In this article, I’m sharing a guide with the 10 most important study habits you need to adopt to make the most of your study time and become a super student.
These habits include setting a study schedule, tracking study time, and studying daily. You should also prioritize tasks, set daily goals, and study from textbooks. Additionally, summarizing problem sets, maintaining silence while studying, repeating aloud when memorizing, and asking your professors for help with doubts are all extremely helpful.
Keep reading, and I’ll go into detail on each of these tips.
1. Set a Study Schedule
Having a fixed study schedule every day or on certain days of the week will help you a lot. Your mind will get used to the fact that on specific days and times, it’s study time.
Why does this happen? Because you’ll be creating a habit. I highly recommend the book Atomic Habits by James Clear (check price on Amazon!), which explains how to leverage habits to improve your life.
2. Track Your Study Time
Sometimes you start your study session and get interrupted, or you interrupt yourself. The ideal thing is to keep track on paper of how much time you dedicate to studying each day. Based on that time and the results, you’ll be able to determine whether you need to study more or less.
I recommend reviewing the Pomodoro Technique, which can be really helpful.
And just a reminder, at Mentes Liberadas, you have an online timer to apply the Pomodoro Technique.
3. Study Every Day
The best study habit of all is studying every day. This will help you stay on top of your subjects and prevent you from having to cram everything at the last minute.
4. Set Priorities
It’s not productive to spend hours studying topics that aren’t significant in the syllabus. There might be more important areas you should focus on.
You need to set priorities, keeping in mind the 80/20 rule, which states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your effort.
5. Meet Daily Goals
It’s not helpful to study a fixed number of hours every day. Some days you’ll need to study more, and others less. How can you determine that?
Create a study plan that includes weeks and days. For each day, write down how much progress you need to make in each subject and aim to complete it.
I can tell you this is one of the most important study habits, yet many students overlook it.
6. Study from Textbooks
A textbook contains the concepts you’re studying. Although some subjects may have different approaches, generally, any textbook will be a reliable source of reference. That’s why it’s so important to value them.
Of course, you can rely on class notes and the texts provided for studying, but textbooks are irreplaceable.
I recommend checking out the article Studying from Textbooks, where I focus exclusively on this topic.
7. Summarize the Problem Sets
Track which exercises you were able to solve and which ones you couldn’t. Get statistics on how well you’re solving them.
On Mentes Liberadas, we’ve already covered 10 Problem Set Tips Every College Student Needs to Know for Success! If you’re studying subjects like Math, Physics, or Chemistry, I highly recommend reading that article.
8. Study in Silence
External noise is distracting, and so is music. Ideally, you should study in silence, but we all know that can sometimes feel monotonous. So, the best approach is to find a balance.
For easier topics, you can study with background music, but for harder ones, it’s better to study in silence to focus more effectively.
9. Repeat Out Loud
If you need to study a text, a great way to learn and internalize it is by repeating it out loud as if you were explaining the concepts to someone else.
However, keep in mind that it’s not good to study everything by heart.
10. Don’t Let Doubts Linger
It’s common for something to be unclear at times. You should write down those questions and make sure to clarify them before exams.
You can ask in class and resolve your doubts with professors, classmates, or from books, but one thing is clear: you need to resolve them before the exams, or you won’t be putting in 100% effort.
Tips That Should Become Study Habits
Apply these tips regularly so they become your main study habits. By doing so, you’ll improve your performance, whether you’re studying in school or at college.
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