Maintaining an actively engaged study routine can be a challenge, especially if you’re trying to juggle other courses, work, and outside activities. While the internet has certainly made things a bit easier on students, it’s also been a double-edged sword (because of just how distracting it can be).
Most people have been studying wrong for their entire lives. Rather than spacing out their study sessions into easily digestible blocks, they like to go for hours on end (without really retaining any of the information they’re supposedly “learning”). Likewise, rather than taking frequent breaks and staying engaged with their learning material(s), they treat their sessions like marathons and are easily distracted by their phones, social media, etc.
It’s common to not really understand how to study properly, because not only is what’s taught in schools generally wrong, but there’s also lots of misinformation out there regarding study strategies. This is why this blog was developed in the first place, to provide you with science-backed ways to revamp your study sessions and elevate your skills to the next level.
While most of the world has transitioned to remote-based work and learning, the following advanced study strategies and tips apply to both real-world scenarios as well as web-based learning systems. Whether you’re in college, taking a course for employment-related purposes, or are going after your MBA, these strategies are 100% backed by scientific research studies, so you know they’re valid (and valuable).
Utilize Web-Based Resources
The internet is often taken for granted by younger people because they simply don’t remember a time before the internet even existed. Nowadays, people have access to pretty much every single piece of information that’s ever been created, and to not take advantage of that (in regards to your studies) would be incredibly foolish.
Whether that’s through using an online tutoring service to get some extra help (from an expert), or using a site like homeworkmarket.com. Homeworkmarket.com website gives you answers to homework questions and it connects students with tutors specializing in various subjects.
The way these sites work is by allowing you to pick which specific tutor/service provider you want to hire. Remember, you should always read the reviews and ratings for the specific provider you’re interested in using. Avoid ones that have low ratings, and look for ones with lots of glowing reviews from past students.
Reading vs Studying: Know the Difference
Lots of people make the mistake of thinking that reading is studying (hint: it’s not). Just because you’re reading something doesn’t mean that you’re “studying.” This is one of the most passive ways to “study” in existence, and by simply reading and re-reading coursework/notes over and over again, you’re certainly not staying engaged with that material.
If you want to take your study game to a new level, you need to get active. That means staying engaged with the coursework, not passively reading line after line like a robot. In order to be truly actively engaged, you need to do more than just blindly read some text. You need to be able to put that text into context, to connect it with past ideas from lectures, to develop new ideas based on that text, etc. That’s what being active is all about.
What active studying certainly is not, is simply reading through some notes, underlining important details, using one of those dreaded highlighters, etc. Instead, you should be focusing on creating new ideas, connecting your notes to past lectures, etc. That’s how you stay engaged, and that’s how you optimize your learning sessions.
Properly Space Your Sessions
If you like to study for hours and hours at a time, you’re not alone. This is the classic study method that’s been used for countless centuries. The only thing about it is that it’s wrong. Yes, you read that correctly. Not only is it wrong, but it’s not even close to being an optimal way to retain information (i.e. learn).
Rather than spend countless hours buried behind a mountain of textbooks, you should instead focus on spacing out your sessions into shorter intervals. Think of your sessions as a series of sprints, rather than a marathon.
Your goal should be to have a few 30 to 45-minute study sessions, interlaced with a few other 10 to 15-minute break periods. Don’t underestimate the importance of allowing your brain to cool off. Believe it or not, your brain isn’t a machine, and the more rest it gets, the better your sessions will become.
