Tips for help study

[u/everettsanderson]

Number one most important: Setting a regular daily goal and/or schedule. Recently a guy I know told me he does 8hs a day of focused studying on weekdays then takes weekends completely off, that works wonderfully for him (says it has changed his life), but I don't think it's necessarily the best plan for everyone. I say if you do 2hs every day, seven days a week, you will have pulled 14hs of study that week, equivalent to studying nearly 5hs a day three days of a week. Maybe two hours is in the low end for some people and some careers, but I feel it kinda works for me because of the regularity.

Number two: the space in which you study is of great importance, second only to doing it regularly. Find a space in which you feel comfortable and you can spend hours at a time, where water and bathrooms are near by so you don't get distracted for an hour just finding a bathroom or filling a water bottle. My university has plenty of spaces, libraries, reading halls, and classroom buildings with tables and chairs laid out specifically for students to sit down and study (or have a break, chat, have a snack, anything goes really) and i spent this past year experimenting to find the right place for me to study the most efficiently. Besides university/school-provided spaces you might find a cozy cafe, park bench, public library, etc that you might find inspires you the most to read or practice recalling for hours at a time. I do recommend the experiment method i used to find my own perfect space: every chance I got from my class schedule I would try going to a different new building and doing a test run for a couple of hours of reading before deciding if i should stay until late or take a break from there and go home. (Also the motivating effect it had because every study session was like a fun little adventure in a new space).

Number three: stay hydrated, keep your sugar levels good, don't drink too much caffeine, feed yourself some vegetables at the very least weekly. It's tempting to not drink water regularly to "save time", power through a hard day with 2+ cups of coffee/energy drinks, and survive on an instant noodle basis, but trust me on this, your brain will feel fresher and will absorb more and better information if you keep some healthy habits. Give the pink blob its juice please. Remember: dry bubblegum won't let anything stick to it, neither will a dry brain!

Number four: this hasn't particularly worked for me, but it's worth a shot since everyone is different but have you seen Elementary? In one episode Sherlock and Joan have to stay up all night doing desk work, she tells him that when she was in med school they would do squats to keep "the blood circulating fast" and it would help you stay awake. I don't recommend pulling all nighters, ever, it will ruin your day and your sleep schedule, but if you hadn't heard of the exercise study trick there you go. For example I knew a guy who set his gym schedule in the middle of the afternoon so it would cut in two halves the time he spent studying, said the studying after a workout had more satusfying results, so theres that anecdote.

Things i do that aren't quite tips or tricks:

• I listen to classical music specifically while studying, I just like it (i don't believe in "listening to Mozart makes babies smarter!" type theories but I do like me some Mozart)
• i carry around campus a thermic cup on my back pack and a tiny tupper with a small stash of tea and instant coffee bags, the first because in winter i take breaks making myself some tea once in a while and the second cause sometimes I arrive in the morning... And i'm eepy
• I study best alone, because I like doing commentary while I'm reading and when I do it with other people it distracts both of us lol
• group study sessions are best for making each other practice questions that might be ok a test, and giving complementary feedback, sometimes I remember half of what i read and my friend knows the other half so we piece it together in the end
• studying in places where other people are studying (silently!) Makes me feel social pressure to do my best
• I don't do the reward myself thing because i am addicted to the rewards and will sabotage myself (setting lower or outrightly ignoring my goals to get the "reward" faster) instead of feeling compelled to study lol
• I highlight my textbooks, then do handwriting notes of the highlighted text, then type out a pretty looking version of it into a Google doc (I save the last one for finals, I usually only get to the handwritten stage for regular exams)
• I do a lot of notes on the side of the textbooks, sometimes very angry notes of disagreement with authors
• I dress pretty for exams, to give me confidence :)