Effective study habits -- studying smarter -- can be learned to improve your ability to better

retain reading material. These habits include approaching study with the right attitude,
choosing the right environment, minimizing distractions, setting a realistic schedule, and
employing memory games, among others.
Students grapple with many issues in their lives, and because of all of the competing things
for your attention, it’s hard to concentrate on studying. And yet if you’re in school, you have
to do at least a little studying in order to progress from year to year.
If you want better grades, you need more effective study habits. The key to effective
studying isn’t cramming or studying longer, but studying smarter. You can begin studying
smarter with these ten proven and effective study habits.
1. How you approach studying matters.
Too many people look at studying as a necessary task, not an enjoyment or opportunity to
learn. That’s fine, but researchers have found that how you approach something matters
almost as much as what you do. Being in the right mindset is important in order to study
smarter.
Sometimes you can’t “force” yourself to be in the right mindset, and it is during such times
you should simply avoid studying. If you’re distracted by a relationship issue, an upcoming
game, or finishing an important project, then studying is just going to be an exercise in
frustration. Come back to it when you’re not focused (or obsessed!) by something else
going on in your life.

Ways to help improve your study mindset:

 Aim to think positively when you study, and remind yourself of your skills and abilities.
 Avoid catastrophic thinking. Instead of thinking, “I’m a mess, I’ll never have enough time to
study for this exam,” look at it like, “I may be a little late to study as much as I’d like, but since I’m
doing it now, I’ll get most of it done.”
 Avoid absolute thinking. Instead of thinking “I always mess things up,” the more objective
view is, “I didn’t do so well that time, what can I do to improve?”
 Avoid comparing yourself with others, because you usually just end up feeling bad about
yourself. Your skills and abilities are unique to you, and you alone.

2. Where you study is important.

A lot of people make the mistake of studying in a place that really isn’t conducive to
concentrating. A place with a lot of distractions makes for a poor study area. If you try and
study in your dorm room, for instance, you may find the computer, TV, or a roommate more
interesting than the reading material you’re trying to digest.

The library, a nook in a student lounge or study hall, or a quiet coffee house are good
places to check out. Make sure to choose the quiet areas in these places, not the loud,
central gathering areas. Investigate multiple places on-campus and off-campus, don’t just
pick the first one your find as “good enough” for your needs and habits. Finding an ideal
study place is important, because it’s one you can reliably count on for the next few years.

3. Bring everything you need, nothing you don’t.

Unfortunately, when you find an ideal place to study, sometimes people bring things they
don’t need. For instance, while it may seem ideal to type notes into your laptop to refer back
to later, computers are a powerful distraction for many people because of their versatility.
Playing games, checking your feeds, texting, and watching videos are all wonderful
distractions that have nothing to do with studying. So ask yourself whether you really need your
laptop to take notes, or whether you can make do with old-fashioned paper and pen or
pencil. Keep your phone in your purse or backpack to keep distraction at bay as much as
possible.
Don’t forget the things you need to study for the class, exam, or paper you’re focusing on
for the study session. Nothing is more time-consuming and wasteful than having to run back
and forth regularly because you forget an important book, paper, or some other resource
you need to be successful. If you study best with your favorite music playing, try and limit
your interaction with your phone while changing tracks. Your phone is a potential time-sink
and one of the worst enemies of concentration.

4. Outline and rewrite your notes.

Most people find that keeping to a standard outline format helps them boil information down
to its most basic components. People find that connecting similar concepts together makes
it easier to remember when the exam comes around. The important thing to remember in
writing outlines is that an outline only words as a learning tool when it is in your own words
and structure. Every person is unique in how they put similar information together (called
“chunking” by cognitive psychologists). So while you’re welcomed to copy other people’s
notes or outlines, make sure you translate those notes and outlines into your own words
and concepts. Failing to do this is what often causes many students to stumble in
remembering important items.

It may also be helpful to use as many senses as possible when studying, because
information is retained more readily in people when other senses are involved. That’s why
writing notes works in the first place – it puts information into words and terms you
understand. Mouthing the words out loud while you copy the notes before an important
exam can be one method for involving yet another sense.

5. Use memory games (mnemonic devices).

Memory games, or mnemonic devices, are methods for remembering pieces of information
using a simple association of common words. Most often people string together words to
form a nonsense sentence that is easy to remember. The first letter of each word can then
be used to stand for something else – the piece of information you’re trying to remember.
The most common mnemonic device example is “Every Good Boy Deserves Fun.” Putting
the first letters of every word together — EGBDF — gives a music student the five notes for
treble clef.
The key to such memory devices is the new phrase or sentence you come up with has to be
more memorable and easier to remember than the terms or information you’re trying to
learn. These don’t work for everyone, so if they don’t work for you, don’t use them.

Mnemonic devices are helpful because you use more of your brain to remember visual and
active images than you do to remember just a list of items. Using more of your brain means
better memory.

6. Practice by yourself or with friends.

The old age adage, practice makes perfect, is true. You can practice by yourself by testing
yourself with either practice exams, past quizzes, or flash cards (depending what kind of
course it is and what’s available). If a practice exam isn’t available, you can make one up for
yourself and your classmates (or find someone who will). If a practice or old exam from a
course is available, use it as a guide – do not study to the practice or old exam! (Too many
students treat such exams as the real exams, only to be disappointed when the real exam
has none of the same questions). Such exams help you understand the breadth of content
and types of questions to expect, not the actual material to study for.

Some people enjoy reviewing their materials with a group of friends or classmates. Such
groups work best when they’re kept small (4 or 5 others), with people of similar academic
aptitude, and with people taking the same class. Different formats work for different groups.
Some groups like to work through chapters together, quizzing one another as they go
through it. Others like to compare class notes, and review materials that way, ensuring they
haven’t missed any critical points. Such study groups can be helpful for many students, but
not all.

7. Make a schedule you can stick to.

Too many people treat studying as the thing to do when you get around to it or have some
spare time. But if you schedule study time just as your class time is scheduled, you’ll find it
becomes much less of a hassle in the long run. Instead of last-minute cramming sessions,
you’ll be better prepared because you haven’t put off all the studying into one 12-hour
marathon. Spending 30 or 60 minutes every day you have a class studying for that class
before or after is a lot easier and will allow you to actually learn more of the material.
You should study regularly throughout the semester for as many classes as you can. Some
people study every day, others put it off to once or twice a week. The frequency isn’t as
important as actually studying on a regular basis. Even if you just crack open a book once a
week for a class, it’s better than waiting until the first exam in a massive cram session.

Scheduling is even more important if you’re going to be a part of a study group. If only half
of your members are committed to a study group for every meeting, then you need to find
other study group members who are as committed as you are.

8. Take breaks (and rewards!).

Because so many people view studying as a chore or task, it’s human nature to avoid it. If,
however, you find rewards to help reinforce what you’re doing, you may be pleasantly
surprised by the change you may find in your attitude over time.

Rewards start by chunking study time into manageable components. Studying for 4 hours at
a time with no breaks is not realistic or fun for most people. Studying for 1 hour, and then
taking a 5 minute break and grabbing a snack is usually more sustainable and enjoyable.
Divide study time into segments that make sense and work for you. If you have to digest a
whole textbook chapter, find sections in the chapter and commit to reading and taking notes
on one section at a time. Maybe you only do one section in a sitting, maybe you do two.
Find the limits that seem to work for you.
If you succeed in your goals (such as doing two sections of a chapter in one sitting), give
yourself a real reward. Perhaps it’s saying, “I’ll treat myself to some good dessert tonight at
dinner,” or “I can buy a new tune online,” or “I can spend an extra 30 minutes gaming for
every 2 sections of a book chapter I read.” The point is to find a reward that is small but
real, and to stick to it. Some may view this as absurd, since you’re setting limits you can
easily ignore. But by setting these limits on your behavior, you’re actually teaching yourself
discipline, which will be a handy skill to have throughout life.

9. Keep healthy & balanced.

It’s hard to live a balanced life while in school, I know. But the more balance you seek out in
your life, the easier every component in your life becomes. If you spend all of your time
focusing on a relationship or a game, you can see how easy it is to be out of balance. When
you’re out of balance, the things you’re not focusing on – such as studying – become that
much harder. Don’t spend all of your time studying – have friends, keep in touch with your
family, and find interests outside of school that you can pursue and enjoy.

Finding balance isn’t really something that can be taught, it’s something that comes with
experience and simply living. But you can work to try and keep your health and body
balanced, by doing what you already know – exercise regularly and eat right. There are no
shortcuts to health. Vitamins and herbs might help you in the short-term, but they’re not
substitute for real, regular meals and a dose of exercise every now and again (walking to
class is a start, but only if you’re spending an hour or two a day doing it).

Look at vitamins and herbs as they are intended — as supplements to your regular, healthy
diet. Common herbs — such as ginkgo, ginseng, and gotu kola — may help you enhance
mental abilities, including concentration, aptitude, behavior, alertness and even intelligence.
But they may not, either, and you shouldn’t rely on them instead of studying regularly.

10. Know what the expectations are for the class.

Different professors and teachers have different expectations from their students. While
taking good notes and listening in class (and attending as many of the classes as you can)
are good starts, you can do one better by spending some time with the instructor or
professor’s assistant. Talking to the instructor early on – especially if you foresee a difficult
course ahead – will help you understand the course requirements and the professor’s
expectations. Maybe most students in the class are expected to get a “C” because the
material is so difficult; knowing that ahead of time helps set your expectations, too.

Pay attention in class. If the instructor writes something on the whiteboard or displays it on
the screen, it’s important. But if they say something, that’s important too. Copy these things
down as they’re presented, but don’t zone out completely from what the instructor is also
saying. Some students focus on the written materials without regard for what the instructor
is saying. If you write down only one aspect of the professor’s instructions (e.g., just what
they write down), you’re probably missing about half the class.

If you get a particularly bad grade on a paper or exam, talk to the instructor. Try and
understand where things went wrong, and what you can do in the future to help reduce it
from happening again.
Don’t forget to learn!
Studying isn’t just about passing an exam, as most students look at it as. Studying is an
effort to actually learn things, some of which you might actually care about. So while you’ll
have to take your share of classes that have little or nothing to do with your interests, you
should still look for interesting things to take away from every experience.

By the time you’ll realize what a great opportunity school is, you’ll be well into the middle of
your life with a lot of responsibilities — children, mortgages, career pressures, etc. Then
most people have neither the time nor energy to go back to school. So take the time to learn
some stuff now, because you’ll appreciate the opportunity later on.