Study Hacks.
Ummm School sucks ...lol, rather school can be incredibly stressful (esp around exam time)Whether studying your IGCSEs or a Masters, the struggle is too often too real,So Ive compiled a few tried and tested study hacks that should help you get the most out of your study sessions.
Short and sweet;
Limit one study session to 20 – 25 minutes, though the average human attention span is around 9 seconds, the average person can give a task their undivided attention for about 20 minutes, before the mind begins to wander. I organize my 2 hour study sessions into four 25 minute sessions with at least a 5 - minute break in between each.
Eliminate Distractions;
Studying next to a T.V or your phone won’t work. When studying you should generally avoid being around a T.V, as for your phone, switch it off or if your using it as a timer put it on silent & switch off your wifi.
Learner Type;
There are 4 main types of learners: Visual, Auditory, Verbal and Kinetic.
Visual learners recall info best when pictures, videos and graphics are incorporated in learning , Auditory learners recall best through hearing new material. Verbal learners recall best through words, reading and writing, and the oddest of them all (no judgment, lol) are kinetic learners who learn best through moving and using their sense of touch.Find out which one you are and apply a studying technique that suits you. (Visual; watch videos and demonstrations, Auditory; record your lectures, Verbal; take notes and read material out loud, Kinetic ; carry out practical experiments where applicable, record lectures and listen to them while taking a walk e.t.c)
As a visual learner I preffer videos over reading, Crash Course (Youtube channel) is literally the reason I passed chemistry and Bio. Their videos are applicable to both Uni and high school learners and cover a large variety of subjects (from Bio, Chemistry – Economics,Philosophy, Psychology and more )
Active Reading.
For reading to be an effective learning/studying method, you need to engage the material. Im sure you’ve read a whole chapter only to realize you recall only three words,this occurs when you just glance over the words. Active reading involves analyzing the text, writing rough notes and asking yourself questions about what you are reading.
Recalling.
Effective studying is 30% reading and 70% recalling. Your more likely to make the most of what you studied by using past papers and quizzes than by reading an entire book. Recalling can be done by answering questions about what you’ve learned, closing the book and repeating the points out loud or even writing them down. Testing yourself on the content you read will not only improve your memory but also reveal anything you may need to go over again.
Thats all for now, I hope you found this article helpful!
xo -Alex
