Study Time: Tricks of the Trade

Flickr: CollegeDegrees360

Studying is a must in college and everyone learns differently. Here are a few tips that can help you find what works for you:

• Use your senses. The more senses you use to study the more you'll remember. (Listen, read, talk out loud, tell, show, watch, etc.) 

• Get comfortable! Dress comfortably. Make sure the room temperature is just right. Get enough sleep. Make sure you have eaten and bring nutritious snacks and water.      

• Create a study environment. Find someplace without distractions -- either your dorm room, the library, sitting in your parked car, a park bench, etc. Some people find music helps drown out distractions and keeps them focused. Just make sure the type of music you choose and the volume level lends itself to helping you concentrate.

• Take notes in class. You won't be able to write down every word, so focus on definitions, key words, and phrases. Develop abbreviations and symbols. Find out if your instructor posts the lecture online in advance. If so, print the lecture and then use it to add notes during class.

• Review your notes. Even better, recopy them by hand or type them up after class. Doing this will help you digest the information. (This has really been helpful for me personally.) Use your notes as you read your textbook to supplement each other. 

• Record the lecture. Then listen to it again later. Play it in your car. Listen to it while you work out, walking around on campus, or waiting for your laundry.

• Share. We retain more information when we take what we have learned and share it with someone. Tell your classmates, study group, roommates, professor, friends, and family what you learned in class and from the textbook. You can also read to yourself out loud.

• Test yourself. Many textbooks have a publisher's website with flash cards, practice tests, and study guides.

• Organize your time. Actually schedule study time on your calendar. Don't procrastinate! Plan to study before going out to social activities, not afterward. You won't feel like doing it later and will be too tired. 

• Take frequent breaks! Every hour, get up and walk around for a few minutes. (Set an alarm if you have to!) Take some deep breaths. Look out a window and rest your eyes from the screen and books. This will actually increase oxygen flow to the brain, which helps you learn and think better. So, if you've been studying a long time or writing a paper and feel stuck, go take a walk and get some exercise. The ideas will start to flow! (See Dr. John Medina's "Brain Rules.")

• Reward yourself. After you've studied, the rest of the day is yours! Go have fun. Plan something to look forward to. Watch a movie, go to a football game, or hang out with your friends.

Study smart!