10 study tips that *actually* work

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1. Simplifying notes: I learned this way too late in life, but simplifying notes not only makes them more effective in how they structure relevant information and key points, but the act of using less complex means to write notes boosts your attention in class, allows you to write more and summarize as you go. I have a full video on how I now take simplified notes. I’ve been using this method for almost one year and I never had batches of notes as good as these.

2. Making study guides for dummies: a study guide is a life saver before an exam, but a study guide for dummies is even better. These are notes that only you are going to read. Simplifying the language, inserting obvious references and ridiculous examples will improve memory retention and create connections between concepts that otherwise would be too obscure to explain.

3. Finding a study buddy: a study buddy is that person you can rely on to exchange notes, discuss a difficult concept or practice mock up tests with. It’s someone that will accompany you through the studying process and will have your back during those crucial weeks before finals. Even for the most introverted person, finding a study buddy will help you through your class or who know, the entirety of your college years.

4. Simplifying your planning system: this is another thing that I learned late in life, but having one thousand apps doing the same thing or changing between five different planners will do you more harm than good. Make sure your planning system is only divided into 1) events, 2) tasks and 3)long-term planning and chose the appropriate tools to prevent you from deviating and getting more planning tools than you actually need.

5. Finding a distraction-free environment: a distraction-free environment can mean different things for different people, but the goal here is to avoid the things that prevent you from being in a focused state. For instance, I can be perfectly focused in an environment with a lot of people and noise but I can’t, for the life of me, stay focused if I’m feeling the slightest bit cold. Find the factors that impact your concentration levels and try to reduce them as much as possible.

6. Going beyond usual study materials and getting involved with the topic: this is one of those study tips that not everyone has the time to do (because sometimes life is just hectic) but if you do have the time for this, I can guarantee it will help you in a way that almost no other study tip will help you. Conducting research on a topic in your own way, creating your own methods for investigating a certain question or concept, finding articles and textbooks outside of the traditional scope will enhance your learning process a lot and create a whole background for the things you’ve learned in the past that you couldn’t get any other way.

7. Mock presentations before tests & exams: these can take a huge chunk of your time but they probably replace two or three revisions. Doing a mock presentation on a subject or pretending like you’re explaining a topic out loud to a friend forces you to process information in a completely different way, using less formal words and sentences and most of all, connect the relevant information to convey a message or an idea instead of memorizing for the sake of memorizing.

8. Create reading reports - a so called reading report is basically a summary of the information present in a book, article or other document. It allows you to focus on the most important ideas and arguments outlines by the author and draw a conclusion. For classes that really heavily on reading, this is a great way to create a review and your own interpretation of the lectured information and have everything neatly compiled in a folder.

9. Prepare classes with the expectation of being called: preparing your classes believing your are going to participate is a great way to make sure you’re not forgetting any of the essentials and delve well into the topic that is being lectures. I tried to do this as much as possible back in law school and those were definitely the classes where I had the best results in my final exams. The amount of active preparation throughout the semester ensures that all of that material is consolidated by the end of your term.

10. Start studying for tests and exams two to three weeks in advance: studying one or two days before an exam or an important test was a sure way to have a mediocre grade. I tried as much as possible to organize my study and using a calendar to divide chapters per days or weeks and cover all of the information calmly before my exam arrived.

F T C : This video is sponsored by Audible.