ARTICLE SUMMARY

Read this article if you want to learn how to do better in your college-level courses. Are you in need of some good how to study tips? This article contains useful tips and shows you how to study more effectively. From time management, to study techniques, to dealing with procrastination, this article will give you a quick rundown – especially if you’re really busy!

So what are successful students doing that you aren’t already doing yourself? It seems that with the passing of each semester you get busier and busier, studying evermore harder than the previous term, and yet your grades fail to keep up with your efforts. Sound familiar?

You’re not alone.

Many students study hard and end up with less than desirable results and the problem lies in their how they choose to study. A-students (all those guys in the top 5% of the class) already know the secrets to good grades and it doesn’t involve studying hard. Easy GPA Booster goes into this in more detail, but for now, work your way through this article as it gives you some of the basics to get you going.

With respect to studying, A-students have a few good tricks up their sleeve. The following is a list of all their best study tips:

1. Concentration while Studying

Have you ever tried interval training with your cardio workouts? It works. The body responds much better to intervals of intensity compared to a single session, monotone session without bursts of intensity. If the body responds this way to stimuli, so does the brain. It turns out, if you really want to know how to study, concentrating your studying efforts into short bursts (such as 20 minute sessions) is much better than sitting down and bombarding your brain for a single, tedious session (such an hour-long session). It’s not uncommon to find many students perched over their books for more than 2-3 hours at a time, especially during exam time. This is a mistake. After about 20 minutes, your brain will start to absorb less and less material. You are better off getting on the books for 20 minutes, then getting off and grabbing a snack, for instance, or making a call to a friend, etc.

2. Procrastination & Studying

I know what you’re thinking… If you step away from your books and/or work, you are bound to trail off and do something else. It’s true, many students do this and waste far too much time. The truth is, it should not be a risk to practice interval studying IF you understand how to manage procrastination. Lets be frank, shall we? You are in school to better your future. Instead of working, you are pursuing an education in order to get a better lot in life once you’re done. That means, your school work is your current job, essentially. Now, if you were at work, would you not return after a 15-minute break? Would you allow yourself to trail off and procrastinate? Most likely, the answer is no. So, why then, would you allow it to happen to you when you are studying? Another how to study tip is to simply say NO to procrastination. Now, I can write a whole series of articles on this topic (perhaps even a book), but for the scope of this article, you simply just need to understand that procrastination should be completely rejected. The next point will help you accomplish this.

3. Time Management & Studying

The most successful students know how to manage their time effectively when they are studying. They never allow procrastination to consume them because they do the following:

(A) Allocate planned study times every day

Your schedule may fluctuate each day, but put aside a good chunk of time (2 or 3 hours per day) for focused study time. This could include 1.5 hours in the evenings, and an additional 1.5 hours dispersed throughout the day.

(B) Set goals for each session

Another good study tip is to make your study sessions extremely focused by realistic setting goals. Plan out a realistic course of action and you will be less bound to procrastinate and/or wander off from your work.

(C) Start studying as planned

Put all those feelings aside (they get you into trouble)! Your approach to your work should be ‘robotic,’ if you will. Just get out there and do it. Once you start working, as planned and on time, you will soon get over any feelings that will prevent you from getting started. Eventually, the habit of focused work will carry you on and you won’t have to contend with feelings and/or laziness.

(D) Tackle the hardest tasks first

Do the hardest and/or most important tasks first. They will consume the most out of you. Then proceed to the lesser tasks. You will be glad you did.

4. Review

The practice of daily review is essential and one of the greatest how to study tips of all time. Learning occurs through repetition and understanding. In short, that means that you have to spend time with your reading and lecture materials in order to learn it properly. By reviewing daily, you will find that your study sessions will become management and much less stressful.

5. Get help

This study tip is a no brainier… Get help from your friends, classmates, teaching assistants and professors. Don’t waste time if you don’t understand something, just ask for help. You’d be surprised if you knew how many students do this. Even worse, many students just put their nagging issue out of their mind and eventually forget about it, until exam time when the nagging issue resurfaces once again! Don’t do this to yourself; get all the help you need when you have the time and resources to do so.