1.       Make Yourself More Accountable

Planning to make yourself accountable is a great way to improve your study.  Try writing out a short mission statement that outlines how you will study and refer back to it to stay focused.  Another way to use accountability to your advantage is to find an accountability partner – Sharing your goals with someone and knowing that you are going to report to them on you progress forces you to weigh the discomfort of completing the task against the shame of having to come clean about completing the task

2.       Works In Sprints, Rather Than Long Sessions

Breaking a task down to bite-sized chunks now only makes the job feel more achievable – it also sets you up for earlier success and the sense of momentum that builds.

The folks over at Buffer.com also highlight that breaking work up also keeps you from getting board and helps us retain information.

3.       Focus Mode

Though you may be able to walk and chew gum at the same time, it turns out that being focused on a single task does get that task done faster and better.

When a distraction takes you out of deep concentration it can take as long as 5 minutes to regain the focus so setting yourself up for fewer distractions when studying is a great hack.

So put your phone into Focus Mode and let others around you know that you will be offline until your next scheduled break.

4.       Mix It Up

Test different settings and see what works best for you.  You may find going to the library on a schedule works because there are fewer distractions. 

Perhaps a ritual of rising a few hours earlier will result in more focused study. 

Group study where you can discuss the topic with a peer may be what works for you

Try different things and don’t be afraid to abandon any that you find aren’t worthwhile.

5.       Visualise It – Mind-Map

Mind-maps are a great tool for putting the visual processing side of our brain to use for study.  In particular, mind-maps are helpful for interpreting the information that we take in – Scientifically proven  strategy 😊

6.       Chew Gum When Studying

OK, so you can chew gum while walking though multitasking generally is less effective than focusing on one task. 

That said – a mind hack known as context dependency explains why chewing gum while you study can improve recall if you also chew while recalling.

It’s Hard to keep up I know but stay with me here.

7.       Read Before the Lecture

This just makes sense without much explanation.

If you take the time to review a topic the best way get the feel for the key points and think about what you do and don’t understand ahead of a lecture, then you are going to get more out of the lecture.  This is because your existing, high level understanding of the scope and key points will allow you to focus more on understanding the detail.

It will also allow give you the chance to have concepts that you weren’t clear on explained in a different way and time to think about any clarifying questions.

8.        Eat A Frog for Breakfast

Twenty-first century study guru Mark Twain, known best for his unconventional breakfast preferences says going in hard and doing the least desirable task first is the best way to get it done.  This is wise advice for any student that struggles with procrastination.  The battle is in your head so that’s where you need to fight!  Just get in and get it done regardless of how hard it is or how imperfect the result is. – JUST. GET. IT. DONE. –  so you can move on to the next thing without the mental burden.

9.       Flash

Like the Mind Map, Flash Cards engage different pathways in your brain for learning.

Usign Flashcards also introduces more variety which helps keep study interesting.

10.   Make A Distractions List.

Talking about mental burden, if you find yourself distracted by some off-topic thought or task and it’s disrupting your flow, try adding it to a Distraction List. 

This tactic that is often referenced as a way to deal with persistent thoughts that keep you awake at night can also be great for parking a thought that is keeping you from focusing on study.

The idea is that your brain won’t drop the thought it out of subconscious fear that of it does then the thought will never be handled.  By writing the interrupting thought down on a list for later, you are addressing this subconscious fear so your brain will have an easier job staying focused on your study.