College is a lot of fun -- you're there to meet new friends, go to parties, explore outside of your hometown, and join up with clubs and extracurriculars! But first and foremost, you're there to learn, and if you haven't gotten your study habits in order, now's the time. Wondering how to hack your study methods so you'll actually remember all of that info for the test? Here are our tips.
1. Try the Pomodoro method
One of the reasons so many of us resist studying is that we don't want to spend the whole day on a boring task. The Pomodoro method can help! With this, you give yourself forty minutes in every hour for the task at hand, and then twenty minutes to do as you wish. Stretch your legs, get coffee, look at your Insta feed...just be sure to get back on task once the twenty minutes are up.
2. Go to a designated study spot
If you're in your dorm or apartment, you've got access to your TV, your snacks, your video games...in other words, you've got access to distractions. If you pick a place that's for studying only, like the library or a cafe, you're more likely to get your brain in gear and focus.
3. Put on the right music
There's a reason that 'lo-fi hip hop for studying' has become such a phenomenon. Listening to relaxing (but not boring) music without words can help you stay in the zone! If that genre isn't for you, there are plenty of classical, ambient, jazz or soundtrack playlists that can get you in the headspace.
4. Put things in your own words
This has a few advantages. One, it'll be easier to remember a concept that's in your own words. Second, if you can put it into your own words in the first place, you probably understand it pretty well. Third, it'll help you create answers on the test that don't sound like they were plagiarized!
5. Stick to one task at a time
Let's face it, we all think we're way better at multitasking than we really are. Make life easier for yourself by sticking with one topic or test at a time. Manage your study days so you're breaking them up into uninterrupted blocks for a particular subject or class.
6. Have fun with it!
Who says reviewing, practicing, and memorizing information for your classes has to be all work and no play? Make Jeopardy games to play with a friend in your class, make a PowerPoint to 'teach' your friends about what you're learning, or make a fan cast of the historic figures you're learning about with modern actors to help you stay motivated.
