Since high school started, I've learned a few things about studying and thought I would share. Here are my top 10 studying tips!
1. Listen to music. It helps tune out other distractions, especially if it's instrumental or a song you don't know well. Turn it to whatever volume you prefer: I like mine in the middle, because loud makes it hard to concentrate and when it's too soft I strain to listen instead of working.
2. Break. The way I break up my studying is by doing homework for thirty minutes and breaking for anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes, depending on the amount of work I have. During that time I go on instagram, tumblr, or I get up and walk around.
3. Ask for help. Sometimes you don't have time to copy down the homework or don't understand the way the teacher explained the lesson. Don't be afraid to ask a friend for help! As long as you're not asking for the answer, only an explanation, it's not cheating. My friends have helped me a ton by explaining things I don't understand.
4. Know what your teacher wants. Let's be honest: if your teacher wants you to copy straight out of the book, you can do that. If your teacher wants you to use your own words, do so. Follow their preferences of how to do your homework and it can potentially create less work for you.
5. Study all week. Test on Friday? Start studying Monday or Tuesday. You won't regret it. There is nothing more stressful than doing an entire project or cramming for a test the night before--or worse, the morning of. I've been there and can say it's awful. If you study all week, you might not even have to study at all the day before!
6. Make time for yourself. Maybe it sounds cliche or insignificant, but it's actually really important--especially if, like me, you get stressed easily. Read a book, watch a movie, write a blog post (this one has been a work in progress for a few days)...do something for you at least once a day. If that means waking up 15 minutes early or staying up 10 minutes late to take a little longer in the shower or write an email to a friend, it's worth it.
7. Weekends are for chilling out. Do your weekend homework ON FRIDAY. I always try to reserve Saturday and Sunday for family and friends. Who wants to worry about homework on a beautiful Sunday afternoon? Not me, for sure.
8. Push yourself, but know your limits. Don't be afraid to do the maximum--in fact, go for it! But if you don't have time or really can't think of enough information to write 10 pages, don't worry. Maybe you're really good at history but can't write fiction to save your life. Make your history summary the maximum amount and be excited that you know the information! Your short story is a minimum of 4 pages? Try for 4 and a half and don't beat yourself up over it.
9. Eliminate distractions. There is a mirror that I keep on my desk which serves as a handy tool for when I do my makeup in the morning, but once the music turns on and I start my homework, it's only useful for helping me think my life is a music video, and that's not great for my focus. Now it has a spot on my dresser in the afternoon for this very reason.
10. It's okay to have bad days. We all do and it's fine. You might even have a bad week. The math lesson didn't make sense and you got a C on the quiz, or your English homework fell out of your binder and is lying on your floor. Most teachers are understanding and though they probably won't let you turn it in for full credit, if you're normally good about turning in your work they're not likely to get mad.
There should probably be an 11, which is don't blog while you should be working on homework, but this post was long overdue and I'm nearly done anyway. Thanks for reading, everyone! See you next week--and that's a promise, as it will be my Thanksgiving break.
Hopefully my iPhoto will be up and running again soon (we got a new computer, yay!) so there can be more than just me jabbering on forever.
-Blue
1. Listen to music. It helps tune out other distractions, especially if it's instrumental or a song you don't know well. Turn it to whatever volume you prefer: I like mine in the middle, because loud makes it hard to concentrate and when it's too soft I strain to listen instead of working.
2. Break. The way I break up my studying is by doing homework for thirty minutes and breaking for anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes, depending on the amount of work I have. During that time I go on instagram, tumblr, or I get up and walk around.
3. Ask for help. Sometimes you don't have time to copy down the homework or don't understand the way the teacher explained the lesson. Don't be afraid to ask a friend for help! As long as you're not asking for the answer, only an explanation, it's not cheating. My friends have helped me a ton by explaining things I don't understand.
4. Know what your teacher wants. Let's be honest: if your teacher wants you to copy straight out of the book, you can do that. If your teacher wants you to use your own words, do so. Follow their preferences of how to do your homework and it can potentially create less work for you.
5. Study all week. Test on Friday? Start studying Monday or Tuesday. You won't regret it. There is nothing more stressful than doing an entire project or cramming for a test the night before--or worse, the morning of. I've been there and can say it's awful. If you study all week, you might not even have to study at all the day before!
6. Make time for yourself. Maybe it sounds cliche or insignificant, but it's actually really important--especially if, like me, you get stressed easily. Read a book, watch a movie, write a blog post (this one has been a work in progress for a few days)...do something for you at least once a day. If that means waking up 15 minutes early or staying up 10 minutes late to take a little longer in the shower or write an email to a friend, it's worth it.
7. Weekends are for chilling out. Do your weekend homework ON FRIDAY. I always try to reserve Saturday and Sunday for family and friends. Who wants to worry about homework on a beautiful Sunday afternoon? Not me, for sure.
8. Push yourself, but know your limits. Don't be afraid to do the maximum--in fact, go for it! But if you don't have time or really can't think of enough information to write 10 pages, don't worry. Maybe you're really good at history but can't write fiction to save your life. Make your history summary the maximum amount and be excited that you know the information! Your short story is a minimum of 4 pages? Try for 4 and a half and don't beat yourself up over it.
9. Eliminate distractions. There is a mirror that I keep on my desk which serves as a handy tool for when I do my makeup in the morning, but once the music turns on and I start my homework, it's only useful for helping me think my life is a music video, and that's not great for my focus. Now it has a spot on my dresser in the afternoon for this very reason.
10. It's okay to have bad days. We all do and it's fine. You might even have a bad week. The math lesson didn't make sense and you got a C on the quiz, or your English homework fell out of your binder and is lying on your floor. Most teachers are understanding and though they probably won't let you turn it in for full credit, if you're normally good about turning in your work they're not likely to get mad.
There should probably be an 11, which is don't blog while you should be working on homework, but this post was long overdue and I'm nearly done anyway. Thanks for reading, everyone! See you next week--and that's a promise, as it will be my Thanksgiving break.
Hopefully my iPhoto will be up and running again soon (we got a new computer, yay!) so there can be more than just me jabbering on forever.
-Blue
A new computer ??
ReplyDeleteIt's a desktop computer, before we've only had a laptop.
Delete