Mistake #1: Procrastinating until the last minute

If you’re the student that waits until the night before an exam to finally study, then you’re making one of the number 1  study mistakes that college students make worldwide! Procrastination is the thief of joy, productivity, and sleep. I promise you’re going to be better off if you put your phone away and start studying immediately.

Instead of waiting the night before to study or to complete a big project, break down your work into smaller bite sizes pieces that are easier to handle. For an example if you have a big exam coming up in a few weeks, study a little bit of the material every day after class for 30 minutes to an hour a day. This way you can stay focus long enough to learn the material and your brain gets the chance to review the material every day, which is great for long term memory.

Mistake #2: Studying with people who distract you

You cannot study with people who are going to distract you the entire time…unless you don’t plan on getting any work done. When putting together a study group, you want to make sure that the people in the group are going to be actively studying and helping one another.

This is the time to get help on a topic that you’re having difficulty in and formulate practice questions that can help you remember the material. I personality would limit your study group to three or four people. Any more than that can cause an imbalance and make for more of a hangout scene versus a study scene. 

Mistake #3: Not learning how you study best

A lot of college students will simply re-read the class notes over and over again, hoping that something will stick in their brains. Let me tell you that re-reading your notes is passive learning and it’s not the most effective way to learn for an exam. This is why it is so important for you to learn how you study best and avoid this common study mistake. 

Everyone is so different in terms of how our brains operate and store information. Some people have to watch Youtube videos while others have to do things for themselves. So what does that mean for you as a college student looking to improve their studying? You have to try different study techniques out and see what works for you. I really enjoy making my own exams and creating color-coded study guides, which has helped me throughout pharmacy school.

Mistake #4: Studying in chronological order instead of in priority order

Just because your psychology exam comes before your organic chemistry exam, doesn’t mean that you have to study for each exam in that order. I’ve noticed that a lot of students study in the order that their exams are in, which is a big mistake! When you have a bunch of exams at the same (like midterms or finals), you want to spend the most time studying in the classes that are more difficult for you, not in the ones that are easy. This is where you have to learn how to prioritize your study and manage your time appropriately.

Mistake #5: Not preparing for the unexpected

Every time there’s a bunch of exams coming up at once (yep, I’m talking about midterms and finals), there’s always something that goes wrong and that is unexpected. Either you get a horrible cold or spill coffee all over your laptop. Something is bound to happen during this time period because you’re already stressed out and on edge. Make sure to do your best to prepare for the unexpected. Back up your laptop to online source or external hard drive (this is the one that I swear by!) to make sure you don’t lose all of your notes for the entire semester. It’s happened before and it definitely sucks!

Mistake #6: Refusing to ask for help before it’s too late

Don’t be the student that rushes to their professor’s office begging for a curve after you failed the class. Instead of waiting until it’s too late (aka after you failed the class), ask your professor for help whenever you’re not understanding throughout the semester. Your professors are here to help, and they want you to exceed in their class.

I promise, they aren’t scary once you get to chatting with them. By asking questions to your teacher, it’ll help you learn and understand the material faster than you could on your own. And don’t forget about your TAs (or teacher assistants)! They are also a great resource to use if your teacher is hard to reach or has weird office hours.

Mistake #7: Not quizzing themselves on the material 

If you’re aren’t quizzing yourself in a similar fashion as your exam, then you’re missing out on an easy and simple study hack. For an example if you know you have to write an essay or draw out diagrams for your exam, then re-reading your class notes isn’t really going to help you prepare for your exam. Instead practice answering some essay questions or practice drawing out the different diagrams from memory.

By practicing and studying in this way, you’re going to reinforce the material that you studied and prepare yourself for the type of exam you’ll be taking. This little tip will also identify where you have gaps in your memory, which makes it really easy to go back and study the areas where you need the most help in. Another great way for you to quiz yourself is by using the website and app called Quizlet. You can easily make your own quizzes and flashcards online to help you study.

Mistake #8: Basing your preparation on a number

You’ve probably heard students say that they need to get X percent to pass the class or to maintain a certain grade level. Honestly assigning a number to your success can actually make you feel more stressed out and disheveled than before. Because when you don’t reach that specific number, you feel depressed and anxious about the results, when it’s probably not that big of a deal.

Now I’m not saying to not worry about your grades and test scores, but just remember that that’s not everything. You have homework assignments, presentations, and essays that can also be a part of your overall grade. Instead of worrying about achieving a certain grade score, focus more on understanding the material and doing your best on every assignment or exam that counts. At the end of the day, you’ll feel more relaxed if you just study every single day and do the best that you can.

Mistake #9: Not having a game plan!

It’s so easy to just open up your textbook or notes and start readying them word for word. But it’s not going to be as helpful as you may think. You have to go into your study session with a game plan and an active mindset. Before you sit down to study, write out your game plan and figure out what you’re going to study, how you’re going to study the material, and the time commitment you’re going to need to complete the plan. Once you know what you’re aiming for, it’s going to be a lot easier to sit down and actually have a productive study session.

Mistake #10: Forgetting to take a breather

When you’re in college, it’s super easy to just go, go, go and burn yourself out with all of the stress that comes with being a college student. But when it comes time for midterms and final exams, you have to learn how to manage your time appropriately and allow yourself a break to do something that you enjoy. It can be as simple as watching your favorite show on Netflix to going on an adventure in your city plus lots of sleep! You’re going to do so much better on your projects and exams when you’re feeling relaxed.

What is one thing that you struggle with when it comes to studying?

The post 10 Common Study Mistakes and How to Fix Them appeared first on Uniquely Mickie.

Here are some things that you can do the night before an exam:

Go to bed early to get enough sleep

It may seem worth it to just stay up and study as much of the material that you can, but in the long run, you won’t actually remember much of what you learned. When you sleep, your body naturally moves the information from the day into short-term memory and long-term memory. So, when you stay up all night, your body doesn’t get the chance to store the information for later so you’re less likely to remember for the test.

Eat a good breakfast in the morning full of proteins

Your brain needs proteins and other healthy material to be able to function on a day-to-day basis so don’t skip out on a meal before your test. Your brain needs the energy to work hard.

Alternate different studying spots

Studying in different locations and with different people can immensely improve your studying ability. You’re less likely to become bored or distracted when you study in different places. I typically like to study in my apartment, at the library, and at a friend’s apartment who’s in the same class as me.

Minimize distractions

Millennials tend to always have their phone in their hands or have earbuds permanently attached to their ears. But when you’re studying, its best to put those distractions away and try to only focus on your coursework. The reason why this will increase the amount of material that you will remember is that you’ll be in the same environment during the test as when you studied the material. During an exam, you’re not able to listen to music or play on your phone so studying in a quiet location is the best possible option.

Quiz yourself

The best way to see if you know the material is to quiz yourself using tools, like Quizlet, to see where you need to focus on more. Create some questions that could be great questions that could be used on the test to get the best usage out of this studying tip.

Study in 20-30 increments, then take a 5-minute break

Your brain literally can’t stay focus for much longer than 20-30 minutes on any task, especially when it comes to learning and studying. Plus you’ll be thankful that you don’t have to study 24 hours to make an A on a test. It’s not about the time you spend studying, it’s the quality of the time that you spend studying.

Pack up everything that you will need during the test

It’s the worst feeling knowing that you left something at home that you needed for your test, such as a calculator or a cheat sheet that your teacher said you could have for the exam. So it’s best to go ahead and pack your backpack (this is the exact one that I have and it’s been amazing!) the night before with everything that you could possibly need for the exam.

Here are some things that you should NOT do the night before an exam:

Don’t pull an all-nighter

You have to get some sleep before the exam or I promise you won’t remember as much as you think you do. At night, your brain moves information to short-term to long-term memory, but if you don’t sleep, then your body can’t do that.

Don’t drink a ton of coffee the night before

Caffeine creates a chemical imbalance in your body that allows your body to stay up for a long period of time and can make you feel jittery or hyped up. Stop drinking coffee around midday so your body can excrete the caffeine and allow you to get some rest that night.

Cram for the upcoming test

Cramming is no good when it comes to actually retaining the information or being able to remember it longer than an hour after reading the text. Try to plan ahead so that you can study with no pressure and less of a time restraint. My Erin Condren planner has been such a lifesaver whenever I need to plan out my study sessions for a big exam. There’s even an exact dupe for it, if its too expensive for your budget, its the Recollections planner at Michaels! It’s basically the same planner for half the cost and I love it just the same. 

Change up your diet

Now is not the time to decide that you want to go vegan or to try a new restaurant because you never know what might upset your stomach or make you feel sick the next day. Trust me, it’s not fun having to take a test sick from either the flu or just a bug virus.

Do any intense workouts right before bed

When you work out, your body goes into overdrive mode and is ready to take on the world. But that’s not the feeling that you want right before bed. Working out before bed can actually make you stay awake and not allow you to get quality sleep the night before the exam. If you do a workout the night before, do your workout early in the morning or in the afternoon, at least 4 hours before bed, to allow yourself time to relax enough to go to bed.

The night before an exam is just a critical step of the process of studying because it can literally make or break your score on the test. Most people don’t realize it, but anything that affects your mind or body can drastically decrease or increase your grade on the exam the following day. I try to stay away from anything that could make me sad, mad, or that could make any changes to my lifestyle.

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The post The Night Before An Exam: Do’s & Don’ts appeared first on Uniquely Mickie.