This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CWU chapter.
So you’ve reached the point in the semester where it’s time to cram all the information you’ve learned in the past few weeks or even the whole semester. We know it can seem daunting but here are some study tips to make it more approachable. These tips will also help you with productivity so you won’t have to study for so long- rather you’ll be studying smarter and not harder.
- First off you should NOT be cramming.
- This is probably the least effective way you could go about studying. Instead of using the weekend before an exam, filling those days with 8 hour long study sessions, break it up into a couple hours everyday the week before.
- Change your surroundings!
- A change of scenery will keep your mind alert. The physical place we choose to study can create a large impact on our emotions, thoughts, and focus levels. Try to choose places that make you feel happy but calm, for me that includes a lot of natural light so the library full of fluorescents isn’t my typical place but I do find myself going there any study days when I need a little extra motivation and can see others studying around me.
- Study buddies!
- Asking your peers, friends, classmates, etc questions about something you may be confused about in class is a lot less daunting than speaking with the professor. You can also make studying a lot more fun with friends by quizzing each other or using the teaching method where you take turns trying to teach each other topics from class.
- Use additional resources.
- YouTube can be your best friend when reviewing and needing supplemental material. As a biology major I highly encourage this as it allows you to watch at a slower pace and go back to any parts you may have missed or were confusing.
- Cofocus is another great website where you will be matched with a stranger and video call for 50 minutes. The goal of this is to help keep eachother focused and on task.
- Reviewing material before class.
- I can not rave about this enough. Reviewing lecture slides or class material before the actual lecture is incredibly helpful as it allows you to be more open to listening and ask questions as parts that may have confused you earlier.
- The Pomodoro technique!
- I will never shut up about how this has changed my studying for the better. It has made me incredibly more productive! For this technique you will start with choosing a task to be done or what class or topics to study. Then you’ll set a timer for 25 minutes, with this time work on completing your task. Once the timer is up take a 5 minute break. Do this 25 minute work/five minute break three more times. I tweak this a bit when I need to go more in depth with my studying by increasing the time of focus by 10 minutes every round and I also increase my break time accordingly!
Now these are just a handful of tips. Make sure to always pace yourself and stay hydrated. Taking breaks from a screen will also be incredibly helpful in reducing stress and maybe an onset headache. If you’d like more study methods I would highly encourage looking through TikTok for some ones that pop out to you!
Like this? Check out @hercampuscwu on Instagram for more!