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studywithkimmie · 4 months

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How to Work Effectively for the New Year <3

Number 1 - Focus

To work effectively, you have to be able to focus. Although, if you're like me then focusing can be hard when you're easily distracted; so here's some advice to help you concentrate!

Silence your notifications and set your phone far away from you.

My phone distracts me all the time. If it's next to me whilst I'm trying to study then I can never not look at it to see if someone has messaged me or sent me something. It also ends up just demotivating me. My best advice would be to just turn it on silent and put it on the other side of the room, especially if you're studying at your own personal desk at home - if you have a bookcase or shelves on the other side, I would recommend putting it there :)

Number 2 - Best Hours to Study

It's been found that most students' brains tend to be the best in the morning, especially after a good night's sleep and a nutritious breakfast. This could potentially make the morning a good time to open a textbook and study, or even review notes from the previous day. This means that the brain is more alert, allowing students to have a better ability to recall details like names, places, dates, and facts.

When it comes to the afternoon, then this is the best time for students to integrate new information with what they have already learnt. During this time, then students are supposedly able to create better connections and make the information they have previously learned more meaningful.

Day Studying Benefits:

Brain is refreshed and ready for information, natural light keeps you alert, doesn't disrupt your sleep schedule, and able to study with classmates.

Night Study Benefits:

More peace and quiet, fewer distractions and interruptions, a clearer mind for creative thinking, and can help improve recall.

There aren't any specific times for studying that I will put down because it differs for everyone, but it definitely helps if you create a study schedule - whether it's in the morning or afternoon, it's whatever is best for yourself.

Number 3 - Your Study Space

Sometimes the surrounding areas can be super noisy or it could even be too calm for your liking - which could be demotivating.

If it's too noisy, maybe try going out. I understand that there can be problems with trying to do this if you still live with your parents or live in a rural area where there's practically no buses and you don't drive; but, in my opinion, I love studying at places like a library, or cafes. My personal favourite for studying is Wetherspoons (I'm pretty sure this is just a UK thing so I apologise to everyone that doesn't live in the UK), this place is basically a pub but the food and drinks are so inexpensive and if you're not wanting anything too special drink-wise then you can order a hot drink (and you then get refills for free!) - honestly one of my favourite places cause they also have outlets for you to charge your electronics.

If it's too calm, again I would suggest going out, or even turning on some music in the background at home. With going out then I would definitely recommend a café - they're cozy and very ambient when it comes to noise levels and seating areas but I would watch out if you're bringing electronics, most cafes (in Scotland, specifically) don't really have outlets for you to charge your stuff. If you're planning to stay home and turn on music, I would 100% recommend music that doesn't have lyrics because it helps your brain to focus on what you're studying instead of the lyrics in the background.

Number 4 - Organisation

Being organised can play a bit part in studying effectively. I won't lie, I've been so bad at staying organised for years but now that I'm in university then I've become a lot better.

I would recommend always making a to-do list of everything that has to be done, and if you're someone that has a diary that you put all of your deadlines in then I found it beneficial to put a reminder about the test a week or two weeks before the actual deadline - to give you time to start if you haven't.

Keeping your desk organised is always a great way to stay on top of studying as well - keeping it neat and tidy always helps with keeping yourself focused due to there being no distractions spread across your desk.

Number 5 - Breaks

Breaks have and always will be super important. Studying for hours and hours in a row is not the way to go - this can demotivate you very quickly, and it can also reduce the amount of stuff you actually remember in the long run.

My personal way to go is the pomodoro method. This is where you study for 25 minutes and then have a break of 5 minutes - this has been the best way for me because it allows me to learn for a solid amount of time and then relax for a short amount.

Number 6 - 3 Types of Memory

To study effectively then it's important to know what type of memory you have:

1 - Auditive memory : this means that you learn best when the material is read aloud, the best way to study according to this would be to record yourself speaking your notes etc and being able to listen to it when you can e.g. on the bus, or in the car etc.

2 - Visual memory : this means that you learn best when the material is done in picture forms e.g. mindmaps or timelines. Many people think this is just where you highlight a bunch of different points, but highlighting everything doesn't necessarily mean you're going to remember it. Making mindmaps and timelines work best for me, and you can also add pictures to make it easier to understand and remember.

3 - Kinesthetic memory : this means that you prefer to learn stuff physically. This type is not really taught about or known, but for those doing subjects like biology or physics etc, then this could work. When it comes to learning physically, then, for example, you would rather want to physically cut open a sheep's heart and examine it yourself to learn the different areas instead of watching someone do it on youtube. Many people don't use this type of memory so there's not much online about it, but using youtube would be good to find out how to utilise this type of method.

Number 7 - 3 Techniques

1 - Active recall : this is a widely used method for studying and it helps a lot of people. This is the process of actively trying to retrieve information from your memory - when you try to recall information from your mind then it makes said information stick better than if you just reread it. For example, you could create test questions as you're studying and when you've finished studying a specific section then you could put away your notes and then try to answer the questions - try not to look at your notes but if you have to then don't worry! This takes practice.

2 - Feynman technique : this is where you write down some notes or read a bit of your textbook and then stop for a moment, in that moment then you try and pretend that your teaching the material to an imaginary student. Or alternatively, you could write your notes in a way that you're pretending to teach someone.

3 - Mnemonic image method : this is where there is a picture in your mind that represents a piece of information in the real world - you're able to link the image with the thing you're trying to remember. For example, if you need to remember the Spanish word dormir (which means to sleep), you could picture a dorm room, because dorm sounds like dormir and you can sleep in a dorm.

There are many ways to study efficiently and these are only some ways that could help for the new year, but hopefully they have been helpful <3

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