You know we are better together! Are you still listening to FIFA’s official track on repeat? Well, we would love to assume that most of us are! Maybe for all the different reasons; for us, being together with others is a scientifically proven technique of studying together! How does that work? Keep reading our best study hacks below to find out more.
In this blog, we will share with you our top study hacks which are backed by research. You can use these study hacks to improve your exam performance and enhance your exam preparation skills. Let’s read these tips for students to find out more!
#1 Chew a gum to increase your alertness and memory
With chewing gum, your blood pressure and heart rate increases, thus increasing the blood flow to the brain. That’s why chewing gum is linked to a heightened level of alertness. The repeated movements of chewing a stick of gum shows at least 35% increase in retaining information in the short-term memory!
You can use all these promising facts to your advantage by keeping gum in your pocket. If you are drowsy before an exam, go ahead and chew your way through it!
#2 Keep warm hues on
One of the tips for students is to keep the lights on. Adding lights and lamps to indoor spaces creates a productive and welcoming environment. Lamps can be therapeutic by eliminating negative energy and increasing chi or positive energy, so light should be used to achieve balance in a room.
Here are some things to keep in mind about lighting:
- Yellow: Represents the earth (one of the five elements) and denotes prosperity. Most of the lighting should be around yellow and natural illumination.
- Warm hues: Yellow, and orange (not red).
- Cool gues: Blue, purple, cyan, green (these shouldn’t be used).
When choosing bulbs, choose the ones that give you an overall illumination across the room. Go for full-spectrum lighting and don’t leave any dark spaces. Unlike the lighting in bedrooms or living areas, leaving dark nooks can add an inactive feel to the place.
You can also add a desk or task lamp or a hanging warm light. If your eyes hurt while studying directly under an LED light bulb, you may want to try out different types of lights that light up the entire room with consistency.
#3 Change your place of study to enhance your memory
Based on the theory of context-dependent memory, it is advised that you should keep varying the place of study. As the research suggests, changing places helps you recall information in a memory-based test.
When you vary your position, you will associate the information with a variety of cues, such as smells, color of the walls, feel of your chair, and so on. For instance, you might recall a theorem in math with a sudden recall of the smell of the garden where you had studied it.
Similarly, you may just magically produce a sequence of formulae because you had associated the feel of the rug on which you were sitting.
#4 Minimize distractions
With lights on and the place determined, your alertness will increase provided you don’t forget to turn the internet off to minimize distractions. In other words, all the study hacks will work best if you are able to control the distractions which are fighting to get your attention.
You can minimize distractions by switching off your phone completely and turning the internet off. You can remind yourself that studying for a minimum of 25 minutes and then a break is important. Keep a little reward for yourself for following this! Keep reading ahead to find out about how to make new habits and control the old ones.
#5 Make chunks of information to automate learning
Making chunks of information is an interesting way of memorizing through joining little bits of understanding till the process of learning becomes automatic and you can start applying the learning without thinking!
Create chunks using Barbara Oakley’s method:
- Work a key problem out by slowly understanding the method. For instance, if you are learning chemistry, understand one method and don’t rush in the process. Look at the solved examples.
- Tackle a similar problem, focusing on the key processes. For instance, now look at similar solved examples or spot an unsolved question that is based on the same process.
- Take a break or sleep.
- Do another similar problem. Remember to keep on focusing on the same process.
- Add another similar problem – review the problems in your mind while doing some unrelated activity. For example, go for a walk but keep your mind busy with a problem.
#6 How to test yourself?
Always start testing yourself with the hardest question first. Your brain will turn on the diffused mode of thinking so you can work out an easier problem while your brain figures out the answer to the difficult question!
Testing yourself should be done quite often. You can look at different ways to test your brain, such as gamification, closing your books and notes and recalling information, or sitting through tests and exams again and again. It is known to neuroscientists that your learning during an exam is more than the amount of learning done while reading or making notes!
#7 Create new study habits using cues
Habits are your powerful tool to save your brain’s energy for other tasks. Remember you can create new study habits and discard the old ones with ease if you believe in your habit! So, habit isn’t just an act of our body, rather they have a deep conviction attached to them.
Habits consist of four parts:
- The Cue – Starting it. This can be a specific time, such as 4:00 PM.
- The Routine – Getting into the routine of doing it, such as repeating your actions in the same way at the same time without falling into doubt.
- The Reward – What you reward yourself with for completing it, such as calling a friend, eating your favorite snack etc.
- The Belief – The belief in the previous three, such as believing that if I do all of the above, this will lead me to success in exams, career, or life!
How to change a habit?
You can change your habits by responding in a different way. For instance, your cue of opening a website can be a notification tone. Your belief is that picking up your phone and responding to a comment is satisfying. You can change this habit by responding differently or ignoring the cue, such as the notification beep.
#8 Teaching improves your own learning
Find a friend who missed a lecture and you can get started with teaching straight away. It is not just an emotionally rewarding activity, it will help you revise the concepts in a different way. Some college toppers even go as far as reading teachers’ guide books to take another look at the material.
#9 Cramming is never going to work
Remember that cramming without understanding is not going to benefit you in the long run. You might be able to appear in the exam but you would simply miss out on the joy of learning. Ever wondered why some students become increasingly depressed after not going well in an exam?
This happens only because students are only concerned with the grade. So, the key here is to define a goal but not focus entirely on the grade.
#10 You know we are better together!
It is always a great idea to ask your peers to look at your work and share their thoughts, so you can have a chance to improve your work. This is so because our brain’s two hemispheres are made to do different types of work. Here is an overview:
The right hemisphere of the brain has the following characteristics:
- Intuition
- Emotional thinking
- Impulsive thinking
- Creative
The left hemisphere has the following characteristics:
- Analytical thinking
- Rational thinking
- Cautiousness
- Planning
Did you notice the opposing qualities of the brain hemispheres? Let’s understand this through an example: Imagine that you have just finished writing an essay. The right side of your brain wants to experience creativity again by improving the essay while the left side of the brain is too cautious to accept changes.
That is why, if you want to find out mistakes and improve your essay, it is time to ask your friends. Just make sure your friends are like-minded!
How to study effectively for exams?
You can start studying effectively for exams by using a sequence of best practices:
- Plan your studies: This includes making a good schedule at least 3 months before the final board exams.
- Schedule in a balanced way: If you overdo a schedule, you will burn out fast. Remember to use all the study hacks (especially the one on chunking) to avoid burnout.
- Study strategies: Use all the study strategies mentioned in this article before the exams! You won’t be able to achieve much in one night, so start applying the hacks early for good results.
Have you got some more tips for students? Let’s talk about your favorite takeaways from this post in the comments below and discuss how to study effectively for exams.
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