7 Tips For Effective Study

Are you studying as effectively as you could be? In the final weeks/days before an exam, we often have plenty of time, but struggle to use all of it efficiently. For example, you might lose an hour watching TV or playing a game, and then sit down to study (distracted by thoughts of TV), work for 30 minutes, and then suddenly you just can't be bothered. Below we outline 7 tips that might help you make the most of your time. While the best form of study is different for everyone, these are tips that will work for everyone and stop you from falling for the common preventers of study.

1. Make a Study Space
   If you want to work, you need to be in the right environment with the right tools. For instance, an office worker wouldn't attempt to write a spreadsheet if they were in the family room in front of the TV with their children. They would sit in a quiet, well-lit office with a computer. Many people choose to study for their final exams on a big table in an unused part of their house. If you don't have such a room in your house, consider your school library, or a public library. And regarding your study equipment: bring all of what you need, and none of what you don't!
2. Study Daily
   If you can schedule time to study every day, you'll find that remembering everything is a whole lot easier. ‘The Forgetting Curve' shows how memory improves with the review of particular skills or information. Studying for 1 hour every day is a lot more effective than 7 hours each Sunday! Don't even think of trying to convince yourself you can learn everything you need for an exam during the night before!
3. 3) Find Practice Exams
   Find as many practice exams as you can, and work through them. Ideally, keep the most relevant one (i.e. last year's exam) for study under timed conditions about a few days before the exam, but work through the others as early as possible. Don't expect to get everything right, you're here to learn! Use the exams to teach you about exam structure. For example, you might notice that every year a simultaneous equation comes up. What should you do? Obviously, learn how to solve any simultaneous equation question. You can search the MyGuru video library by concept using the video search function so this is a great way of practicing questions of the same type and you should epeat this for each question type. Which leads us to...
4. Read the Syllabus
   This is such an important one! If you don't know what you're supposed to know in the first place, how do you even begin? An important fact about syllabi: you will only be tested on the things listed in the syllabus. You CANNOT be tested on anything NOT listed. Get hold of this crucial document (your teacher will provide you with one on request) and tick things off when you're confident you can tackle every aspect of a given dot-point in the syllabus. By studying in this structured way, you can be confident that you're not wasting time. Many examination boards have syllabi on the internet for download, so try searching for it.
5. Structure Your Time
   Say you have a 2 hour block in which to study today. You can't study after dinner because you HAVE to see your favourite TV show, and you only get home from school at 3:45 and need some time to wind down after your day. You can work from 4:30 to 6:30. Ok, so how are you going to get the most work done? The Pomodoro Technique suggests working for 25 minutes uninterrupted, and then taking a 5 minute break. Repeat this 4 times, and that's your 2 hours. Don't kid yourself if you think you can maintain focus over hours and hours without a rest, your study won't be effective unless your mind and body can relax every so often.
6. Turn Off Your Phone
   Your mind definitely won't be relaxing if your phone is on and nearby! Switch it off, or at the very least move it into another room and make a personal agreement not to use it until your break. Chatting with friends, arranging catch-ups and checking your feed will all add to the background noise, which distracts you from the task at hand. Study effectively at 100% of your capacity, don't settle for anything less.
7. Exercise
   Yes, really! Exercise isn't just good for your body, it can benefit your mind as well. Do you know that feeling you get when you come back after walking the dog, or going for a run? If you can get some physical energy out of your system, you'll feel your mental energy filling the space it left behind. Exercise alone, without implementing any of the other tips, could be just what you need to get your study effectiveness to the next level.

Article reproduced, thanks to MyGuru.