School can often be challenging to manage with all the new information to learn. However, fortunately using a few simple tips can make it easier. Giving yourself timely breaks, making the right type of notes, and having some snacks are great study hacks.
An excellent place to start is with a daily schedule that includes regular breaks. Plan out your day, but don’t overwhelm yourself. During your breaks, stay hydrated, and don’t skip a meal. One of the best ways to prepare yourself for school is by taking care of your body. That includes sleep.
There are a lot more tips to make your study life easier. From chewing gum to the scent of peppermint and color-coding, your work is also worth trying. Everyone has their own methods, and you must try to see which of this works best for you.
1. Make Your Notes Work For You
Making notes is one of the most popular and efficient ways of making your school life easier. However, notes can be made in a variety of different ways. Some people are more color-oriented, so their notes can have different pens and highlight colors. Others can work better with doodles, diagrams, or mind-maps.
Point being notes can be made in a million different ways, and all you must do is find what works best for you. Try experimenting with different kinds of notes, and you will soon figure it out. This tip also goes for organizing them, so find the best way which works for you when it comes to organizing and storing/saving them.
2. Focus on Font
Fonts make up the content and text that you read, therefore it’s crucial that the font you choose to type out or write your notes is easy to read.
Times New Roman is often considered the easiest font to read. Which is why it’s always used in most documents as a standard. Apart from that, fonts also help establish hierarchy in text, which helps you understand which part of the text is important, which are the headings, and what should be read in what order.
However, fonts such as Times New Roman are a standard, but it doesn’t mean you can’t pick something else. Go through the list of fonts on your computer and pick the easiest to read ones for making your notes.
3. Color Coding
Color-coding might not be everyone’s favorite way of making notes or making their school life easier. However nevertheless, it’s a highly effective way of doing so among most students.
You can color-code just about anything in your school life. You can color-code text and notebooks with highlighters, pens, and colored pencils.
Color-coding can help students identify between different concepts and ideas and group them up into different categories. It also works mathematically by helping students organize their thinking, along with being able to make their thinking visible to others and make connections.
4. Treat Yourself
That’s right, treat yourself! Studies have shown a boost in enjoyment and motivation during work if you reward yourself.
The milestones you set for yourself must be realistic, so you can achieve them in a timely way and then give yourself a small reward. As an example, if you’ve successfully completed 3 hours of studying without being distracted by your phone, head out and treat yourself with some ice cream!
5. Smell Association
While this may sound a little weird, smell helps recall association and can bring back memories.
Scents tend to bypass our thalamus and directly go into the brain’s smell center, which is known as the olfactory bulb. This is connected to the amygdala and hippocampus, which is why smell can immediately trigger a memory or a detail associated with it.
Smells such as lemon, rosemary, and peppermint have shown to improve concentration. They can help to refresh the mind and even boost energy. Rosemary has also been shown to help clear your mind.
6. Choose Appropriate Study Times
Studying for a shorter interval at the right time can be a lot more productive than long hours at the wrong time. Avoid trying to study when you’ve had an exhausting day or if you’re sleepy and heading to bed.
A bad mood or being hungry are also other examples of times when you should not push yourself to the study desk. Choosing the ideal and right time is critical and can make all the difference.
7. Have Brain Fuel
That’s right! Have some snacks lying around for you to munch on. Having a solid breakfast, lunch, or dinner is very important and will enormously impact your studying.
For sure, having some snacks while you study is a good way to boost your mind. Different kinds of snacks work for different people. For some, Hot Cheetos are the way to go, while carrots are the best for others. Maybe, you just need coffee! The idea is, you’ll have to figure out what works best for you.
However, having some sort of fuel for your brain and a little boost of sugar can help you stay active, productive, and efficient.
8. Take Regular Breaks
A common mistake is expecting that you will be able to study for 4 hours without a break. Refusing to take breaks will simply overwhelm you, taking down your productivity.
Instead, try to break your time down into smaller intervals. Such as, every 20 minutes, give yourself a 5-minute break. This allows for you to check your phone, call anyone back, or do anything else.
You can also extend these breaks longer, such as every hour give yourself 20 minutes to relax or catch a quick show on Netflix while you have lunch.
9. Drink Something Warm
This doesn’t mean that you head down to your kitchen and start chugging a hot mug of coffee. Having a warm drink next to you, for sipping is a great way to soothe yourself while also helping you concentrate on your work.
It can be warm tea, hot cocoa, or anything else which you might prefer. The calmness and soothing warmth translate into your work as well.
10. Your Music Matters
Just how the wrong beat can mess up the vibe at a party, similarly the music, you listen to while studying can have the right (or wrong) impact on your concentration.
Quiet music tends to work better when it comes to studying, compared to loud tunes. Instrumental music is also an effective and popular option for people to play in the background as they study.
It’s also been found that songs with lyrics tend to distract you from your work. However, this can depend on person to person – some people can listen to all sorts of music when studying, while some can only listen to instrumentals, while some need complete silence.
Work out whatever’s best for you, there’s no rule!
11. Try a Change Of Scenery
Try to change your study spot! Studying in the same room all the time can quickly start to become monotonous. This boredom can make you feel tired quickly, sleepy, and just bored.
Try going to the park or the library if you prefer quiet places, or a cafe if you have no problem with some background noise. Switching study spots is a great way to get a breath of fresh air and a change, which are both important to stay effective and interested.
12. Cover Difficult Information
Find something difficult and want to leave it for later? No worries. Simply use anything such as a sticky note to cover the hard parts and read around them. You can cover everything else on the textbook which is related to that part while not coming directly into contact with it.
Once you’re ready again, you can take the sticky note off and give it another shot.
13. Chew Your Favorite Gum
You read that right! Indeed, you can chew your favorite gum while you study. Studies have shown that chewing gum before an exam tends to help you remember and retain information. Therefore, it helps you boost your exam scores.
You can chew gum about 5 minutes before the exam, but not during the exam itself.
14. Use Diagrams
Diagrams are another great way of retaining more information and give you the opportunity to come back to them for later. The layout and arrows in a diagram make it easy for your brain to navigate through everything, making you remember everything better.
They can also help you recall information faster and better, just by remembering the diagram.
15. Start Studying on Time
The answer is simple – don’t procrastinate! Having a schedule is the first step to getting your study routine in line. Next, don’t waste time. There are a few productive hours in the day, so use them!
Set small intervals of study with breaks involved. However, use the time to maximum efficiency when you’re studying to make the most out of your study session.