5 Tips for Studying Smarter Not Harder

Not knowing the tips for studying smarter not harder can be a drag. Especially if you spend all your time studying while still not getting good grades. It really hurts morale and just all around sucks.

But don’t worry. I am here to share 5 simple tips for studying smarter not harder that anyone can use. Let’s hop in!

1. Choose a proper location, often not your room

Choosing a proper location for studying is essential. Find somewhere that is quiet, has some natural light, and minimizes distractions. Also, consider leaving your room for studying. It can help you mentally if you reserve your room for relaxation and sleep. For example, I rarely, if ever, studied in my dorm room. I would study all around campus ranging from the library to a random booth in my university’s student center.

2. No distractions, put your phone away and on do not disturb

Make sure that you are minimizing any distractions. This will help you get focused and remain focused. Constant distractions not only hinder you from studying effectively but also cause you to take longer to study, thereby decreasing your time to do other things.

3. Study in 30-minute to 1-hour increments

Studying for long periods of time without breaks might sound like it’s necessary, but it is quite the opposite. Studying for shorter periods with integrated brakes allows you to review material and give yourself time to “digest” it for long-term use. Studying in increments also can decrease the likelihood of burnout and the feeling of being “brain-dead” as you study.

Read More: Use The Pomodoro Method To Enhance Your Studying

4. Take Real Breaks

Taking breaks goes hand-in-hand with studying in increments. When you take a break, try and leave the area where you are studying. Go for a walk, sit outside and watch an episode of something, or play a video game for a few minutes. Remove yourself from the studying environment and give your brain a chance to absorb all the information that you were just studying. Depending on how I felt about the material I was studying, I would either take a short break and go get a snack or take a long break and go for a long walk around campus. I felt revitalized after taking walks and giving myself the opportunity to recharge. I think it also allowed me to study less since I retained stuff around the first or second study session and did not push myself too far.

5. Study one topic at a time

Do NOT mix topics when studying! This goes with tips #3 and #4. Study one topic at a time for a certain period, take a break, then when ready move on to another topic. This keeps you from getting what I like to call foggy brain. Foggy brain is when you know the information but cannot remember what class to place it with; a foggy brain is very common in college since we have a lot of classes that relate.

For example, as a business and economics major, I had a lot of classes talking about profits, but the definition of profit is different depending on what class I was studying. Let’s say I was studying financial accounting and then moved into studying economics. With a foggy brain, I would not be able to place the proper definition because I created no separation when studying. Compound this idea with all your other classes and it can become a big issue come test time.

6. Bonus tip: Change locations when you change topics

This is something I did not really discover until my junior year, and man do I wish I started practicing this earlier. Having a different location for each topic allows you to better associate learning information in a more effective and efficient manner. Think about it, when you go to the library to study, your brain is preparing itself to learn and retain information because you associate studying with the library.

This tip is just taking that idea a bit farther. For example, for my economics classes, I would study in rooms in my business school. When I moved on to something like psychology, I would go to the library. Likewise, when I would study Spanish, I would sit outside and study. Each topic had a location and it allowed me to shift my brain to that topic when I reached that location. It really allowed me to focus and retain information better. Gosh, I wish I started doing that earlier!

Putting It All Together

Implementing these tips in your studying arsenal can be a great help for when it becomes midterms and finals season. Knowing how to study and what works best for you is an integral skill that needs to be developed in college.

What are your thoughts? Do you have any tips for studying smarter not harder that you want to share? Share them in the comments below!

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Best of luck adulting!

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