Top 10 Study Tips for a Successful School Year

Studying smart is better than studying hard, so give yourself heads up with a studied approach

Adopting right study methods and best practices are critical if you’re going to make the best of your schoolingOften, we see that some students outperform others in terms of mastering a subject and scoring in exams.

The general notion about this disparity in results is that some students are more intellectually gifted than the others. Though, there might be some role of the intellect in getting the grasp of a subject, but a lot of other factors also play important results in helping a student do well.

Studying well is a skill or a set of skills that needs to be honed with consistent efforts, which involves understanding ones strengths and weakness, finding out what works for you and what doesn’t as well as setting up a conducive environment.

Though, most successful students acquire and use certain skills but there is no “one size fits all” method that will suit everyone. There might be certain tricks and tips of mastering a subject but even those need to be customised by the student based on what suits him or her.

What are study skills?

Studying is an important process of acquiring knowledge and ability to do well in life and like many other things it requires certain life skills that can be useful in other fields of life.

Here is a list of best skills and practices that can help you stay on top:

Timetable

Time is the most important gift that we have. Those who manage their time effectively are among the most successful people on earth. Same, holds true for students. Each student has the same 24 hours in a day and the same seven days in a week, the smartest learners are those who make the best use of the time available to them.

Optimal management of time doesn’t just mean being punctual but designing your schedule in a way that helps you cover all of your bases while getting the best grasp of the subjects.

Allot dedicated time for studies. Some students find night time best, while others choose early morning. This entirely depends on your personality type and when you are more comfortable. But, please ensure that you don’t study too late in the night. This will make you tired in the day and cause you to lose focus.

Organise

Best way to study is by organising your study. An organised person has a better chance at succeeding in a job than the one who is less organised or does things randomly.

By organised study we mean having all your study material in order and having them accessibly placed. 

This also means you develop a system of working with different subjects. 

This also means identifying your strengths and weaknesses so that you could give more time to areas that need more attention.

This also means identifying the key topics or concepts and allowing appropriate time to each one of them in your daily or weekly schedule.

Notes

Note taking is an important skill to have for a student. Either you are taking information from the board or taking dictations from your teacher, develop skills to take note efficiently and clearly. Notes should be clean and well organised so that you can refer to them whenever you can without struggling to understand what is written.

Noting down important points while listening to lectures as well as while reading from textbooks could also be helpful. This will help you organise important points of a topic at one location.

Science tells us that taking down notes also helps drive the information deeper into your brain.

Writing

Writing is an important tool of learning and a great skill to have. It is a skill that can be developed by practically doing it. If you develop good writing skills and learn to put your thoughts in good words and sentences it will help you score well.

Even otherwise, writing down what you have studied helps you analyse how well you have understood the concept and how well you have transferred that on to the paper. It will also help you identify the gaps and help you to write better answers.

Space

As with time, allocation of dedicated space is also highly essential for effective studies. However, this could be different for different students. Some students do well studying in the library or in a group, while others prefer the confines of their bedrooms or their private desk. 

Whatever the case, design your space the way you like it and choose the time that best suits you and stick to it.

It is best to have a properly organised private study desk, with easy access to books and stationary. Decorate the surroundings with your favourite items, it could be pictures, trophies, paintings or books. Being surrounded by your favourite stuff in your custom designed environment, helps to stay you motivated.

The space you locate the desk at should ensure considerable privacy and should be free of distraction

Study Daily

The best way to learn and retain what you have learnt is to study daily from the beginning of the year. Rather than cramming all the stuff in the last minute, it is better that you study a little every day so that you are continuously in touch with the lessons, giving you a better grasp of the subject.

Regular daily study helps you remain on top of the game and ahead of others. It will also help you understand the concepts rather than relying entirely on your memory to recall the details.

This will also lessen your burden and reduce the pressure of acquiring more in less time, helping you enjoy the process of learning.

Studying a little everyday will also give you enough time to enjoy all the other good things and will help you have a stress free life.

To begin with yo can allot just an hour or two daily, either before going to bed or early in the morning, whatever suits you best. As you move ahead, you can increase the duration of study to ensure you are doing justice to the volume of the lessons learnt.

This might mean you will have to temporarily cut down on other less important activities, including screen time. But, if you do that, at the end of the year you will realise that the sacrifice was worth it.

Plan

No mission, project or goal is achieved without having a proper plan. But, a plan works only if you use the right tools and adopt the best practices that will help you achieve the goal.

• Reminders – Whatever your plan, set alarms to constantly remind you about your tasks. Regular reminders will help you stay on track.
• Calendar– They say, out of sight is out of mind. It is highly important to have a well designed calendar stuck on the wall in front of your desk, so that your plan is in front of your eyes every moment. Design it in a way that it shows you important dates and deadlines, including your daily timetable.
• To-do – When your goal is big and your aim is high, it helps you to break it down into small, manageable and measurable tasks. Making a weekly to-do list will give you clarity about the tasks ahead and the time in hand. Ticking the boxes once the task are done also gives you a sense of achievement and shows you where you stand. Doing this will also protect you from getting overwhelmed by the enormity of the goal.
• Deadlines – Having a deadline gives you a sense of urgency and helps you stay on track. It’s easy to make the lists and design a schedule, but if you don’t give yourself realistic deadlines there is a chance that you might slack and the study gets dragged far beyond the time and effort it needs.

Learning style

Each one of us is unique with a personality type, a set of aptitudes, preferences and inclinations. This also means we have a preferred way of learning based on our nature.

If you want to make sure your learning is effective then try to find out what learning style is most suitable for you.

From auditory and visual to kinaesthetic and literary there are various styles of learning and if you adopt the style best suited for your personality type then there is a greater chance of you learning more and better with little effort and time.

However, these are just suggestions, may be none of these works for you. If you have your own unique style that works for you, please stick to it.

• Auditory learnersare those who remember best by listening. For such people reading out loud or discussing the subject with others helps. Many auditory learners also like to record key points and listen to them regularly, which helps them retain the concept in a better way.
• Visual learnersprefer to learn by seeing. Images are profound and some people are more inclined towards imagery than others. For those to whom images help remember a concept better could us colours in their notes or draw diagrams to help represent key points. You could also try remembering some ideas as images.
• Kinaesthetic learnersprefer to learn through action. There are people who are naturally very active and can’t stay still. For such people studying for long hours sitting at a desk is highly difficult. Such people can try learning by applying the concepts practically. They also try using techniques such as role-playing or building models to understand and remember key points.

Revise

With all your efforts, plans and zeal to go ahead, it is essential to look back and revise regularly. Learning new concepts everyday and adding more and more information into your memory could sometimes mean the older information slips out, gets mixed up or blurred. Brushing up on what you have learnt, at least once in a week, helps you retain the concepts and facts longer.

This could be done in a fun way. You can have your co-learner to quiz each other on what has been learnt in the previous week. This could also help both the learners correct mistakes and learn from each other. 

Take breaks

 In order to stay fresh and on top of your game, taking regular breaks is highly essential. 

Studying long hours continuously could be really exhausting and could decrease your performance in the longer run, hence it is essential to take intermittent breaks. Take a nap, listen to some soothing music, play a game or do anything that helps you relax.

Taking a walk in the park or doing some exercise can also revitalise you and get you going once again with greater energy.