Developing a Great Routine for Studying and Getting Good Grades
Natalie Portman once said “I don’t love studying. I hate studying. I like learning. Learning is beautiful.” Learning is a great thing but the hard part that comes with learning is the studying part that makes you learn everything you need and want to know. You need an education for most of the successful jobs you can have in life and that whole path would not be possible if it was not for school and to do good in school you need to do good on exams. That’s where the studying part takes place. Studying for an exam can be difficult at times. This process includes the following steps, being well rested, not distracted, all your notes and textbooks in front of you and more. Studying can always stress people out especially if the test is a large amount of your grade. Throughout my whole school life, I was always bad at studying for exams.
I would try all sorts of strategies, but it just never worked for me. Finally, in my senior year of high school I found a method of studying that helped me and I started to use it in college and it worked for me here as well. The first step when studying you want to make sure that you are well rested. The worst thing is when you have to study for a major exam but you can’t focus because your tired. That’s why it is good to not wait till the end of the day to study. Studying is most effective when you get home from school or right after class because you are still focused into school even when you get out.
If you had a busy day do not study late at night. You are better off going to bed and waking up early to study then being tired and staying up late to study. Being fully focused and aware of what you are reading and what your studying is very important because you remember the most when you are not falling asleep. Study’s show that the brain is still most functioning at the end of a school day so that is your best time to do it Second step to effectively study for an exam is not being distracted. There are millions of ways to get distracted while studying so you have to try your best to not let all of them distract you.
It is best to turn off all of your electronics. I know everyone’s life now is based around electronics but for an hour you can shut them all off and study. Shutting the electronics off takes away all the main distractions. Its good to shut the door so the blocks out all of the noise coming from outside the room. Those are most of the main distractions that you could have but the little ones are still left. You can’t really get rid of all the little distractions because basically everything is a distraction. You just need to try your hardest to focus and not look around. If you look around then you pick up on something you see and then you get distracted.
The best way to not be distracted is to block out everything surrounding you and just focus on the material you are studying. I used to get distracted in my room so I would just put headphones in and not listen to music but just let it block out the noises. Another step in the process of studying is making sure you have all your study materials. You can’t study effectively if you are missing notes or worksheets you need. Before studying check twice to make sure you have everything and are ready to go. Also when studying make sure you know what your studying. You can’t be effective if you are not sure what to study.
Talk to your professors and listen in class for what’s going to be on the exam and study that material and that material only. You don’t want to study more than what you need to know because you will just get confused on the test. Make sure you have everything not messy either. Make sure it is all organized and ready to go. When studying for an exam you always want to make a study guide. A study guide is going through your notes and then re writing the most important things. This will help you out when studying because this makes you focus on what’s important and then you don’t have to remember unnecessary information.
Studying is stressful enough in general but when you have to study a lot of material so it helps to cut down the information to just the important stuff. In recent study from multiple sources on the internet, study guides are number one for the best way to study. Studying is a lot better when you take breaks. You need some time to have fun and it is better to study when you are feeling relaxed than to exhaust yourself studying all day. Carefully plan out your break and study time. Usually, 20-30 minutes then a break. Make sure that you structure the chunks logically so that you’re not breaking up concepts across chunks, as this may make it more difficult to remember concepts in their entirety.
Don’t do anything extreme during studying breaks. Its best to just sit there and watch tv or something simple like that. Not good to do something that is going to completely interrupt studying.Studying in groups can help increase studying if done correctly and if you don’t distracted by the people you’re studying with. You can get sidetracked easily but if you can stay focused it is beneficial for everyone in the group. What works well in study groups is to quiz each other and talk about what you are studying. Study groups help understanding and preparation for the exam. Two or three people for a study group is best. You don’t want too many people in it because things get out of hand.
Just a group of 4 studying and helping each other is the way to study and succeed The process of studying can be a tough as it may take you time to get used to it or studying is difficult in general for you and there are so many ways to study that it can all be too much to handle and get confusing. All of the example that were listed are ones that help most people in studying and find great success with it. Studying is the hardest part of doing good in school but is also one of the most important. Following these steps will sure you of good grades and a great routine of studying.
