Whether you are continuing through school, starting a new journey at college, or embarking on an apprenticeship you will want to make sure you study at your best. Maximising your study time means that you can more effectively take in your work, leaving more time for other things, while also ensuring you are working to your full potential. So, as you start on your new journey, you might want to check out these tips to smarter studying
OK, we admit this one is not too unusual, but rewarding yourself is a proven way to make sure you stay focused during your studies. Motivation is one of the toughest parts of studying, especially when you feel tired after a day at work or college. Allowing yourself a small reward (like a snack or sweet) once you have completed a certain amount of work will help keep you on target.
A positive affirmation is basically you telling yourself something good. For example, ‘I will find today’s studying easy,” or “I will be able to understand everything quickly.” By allowing yourself to relax and then making a few positive statements you set up a positive mental attitude to your work, which should not only make you feel calmer, but can actually improve your results too!
Don’t forget to take some breaks too – in fact you need to take lots of them! By walking away from your studies for about 3 to 5 minutes every half an hour you can make sure your brain doesn’t get overwhelmed with new information. Allowing yourself to take regular breaks will also improve your grades as you will constantly be refreshing your mind to keep going, like having a little rest when out for a long walk. Too many students try to study for hours on end without stopping, but studies have shown that stopping every 25 minutes for a short break creates better results.
Studying and may fun seem like two completely opposite ends of the spectrum, but that needn’t be the case. If you are trying to remember facts or figures, try to get creative and remember them as part of a visual story in your mind. It doesn’t matter how ridiculous the story is – just so long as it works for you.
Not so unusual, except that so few people actually take the time to bother doing this. If you are jotting down notes quickly in a lesson or lecture, then they can be confused and hurried. So, while you can still decipher them, write them out into a more legible and clear manner. This will help when you return to your notes later in the year, and that’s right – we said ‘write’ not ‘type.’ Writing is a better way of cementing the information in your brain – it is all to do with how the act of writing makes you use different parts of the brain!
Outside of these tips, make sure you get enough sleep, exercise and proper vitamins in your diet. A healthy body can go a long way to helping a healthy mind!
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