How to study effectively for the exam in a short time
Do not worry! Do not at all!
Yes, do not worry if you have your exams ahead and you haven’t studied that much throughout the year. Students not only have exams to give, but they also have multiple assignments, projects, and co-curricular activities to perform in this period. Besides all this, they want to get along with their social life. so it gets difficult sometimes to prepare from start.
But there are a lot of things which you can do to study effectively and smartly in a short time as well. The key to success is to know how to study smarter. Your entire focus should be on methods of how to study effectively and smartly in the minimum time which is left.
Topmost eight tips to study smart and effectively
Here are tips guiding about how to study smart:
1. Opt for different ways to learn the same thing:
For better understanding and retaining information, it is necessary to study with an activated brain. The use of different mediums can stimulate different parts of the brain result in brain activating and thus increase the chances of greater performance.
Different ways of learning are:
- Go through the notes you have made during lectures.
- Speak out loud every necessary detail to retain.
- Brainstorm little after every learned thing.
- Teach others what you have learned. Group study is the best way.
- Practice on different internet sources.
2. Create and stick with your study schedule:
You need to sort chapters first based on importance and marks weightage in exams. Then according to your understanding level, you have to set a specific time for each individual. You can start with easy chapters first to solve the problem of how to motivate yourself to study. Going through the chapters that you find easy will give you a good pace and keeps you motivated enough. This way you would be able to give more time and exertions for the preparation of difficult ones.
3. There should be a continuous shift in subjects according to type:
Studying one thing in continuity for a longer period makes you bore. Don’t bore and piss yourself off, keep shifting among the subjects.
Like if you are preparing for a numerical-based subject, then after a few hours or days as per time left, shift to other theoretical subjects.
- Numerical and calculations based subjects
- Subjects need to be memorize
- Integration based
These are the types through which you can categorize your subjects and can switch to other.
4. How to study faster?
For this, practice memorizing tips more often:
picture credits: stock.adobe.com
Our brain gets offended when we overload it with extra information. To protect our ability to remember things, the brain stores every newly learned thing for a shorter period in short term memory.
According to “the Ebbinghaus forgetting” concept:
After an hour of learning or listening to something, our brain forgets half of it. After a week, it keeps us with only 20% of that information or data.
To avoid this forgetting, we need to learn, recall, and repeat it again and again. Picture credits: quora.com
Do these, and get the power of retaining to study effectively in a short time:
- Focus more on understanding rather than just memorizing:
If you understand something, there is a possibility of learning it 9 times faster than usual.
- Try to remember organized information through mind mapping:
Connecting information in an order or pattern hypothetically helps you to recall it. you will probably never forget things if you use the mind map palace technique.
Imagining a physical building with connected rooms helps you to store memory. store it in each room and remember them in your brain later by walking in rooms.
- Observe and try to identify your comfort zone or style of memorizing things:
Some people can learn faster while doing something else like watching tv or listening to the radio. Some can learn while reading a book together. Some prefer complete silence and an isolated environment to keep their focus intact.
- Audio information works best for some people:
listening an audio clip on repetition, makes it store in your brain for long term.you can use portable audio recorder for this. In Fact,everyone has smartphones, use them for this purpose too. Now a days studying on whatsapp groups is so in. Record audio clips and share it with your mates in these groups to recall everything much faster. This method works best for students who can learn audio information much faster.
5. Take regular breaks after intervals or as per need:
In terms of study, your overall productivity enhances and your focus improves when you take regular breaks in between (Ariga & Lleras, 2011)
The idea of getting yourself involved in studies eight hours straight is not a good idea. If you are studying for an exam, taking gaps are necessary to avoid stress and overloading of information. passing 8 hours will make you feel that you have done a lot but taking 10 to 15 minutes breaks after fixed intervals will help in a better way.
During these breaks avoid using phones and screen time to give complete rest to your mind and body.
6. Problems will make you learn more:
For technical and calculation based courses like mathematics and statistical inference, working and reworking on problems give you a good practice of that subject.
These subjects demand more practice which can only be done if you don’t run away from problem-solving questions.
Write down all the important details about problem-solving questions that your instructor is demonstrating while attending the lecture. Ask questions if you are stuck somewhere and confused about the method.
When preparing for the exam day, collect and compile all the questions from lectures, and provided material guide.
7. Keep testing yourself:
It has been proven that self-testing is very important in terms of improving your academic skills and performance.
Just passively reading your lecture notes or your textbook is not enough. Be a smart learner and test yourself on important concepts and equations. There is no fixed way of testing yourself. You can do it in your way until you get satisfied with your learnings.
8. Reward yourself to stay motivated:
Rewarding and treating yourself is a fun thing to do during exams and its stress. It keeps you motivated and you just want to get done with your targeted work to enjoy the thing which you love.
When you are going to start a study session, fix a specific reward for covering the specified part of the syllabus. By setting rewards, you will be able to push up your memory and learning eventually.
Picture credits: brightermonday.com
Your rewards can be very simple according to what you like:
- Short walk particularly on wet grass if possible
- Listening to your much-loved singer
- Yoga, more precisely baby pose or dead pose to relax
- Munching on your favorite snack
- Have a little talk with your bestie
- Taking a hot bath or anything you like
You will be able to study effectively at home this way. you will be more productive and smart learner in the greed of these interesting little things.
DON’TS TO CONSIDER WHILE PREPARING FOR IN EXAM IN SHORT PERIOD:
- Don’t take much longer breaks. They will make you lose your interest when you will sit again to study. Your half-watched tv show, a half-listened album of your favourite singer will keep you distracted for long and you will start wanting it more.
- Don’t consider yourself ready for an exam until you revise and take your little test.
- Don’t multitask. Not everyone that claims to be a multitasker is good at multitasking for real. Sometimes it makes you less dynamic and more distracted.
CHANGES IN LIFESTYLE OR HABITS THAT WILL HELP YOU IN MAINTAINING YOUR FOCUS:
There are a lot of things one can do before exams to get good grades. Doing it at the last minute is a possible thing to do. so don’t stress yourself if you haven’t studied throughout.
There is No best way that fits all. Everyone is different and has a different pace and every technique works differently for everyone. Don’t try to do everything together in one go. Take your time and move ahead with your own speed.
Note to consider here, make efforts at your fullest but don’t get upset if you don’t get your desired outcomes. Do not cage yourself with the obsession of straight As. Education is not only about grades. it is way more than that.
Be happy, stay positive, and don’t stress out yourself before exams. Your mental health is a very important thing. You can and you will make it happen. Believe in you.
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