5 Techniques to Study More Efficiently

Have you ever gotten discouraged by the fact that you studied so hard and still failed a test or got a rather low grade? The thing is, no matter how much time students spend on learning, it all depends on the methods they apply.
​
Some things can be delegated to a service where you can pay to write essay, especially if the assignment doesn’t align with your education goals. However, the rest should be remembered and comprehended. So, how do you do it?

Have Short Sessions

Long hours of going through books and notes usually lead to quick burnout. Yet, “short” doesn’t mean you should spend 20 minutes a day preparing for your exams. Have several short sessions during the day or pick several hours in the evening and alternate between chores and studies.

When you get stuck with a task and see that nothing helps, it’s time to take a break. Your mind needs to get distracted completely. So, when it becomes tough, focus on other important things you had for today:

• call your parents;
• do the laundry;
• throw away the trash;
• organize your working place;
• take a walk, whatever. 

Just put the assignment away and let your mind process it in the background. It will help you steer clear from useless attempts to stubbornly solve the problem and save your time.

Revise What You Learned

Even if your study session was successful, don’t neglect to revise what you processed. Otherwise, the information will stay in your short-term memory for a while and will be gone in a week or so.

If you have a schedule (which is also good practice), choose a couple of days when you have to revisit key topics on different subjects. Go back to the previous material regularly. Studying something for the first time takes more time than revision. Yet, the revision is 50% of success, if not more.

Apply your knowledge in practice, check whether you still can solve a problem similar to the one from your homework pay to write essay, or remember a fact. If you can’t, write down the points you stumble upon and work on them after the revision.

List Your Weaknesses and Strengths

Some topics are easy to comprehend, or you may know one better and deeper since you got a chance to devote more time to it. It’s okay. However, always take notes of what material you know the worst.

Murphy’s law never sleeps, and such material is something you’ll probably have on your test or exam. Finally, some topics can be barely comprehensible if you don’t get to learn the basics. So, go through that material when you have a chance.
​
Don’t forget to list your strengths as well. It’s easy to get discouraged over one simple topic you failed to process, especially when everyone around you managed to do it. Still, brace yourself and write down what you already managed to learn to get motivated.

​Eat the Elephant One Bite at a Time

Huge tasks or long-term goals can scare anyone unless they are aware of the “elephant” concept. Whatever assignment you have, split it into parts. For instance, when writing an essay, one usually starts with an outline and then proceeds with sections or ideas that should be covered.
​
The same refers to any task - before even starting completing it, write an outline of how you are going to complete it. Then go step by step. When written down, the stages look more precise and specific. You always know what to do, which makes the process less chaotic.
​
Moreover, with this approach, you can see the results of your work regularly, which is a good motivation. On the other hand, when there is no plan for the process, you may jump from one thing to another and, in the end, get tired and give up.

Study With Other Students

Going through the material alone is not helpful if you have some questions only a human can answer. In case you struggle to understand a concept or method, googling and reading a number of forums and articles may only steal your time.
​
Meanwhile, when studying with a couple of your classmates, you can ask the question instantly and probably receive the answer. There will be rare cases when all of you cannot find the solution. Still, it’s much easier and quicker to search for information on different sources together.
​
Remember that it’s not about having fun and talking about irrelevant stuff. You can have a break during the study session for this purpose, but still, you should focus on the material. 
Retell the information in simple words - which is one more effective technique you can use to memorize important things - or test each other. To make the process less boring, you can write down specific questions and pass them to your classmates to answer them in rounds one by one.

To Sum Up

Studies are not the funniest period of anyone’s life, but they can be less boring and more effective if you approach them right. The most important thing is to analyze what techniques you’re already using are not fruitful. Replace them with those that won’t make you exhausted and will improve your learning.