Study Strategies · ep. 147

Time for Tests

For some of you gals, it’s nearing the end of the school year, and for others you’re almost halfway through. Either way, you may have some exams coming up that you need to study for.

What's Your Study Style?

I’m curious how you approach preparing for a test or quiz or assessment. Do you ignore it until the night before OR do you study for days leading up to it? Do you prefer to study with a friend OR study alone? Do you make yourself a study guide/flash cards OR just review your notes from class?

When I was growing up, I was taught that studying was just going through my notes over and over again. And sometimes I did fine with that, but it didn’t work for certain subjects that I struggled to grasp. I remember in college I studied 16 hours for one final exam, and I still got a D on it. But I passed the class!

Now back to those questions I asked, each one of you has a different answer to those, which means, one approach won’t work for all of you. So because of that, I’m going to share multiple studying strategies, and you can decide which combination works best for you.

Put Down Your Phone

I think the thing that will help most is minimizing distractions. I know you’re tired of hearing this, but the fact is, your phone is a huge distraction–especially when you’re trying to study. So first, don’t study ON your phone. If you have digital notes, use a computer to review them or print them out–OR rewrite them by hand, more on that later. Second, even if your phone is on silent, the buzzing notifications are going to interrupt you. And if you put your phone on Do Not Disturb, but it’s still within arms reach, you’ll likely keep picking it up to see if anyone texted or to check social media. SO I highly encourage you to put your phone in another room while you study. I know it may sound difficult or ridiculous, but I want you to try it a few times and see how much more productive and effective your studying is. You can take a brain break every half hour or 45 minutes, and quickly check your phone for urgent messages, but then put it down and leave it behind when you return to studying.

The Write Way

“Reading is not studying,” says the Learning Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and “re-reading [your notes] leads to quick forgetting.” Wish I knew that back in college! Instead, they recommend active studying. And one method of active studying is to handwrite your notes. Writing notes by hand engages your brain more than just reading them underlining them, or even typing them. A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Life showed that “handwriting activates a broader network of brain regions involved in motor, sensory, and cognitive processing. Typing engages fewer neural circuits, resulting in more passive cognitive engagement.” See, handwriting is not obsolete, there’s even science that supports it.

Be the Teacher

Try teaching what you’re studying to a friend, your parent, your pet, or even a stuffed animal. Explaining a science theory or historical event to them will help you recall that information from your memory. It’s actually more challenging than it sounds, which will improve your studying. And if your “student” is human, have them check your notes to verify what you're teaching to make sure you get it right.

Color Coding

Some people recommend color coding your notes–like different colors for important info, vocab, questions, etc. OR color coding it by what you already know vs. still need to study. If you try out this study method, just remember less is more, because if you end up highlighting nearly everything on the page, nothing’s going to stand out, and it’ll just be a colorful mess that makes it hard to focus. Also I’ve heard of other study methods like mind mapping and diagrams–if you look into those and they’re effective, that’s great! However you approach studying, just make sure it’s not overcomplicating things; it should be making it easier for you.

Study Groups

Studying with friends can be more fun than studying alone, but are you actually “studying”? Like is it really productive OR mostly a hangout with a few vocab words or math formulas mentioned? Instead of that, make your study group count by giving it a purpose. Each of you could make a practice quiz and then swap and take each other’s quiz to test your knowledge. Or you could pretend you’re on a gameshow where you “the host” reads a definition and your friends “the contestants” buzz in with the answer. Making studying more fun can help you be more engaged and remember information.

Background Noise

Some people focus better while they study if there’s white noise or calming music softly playing. The disclaimer for this is that the music you listen to shouldn’t be distracting–if you’re vibing to the beat or singing along, then you’re likely not connecting to your study material. And if you prefer studying in silence, that’s fine. Experiment and figure out what works best for you.

Brain Breaks

There is such a thing as too much studying. If you don’t create breaks for your brain to rest, your brain may get fatigued, your studying won’t be as effective, and you may feel burnout. So take intentional brain breaks. This could be doing something creative for ten minutes, like craft or sing or play an instrument, which engage different parts of your brain. Or you could take five to stretch and move your body. In an article from Penn State College of medicine, they shared that physical activity breaks improve brain function, concentration, and memory. Or pause studying for a half hour to eat dinner with your family and have a conversation about something other than your exam. So however you like, take a brain break.

Avoid Procrastination

Now on the flipside, don’t spend too much time on a break. This can lead to procrastination (ep. 104). One of the main reasons we procrastinate is we’re trying to avoid doing something. Maybe you’re stressed about an exam next week, so for days you avoid studying and distract yourself with things that sound way more fun. But putting off studying may stress you out even more when you try to cram sesh a whole unit the night before the exam. I know some of us neurodiverse learners tend to procrastinate, thinking we do better when there’s a sense of urgency. But that can backfire when you’ve got multiple exams or deadlines stacked on top of one another. Ask me how I know.

Make a Plan

Nemours Teen Health webpage has a Study Tips section, and one thing they suggest is planning study time. To avoid feeling stressed, they recommend you look ahead at your schedule, see which days you have a quiz or exam, and plan out how much time you can study for them each day to feel prepared. That way you’re taking the big To Do “Study For The Exam” and breaking it up into more manageable To Dos. Also, if a test covers a ton of info, break it down even more and divide up what you need to study so you can go deeper into different topics each day instead of skimming the surface on all the test material.

Good Luck!

Now that was a lot of studying strategies, and you might be feeling overwhelmed. So I want to remind you that you don’t need to immediately adopt all of those ideas. Pick a couple at a time to try (especially the phone one) and figure out a studying strategy combination that works best for you. Good luck on your exams!

Resources

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