STUDY LIKE A PRO

1) Study on a schedule Just like you'd make a schedule for any other day, make yourself a plan when studying. Allotting a certain amount of time to each subject, putting time slots into your days throughout the week, and knowing when you'll be studying ahead of time are the best ways to ensure a successful study session. This will also allow you to stay far in front of deadlines and reduce the risk of forgetting something completely. I typically make my study schedule after I plan my week, and when there are large areas of of free time, I block in a few hours of studying with my specific subjects. Big projects should be put in first, including exams and papers, and then weekly readings are fit into smaller slots in between classes. 2) Repetition When it comes to studying for an exam, writing things out is the best way to help you remember them. Whether it's rewriting notes from class, making flash cards for vocabulary terms, or remembering something in order, repetition will increase the likelihood that you'll remember the information for an exam. More often than not, anything in a certain order or a list of terms or steps is best remembered when repeated over and over again. When I make flash cards, I also start with the definition side to remember the term, and then once I feel confident, I flip them and repeat the definition with the term facing myself. Flash cards are also the best way to study on the go too! 3) Location matters Personally, I have my favorite places to study where I feel most productive. This does not include my dorm room, or a lounge with my friends in it. My favorite spots include Bruegger's Bagels and the library. If you have a spot that encourages you to get more things done, make it a point to go there. Locations like the library are also great because there are zero opportunities for distractions if you go alone. Dorm lounges are a great spot if you can avoid distractions, and they're also great for an easy access spot late at night. Wherever you find yourself most productive, spend lots of time there, and switch it up once and a while to find new spots. 4) Ambiance Everyone has different environment preferences when they're studying. Dead silent or noisy, music or no music, with friends or alone, etc. I personally don't enjoy dead silent areas. I also need to listen to my own music when I study, so I bring headphones everywhere I go. Although studying with friends can be productive, it tends to turn into a chatting session if we're not all focused on what we're doing. Once you know your preferences, encourage yourself to surround yourself with these things in order to get into the mindset of working. Here is my favorite studying playlist, called Deep Focus. This is what I use when I'm writing a paper (as I should be doing right now). When I do other tasks like math homework or other active studying methods, I listen to my personal playlist which is right here, currently for the month of November. 5) "Chip away" method Nothing is worse than a large project or a long paper. I get irritated with assignments I can't complete in one sitting, but the best way to deal with these things is to "chip away" at them. Making a schedule (or a list😏) of tasks within the bigger project makes it easier to break it down into smaller sections. Setting time limits, certain days, and even weekly goals for these tasks will assure that you get things done without procrastinating the entire thing to the last minute. For example, when I have a large essay to write, I break down different steps into a schedule the two weeks before the due date. If there are readings I need to reference, I make sure to put them on the task list. If it needs lots of citations, that's a task in itself as well. This allows you to break up a large task into lots of smaller ones that don't seem as overwhelming. ​

xo Kate