Secret Study Sauce
Title is pretty self explanatory, so let’s get right into it.
1. Group Study
I know this is not always helpful for everyone but it’s IMPERATIVE to me. Let me tell you why:
a. It keeps me on schedule.
b. It forces me to teach the information to someone else (meaning I need to know it so well I can say it in my own words).
c. It helps me catch concepts I’ve learned wrong before the test. There have been countless times I thought I knew something and when I talked the concept out-loud, it turned out to be wrong. This one is tricky though, because you only want to allow people you trust to reteach you a concept, and sometimes just arguing about a topic with the group can help me remember the concept, however I always confirm with a google search or the professor.
d. I get funny mnemonics that help me memorize facts.
e. There are few better feelings better than when you study as a group and the whole team gets an A.
2. Outline
Ya girl loves a good outline. I am a visual, big picture learner. Which means I have a tendency to get lost in details, so outlines keep the information in perspective. It’s also a lot easier to study 10 outlines before a test instead of combing through slideshows all night.
Sometimes I use apps to make an outline, for example:
a. MindNode=This app helps to make mind maps, and I think its helpful just to physically see how all the topics are related to each other.
b. OneNote=I really like how organized this keeps my notes, and I can quickly reference back to them at any time
c. I also use regular paper
3. Pomodoro
I'm not talking about spaghetti sauce, but you could think of it as the secret sauce to an excellent study session. It's a study technique developed in the 1980’s that works to maximize the time spent studying. The recipe is:
1. Pomodoro=25 minutes
2. Short Break=5 minutes
3. Pomodoro=25 minutes
4. Short Break=5 minutes
5. Pomodoro=25 minutes
6. Short Break=5 minutes
7. Pomodoro=25 minutes
8. Long break=20 minutes
Flora is an app that's really good for this. It uses the same concept but keeps my phone hostage for the 25 minutes that I should be studying.
Or I have a regular, timer in real life so that I can put away all my electronics and focus. If you see me with this guy, just know I’m stressed lol
4. Study Space
I enjoy feeling like a cute hipster when I study. So often times I will find myself at a local coffee shop.
However, sometimes they can be loud, have dirty bathrooms, and sometimes I just don’t feel like battling for a spot next to an outlet to charge my computer. In times like these I will stay home.
I transformed my study area into a cute little area and I find that it really helps me study alone.
5. Study Schedule
Quick story. One time it was the night before the test and I realized that I had missed an entire lecture and I freaked out. The end.
To combat this, I make little schedules. It’s helpful because I can see all of the lectures I need to study and I love checking off things.
That’s all. I'm not the smartest, but I'm a much better studier than I was in undergrad. I wasn’t hip to any of these techniques in college and I’m not really sure how I made it through but these little changes largely stepped up my productivity and efficiency when it comes to studying. Hopefully that was interesting. Leave your feedback. How do you study?