With the end of the year approaching quicker than we’d like to admit, it’s normal for study schedules to become a little more full-on. After all, you’re finishing up all your assessments and prepping for exams (at least, we hope you are), so it’s no surprise that you have to spend a few more hours hitting the books!
However, here at Explore Careers, we believe in working smarter. In short, developing a super-effective study method that allows you a little more free time to do the things you love! Our guide to studying tips and motivation will set you up with helpful study methods, different types of studying skills and tonnes of study hacks to make your life just that little bit easier.
How To Study
Before diving into our top study tips and motivation, we need to make sure you know the basics and the best way to start is with the different types of study skills! Check these out to discover your strengths (and what you might need to work on, too).
#1 Time Management
The best study hack out there is simply to manage your time. If you’ve planned out which subjects need to be prioritised and how to split your time between classes, you’re already one step ahead. What’s more, time management is also a fantastic soft skill to list on your resume when you’re ready to join the workforce (that’s right, this study skill could help you land a job)!
#2 Note Taking
Have you ever planned to spend an entire day studying, but as soon as you opened your study materials you realised that you never actually took any notes? We’ve all been there, but by working on your note-taking study skill, you never have to deal with that issue again. What’s more, it’s also a study skill that will come in handy when (or if) you end up at university!
#3 Active Listening
When you practice active listening in class, you’ll take in more information and, thus, need to study a lot less when test season comes into full swing. After all, those who don’t listen in class are basically starting from zero when it comes to studying. However, students who have mastered this helpful study skill will be miles ahead before they even start to revise!
#4 Stress Management
Let’s face it: the end of the year is when assignments and exams really start to pile up, so you’ll want to make sure you’re taking care of your mental health and wellbeing to make it through. Stress affects our bodies in tonnes of different ways (and when it comes to high-stress levels, none of these effects are good). To keep you feeling your best, and consequently, studying your best, make sure your mental health is well looked after.
#5 Consistency
While we’d love to believe that it does, one cram session per fortnight isn’t going to cut it. To succeed in our studies, we need to utilise multiple study skills, employ helpful study methods, and do so consistently. Otherwise, it’s super easy for our brains to forget the information we just learned (and who wants to do it all over again?).
Helpful Study Methods
The SQ3R Study Method
If you’ve researched helpful study methods in the past, the SQ3R method is likely one you’ve come across; and for good reason, too! This method covers the five steps of the reading comprehension process for a more efficient and effective study session
Step One: Survey
The first step, survey, includes skimming the content you’re revising and taking notes on headings, subheadings and charts (rather than reading the whole piece).
Step Two: Question
After completing the revision step, it’s time to start forming questions about the content. These can be as simple as ‘What is this content about,’ or ‘What do I already know about the content.’
Step Three: Read
During step three, you begin reading the content properly and answering any of the questions you formulated during step two.
Step Four: Recite
After reading it all back, summarise the content section by section. Use your own words and attempt to recall and identify major points in the text.
Step Five: Review
This is the part where you really lock in that knowledge! Review the material you just went over to fully understand it and let it sink into your brain. Quiz yourself on any of the questions you created and re-read any sections you need to.
Retrieval Practice
If you find yourself struggling to recall what you’ve studied at a later time, retrieval practice is the study method for you! It’s all about remembering what you studied and improving active recall, so it’s a must for exam prep!
Use Practice Tests
Whether you’re making the most of practice tests you found online or creating your own, testing your knowledge (without referring to your study materials) is going to be super helpful when it comes to the day of your actual test.
Craft Unique Questions
By coming up with some tricky and unique questions about your study material, you’ll be prepared for anything! It can be helpful to ask friends to do the same and then swap questions – remember, a fresh perspective is always welcome.
Make Flashcards
Flashcards are a tried and true way to learn tricky terms, and we highly recommend making an in-depth set ahead of any exam or assessment. Ask your family or friends to quiz you or write down your answer before checking to see if it’s right. That way, you’ll be practising active recall (and subsequently, learning the content better)!
The Feynman Technique
The Feynman Technique is a helpful study method that helps you learn a new concept quickly by explaining it in the simplest way possible. After all, when we cover a concept in our own words, we’re much more likely to understand and retain it. If that isn’t a study hack, we don’t know what is!
Step One: Prepare
During the first stage, you simply write down the subject that you’re studying at the top of a sheet of paper before jotting down everything you already know about it. If you don’t know much, don’t stress, this stage is all about identifying what you need to work on.
Step Two: Explain
Then, using what you wrote down in step one, attempt to explain the concept to someone else who doesn’t know anything about it. Use your own words and keep it simple.
Step Three: Assess and Study
Once you’ve finished ‘teaching’ your student, identify what areas you aren’t as confident talking about and study them until you’re left with in-depth knowledge and the confidence to talk about them to others.
How to Find Motivation to Study
Once you have some helpful study methods under your belt, the hardest part is simply starting! Finding motivation to study isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be impossible, either. Follow these top tips to get motivated today:
- Plan what you need to cover
- Set attainable goals
- Start with the easiest task
- Use study methods that suit you
- Schedule study time in advance
- Study in a clean workspace
- Remove any distractions
- Reward yourself for hard work
- Study with your friends
- Take regular study breaks (Discover how to know when to take a study break to learn more about this one!)
Remember, You’ve Got This!
Now that you’re armed with all of our helpful study tips and motivation, it’s time to hit the books! However, if you’re already ahead, it might be time to start thinking about next year’s subject selection process, and we’ve got an article for just that. Head over to Findex’s Guide to High School Subject Selection and curate your dream timetable for next year!
