Back-to-School Studying Tips

With the new semester starting, I thought I'd share some of the studying tips that I discovered helped me work more efficiently and effectively, check them out below!

No matter what, studying and finding a study routine that best suits you can sometimes seem like a lot. I found this to be true during my first semester of grad school. Between starting a new job, new classes and still trying to maintain a healthy work-life balance, at times it seemed outright overwhelming.

While everyone’s experience and what works best for them is different, I wanted to share what worked for me below in hopes that someone else will also find these ‘tips’ helpful!

1). Location, location, location!

While going into a study session with the right mindset’s important, I’d say picking the right location is just as important. No matter how set you are a loud or poorly lit environment is going to be distracting. For myself, I prefer finding a well-lit, comfortable area with a soothing atmosphere, where I can relax. I also find that I work best in a neutral location, like a library or other spots around campus, rather than my room or a community room in my dorm. By picking somewhere neutral, I find it reduces the distractions I may have around me in areas I’m more familiar with.

2). Have a plan

Without my planner, I find I spend way too much time figuring out and setting up what I need to get done. Setting up what I need to do and knowing a rough draft in advance of what I want to get done, it makes my study session so much more productive. At the same time, I try to set reasonable and realistic expectations that align with my goals and time-framed so I don’t become discouraged by not getting necessarily everything I want to get done, completed in one sitting.

3). Take breaks!

When studying, I try to break it up into manageable chunks so I don’t feel rushed to complete everything in 1 really long study session. If I’m trying to study for a few different classes, this might mean taking breaks between subjects, or if I’m writing an essay to take breaks between annotating sources or paragraphs in my writing.

4). Unplug (as much as possible)

For me unplugging - as much as possible - is important because it helps me stay focused on the tasks and hand and also allows me to complete my work much more quickly. In a digital world, this isn't always the easiest thing to accomplish - especially since so many assignments and readings are online nowadays. However, to try to overcome this problem, I tend to find closing all unnecessary browsers on my laptop and putting something on my phone - such as pulling up a playlist or show - helps me stay less distracted from outside sources.

5). Do a little each day

Breaking down your studying or work into manageable chunks while you’re working also helps ensure you don’t feel overwhelmed all at once. Rather than tackling a whole subject or project in one day, outline it and look for natural breaks where you can stop. I also find that creating studying “sections” help me think more about the topic over a few days, which helps the concepts sink in over time. In addition, when it comes to projects, taking a few days to work on them helps me personally think of new ideas and improve the overall product over an extended period of time.

6). Don't be afraid to ask for help!

You might not always understand something the first time, and that’s fine! Everyone has different strengths and learns differently, and if you find yourself struggling with a topic or concept, it’s necessary to ask for help. Successful learners ask for help. Whether it’s with fellow peers or professors, people around you want you to succeed and support you, but they can’t read your mind.

7). Figure out your "studying style"

It’s important to remember that everyone learns differently, so it’s important to figure out what works for you! Personally for myself, I find I don’t work best in an environment that’s too quiet and prefer to have music or a video playing in the background to keep focused (however for me, it needs to be a video I’ve already seen so I’m not distracted by it).

In general, there are 4 major learning styles that are widely recognized, which include: visual, auditory, reading and writing, and kinesthetic.

With visual learners, it’s typically easier to understand concepts presented through graphics or charts. With clear pictures and hierarchical design elements to denote importance, it can be helpful to create and use diagrams and arrows for later reference.

For auditory learners, vocal presentations are the most beneficial way to learn since they absorb spoken words better than written notes or visual diagrams. In this case, it may be most helpful to study in groups where verbal collaboration is most helpful.

For those who learn best through reading and writing, having the information presented in articles or writing would be best, allowing them to take notes when they feel like they needed to. Creating discussion boards, and rereading concepts multiple times would be beneficial.

Kinesthetic learning takes a more active role in learning typically through hands-on activities. Taking the concepts and applying them to real-world scenarios, helps them to really understand what they are learning.

Regardless of learning styles, keep in mind, there’s no “right” or “wrong” way to learn, so if you find your current “studying style” not working, try something new or maybe combine a few!

8). Know when to stop

And finally, one of the most important things, know when to stop! When you reach your limit, whether that be you know the material, feel burnt out, or reached the end of the time you allocated to studying, know it’s time to stop because your learning will be significantly reduced after this point.