies. Get the hardest things done first. If you save the toughest tasks for last, you’ll have them hanging over your head for the whole study session. That can cost you unnecessary mental energy. Furthermore, if you end with your favorite assignments, it will give you a more positive feeling about your academic pursuits. You’ll be more likely to approach your next study session with a good attitude.

Cramming the night before a big test usually involves trying to memorize information long enough to be able to regurgitate it the next morning. Although that might help you get a decent grade or your test, it won’t help you really learn the material. Within a day or two, you’ll have forgotten most of what you studied. You’ll have missed the goal of your classes: mastery of the subject matter. Instead, commit yourself to long-term learning by studying throughout the semester.