5 Easy Study Hacks
Of course studying well and earning good grades requires time and effort. Still, a few minor study hacks to boost your performance is always helpful especially these easy and simple ones.
5) Read Out Loud
Don’t do this in a library but reading aloud your study material instead of doing it quietly actually allows you to better absorb the material. Reading for yourself is even better than even hearing it from someone else. It requires slightly more effort and thus makes you pay more attention. This is a result of the production effect where both listening and speaking produces a dual effect that encodes memories more strongly. As it’s your own voice it’s also more self-referential and personal boosting the effect even further.
4) Use Flashcards
Testing yourself is one of the most effective ways to study and flashcards are a fun and easy method to do so. You could write a question, a keyword and a concept on one side and the answer or more comprehensive answer on the other. Flashcards help with active recall, help you make connections and break down complex concepts. You can use flashcards with a study buddy to test each other or as a nifty revision tool by yourself.
3) Get A Bite and Drink before You Start
Don’t go so in-depth into studying that you forget to fill your belly with food and water! Some students get so nervous for an exam that they intentionally sacrifice meals for more study time but research shows even breakfast boosts academic performance. The reasons why are obvious, food and drinks enhances your productivity by giving you more energy. Still, don’t eat while you study, it could break up your concentration. So, remember to go in refreshed and re-hydrated before an exam, a study showed that participants who drank water before cognitive tests actually scored higher than those who did not.
2) Study With a Soundtrack
This is something most students do while studying but don’t necessarily do right. Studying with music in the background helps keep you engaged and put you in a more positive and relaxing mood. But what kind of music affects your studying too. Avoid loud and fast music like K-pop, hip hop and rock n roll, even music with simple lyrics can be distracting enough to eat up your attentional resources. Hence, use something light, breezy and ambient such as classical, jazz, chill hop or lo-fi beats.
1) Color Your Notes
Humans are visual beings when it is dry and drab we hate it when it’s vibrant and colorful we love it. That’s why you should brighten up your study life by coloring your notes. Switching up colored markers on note-taking is a dynamic way to make your notes more interesting for memory retention. However, be systematic in your use of color. For example, use one color for a certain category for keywords. But don’t stop there be creative and utilize more diagram such as mind maps which are a great way of displaying connections in an organized fashion. In fact, just drawing it makes you more engaged and focused. Also, remember there are multiple methods of note-taking, make sure to find the right way for you.
