I’ve spent much of my academic career floundering every time I realized I needed to study, because even the term, “study”, is just so general. Learning is such a personal process. Only after many years of trial and error did I find the study methods that work for me, not only for the purpose of earning a good grade, but also for the sake of my learning. These hacks may not work for you, and that’s totally fine! If you’re in a position similar to the one I was in for many, many years, though, a few new options for studying may be refreshing.
1. Note copying
If there’s anything that doesn’t motivate me to study, it’s jumbled, monotonous notes. When you’re in class, though, your only option is to either write down or type as much as you can during your lecture. More often than not, the results can be a bit incoherent and difficult to parse. I type everything important to me in an informal bulleted list while in class, then later that same night, I bring out another notebook, one much more organized, and I copy the information in a way that’s accessible. I use headings, I highlight, and I color-code. This in itself is a form of studying, but it also eases the process of referring back to what you’ve learned.
2. Flashcards
This method is probably pretty obvious to most, but I still think it’s worthwhile to include. There are a number of reasons why flashcards are so beneficial to studying. Firstly, the creation of the flashcards on its own better familiarizes you with the material. Depending on the number, you can carry them with you virtually anywhere to sneak in periods of studying. Both verbalization and movement are also really helpful when it comes to memorization, and flashcards allows you to do both of these!
3. Ambience videos
If I’m being honest, I have ambience videos on in the background for basically everything I do. Regardless of what aesthetic you like, you’ll be able to find background noise that suits your taste. People have posted different videos for every season, movie, and television show. I tend to like hearing voices every now and then (layered with white noise) when I study, and just having the TV on in the background can be too distracting. Ambience videos, though, give you just the right amount of background noise to stay focused without pushing you to boredom.
4. Locking my Apps
Like most people, I’m sure, I have a tendency to reward myself with a break on Tik Tok or Instagram if I’ve studied for a bit, and that break tends to turn into hours of wasted time. I recently downloaded an app called Opal that locks you out of whatever apps you choose (there are plenty of apps structured similarly to this one. Opal was just the one I chose!) The longer you stay off of them, the more milestones you unlock. Reaching for social media has become sort of second nature to me, so it’s really important that I have a barrier in place that keeps me from getting lost in my phone. After I’ve finished my work, though, it makes my shortened time of scrolling feel a bit more purposeful and like more of a reward rather than a way to procrastinate.
5. Writing, Outlining, and annotating
This method may also seem pretty obvious, but I can’t stress enough how important it can be to write down your thoughts. Whether it be annotating your readings for class, drafting a thorough outline for an essay, or just translating a stream of consciousness onto paper, writing can be so helpful for identifying and organizing your ideas. The more I allow thoughts to just marinate in my brain, the less likely I am to articulate or even remember them.
