7 study habits that leave highlighting biting the dust
We’ve all been there. Midterms are coming up, you have your notes ready, and it’s time to highlight everything important in the textbook. What’s really “important” anyway? A lot of students find themselves feeling unsure. Not only that, but re-reading material, even if it’s highlighted as “important”, is less helpful than a lot of other study methods. Keep reading for 7 study habits that you can get into and upgrade your study game.
- Spread study sessions and schedule yourself
Even if it’s difficult, it will help you in the long run! Pace yourself with scheduled study sessions and stick with them. You’ll see positive changes in your work-study habits, as well as your mental health, if you respect study time. Cramming for that midterm is very tempting, but studies show that you are likely to perform worse on an exam by cramming instead of studying in spaced out intervals. Schedule yourself 30 minutes for each of your courses every weekend to go over your notes so you don’t have to cram later on.
2. Mix up your study routine with multiple subjects
This one is a little known fact, but let me let you in on the secret. Split your study sessions up among all the subjects you wanna go over, and take turns going over material in each. You’ll find that by diversifying your study sessions, you retain information better than drilling down key subjects one at a time. Once you’re feeling burnt out of chemistry, it’s probably time to switch over to Econ.
3. Stop jotting notes and start drawing diagrams
Rewriting notes from the board and scribing the professor’s lecture are less helpful than you may think. Next time you go to class, divide your notebook page into sections to split up the lecture material. If you take notes electronically, try inserting a table for definitions instead of bullet points. Visualizing information in graphs is easier on your eyes and makes material easier to remember than rewriting scribbled lecture notes.
4. Classic Flashcards
An all-time classic, flashcards are one of the best ways to study for any subject. You can use them for formulas, definitions, or anything really. Writing down information from lecture into a concise, tiny index card gets you thinking about the material and internalizing it by creating your own form of reasoning to it. Just be sure to fit only the most important points. One of the reasons highlighting isn’t as effective as notecards is because students tend to highlight more than they need to. Keep your notecards short and straight to the point!
5. Mini quizzes
Testing yourself periodically helps you practice for the real deal. Prepare a mini-quiz with some of the topics you are struggling most with and see how you do. For math-like classes your mini quizzes should include practice problems that help you pick up problem solving patterns and clever tricks your professor might throw at you during the exam.
6. Study groups
No one likes to study alone! Grab a study buddy so you don’t have to. Having someone to study with is not only a great way to spend time with friends but also to make sure you can focus on the work you need to get done. Plus you’d be helping them get their work done too just by being there. Hustle up and get it done!
7. Staying healthy
I can not stress this one enough! You are the most important part of the whole process! Take care of yourself by eating a healthy, balanced diet to keep the ball rolling. Catching those 8 hours of sleep is just as important. Getting into the ~grindset~ can be a powerful tool, but so is your pillow the night before the midterm.
Convinced to drop the highlighter yet? I hope this has been a useful list and you can use it to your best advantage. Even though highlighting textbooks is a popular method for study, there are just better ways to go about it. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and crush those midterms!
