Studying While Trapped at Home

By Julia Braatz

Alright everyone, I’ll make this intro short ‘cause if you're reading this, you’ve probably got no time as it is, and you can’t be bothered. We’re all having a difficult time right now and you may not be as productive as you would have been if we weren’t in an apocalypse era. But as someone who practically lives for school, I would like to share some tips to get y’all through the year without pulling your hair out. So as promised, here's some tips on how to study.

General Practices:

Get enough sleep

We all know this, and it’s easier said than done. Remember though, you can get way more stuff done in a shorter amount of time with more sleep than with more hours in the day with less sleep. Also take note: the internet can wait. Seriously, there is nothing important on there that you're going to remember two days from now.

Plan out when you're going to study.

It can be at night (if you choose to ignore me with the first point) or it can be in the morning. Just set a specific length of time that you know you are able to get stuff done with the least amount of distractions.

Plan how your going to study

Are you going to make a Quizlet? Are you going to review your notes? Are you going to follow some of my advice and read the textbook? The possibilities are annoyingly endless.

Methods:

Study for 15 minutes- then take a 5 minute break

This method is great if you have a hard time focusing

Read the Textbook

Don’t skip over my tiny blurb!
Okay, hear me out. My brother has been known for his impeccable ability to take tests. He has many times in the past aced a test that every student has failed...miserably. To add, he has never used a Quizlet his entire life. I know, true story. The way he studies is that he will read the text book in depth after his class. I’ve experienced the same phenomena in my own class and it works. It only takes a couple of minutes each day and it saves a lot of time that you would normally spend studying with a Quizlet and/or going over your notes. There is a reason the school spends its priceless air conditioning money on textbooks.

Study a Single Subject and Repeat Key Phrases Over and Over

You could study a single subject a day for a set amount of time or dedicate a set time for a single subject, then move on to the next subject and study that for the same amount of time until you’ve covered everything in a single day
For example: For taking a test on chapter 5- study notes on 5.1 for a day, then the next day study notes 5.2 and so on or take 15 minutes and study notes 5.1, then move on and study notes on 5.2 for 15 minutes or so on

Review a topic and study it repeatedly, then moving on to the next

For example: you’re studying for Chemistry. Focus on a specific formula and study that for a set amount of time until you think you could recite it in your sleep, then move onto another topic

Tips:

Take Notes with Colored Pens

The more colorful = the more interesting to look at = the more likely you're going to go back to them. It’s also a great motivator to make a nice color scheme.

Illustrate concepts

Humans like pretty pictures. It’s also faster to look at a picture/diagram for a couple of seconds instead of reading a sentence or sometimes a long paragraph. You don’t have to make it pretty, you’ll remember the ugly ones better anyway.

Highlight

We all do this at some point. Highlight your notes, print out a study guide and highlight that, print off the Slides and highlight.

Record yourself saying the material and listen to the recording

Oh, you’ll remember your notes with this one. The awkward feeling will remind you. But it’s worth it. Just think about studying while going for a run, or being able to eat and study simultaneously. Think about only having to study for finals and still have a life.

Try teaching the material to a friend...or a parent...or a pet if your lonely

My dog should have a very good idea of the principles of psychology by now.

Look up YouTube videos on the subject

There are some really good synopses on some heavy material by CrashCourse.

Look up other people's notes on the subject

I have to give credit to my AP Psych teacher, Mrs. Geoffroy, for this tip. It’s helpful to look at how other people take notes. Seeing a different way to look at a subject helps you get a broader understanding of that subject with less effort.

Create your own study guide

Doesn’t need to look beautiful, just take key ideas from your notes and put them on a Doc.