Here are my top 5 tips for math - and many other subjects! I highly recommend Coursera's free Learning how to Learn course, which covers the top three, and more.
1) Exercise! - This is by far the best bang for your time/buck! It is a total game-changer for your entire life. Definitely worth the time/money/effort to do right!
What you get:
- Much smarter, faster at learning
- Happier, less stress, better sleep, more energy, less procrastination
- Improved health
What to do:
- Learn a bit about exercise and your brain: Ted talk, book free sample
- Take notes, and tell someone everything you've learned about how important exercise is (re-inforcing this learning).
- Stay lightly active throughout study time: (at least once/hr), walking, light biking etc. for 5+ min
- Take a 20 min walk immediately before exams/quizzes
- Work up to 5-6 days of exercise/wk: 2 days more intense exercise/week (45 min), and 3-4 days of moderate exercise. 2 days weight-lifting also recommended.
- Get help in exercising right: Talk to an exercise physiologist at 811 (free), and if you are starting weight-lifting, hire a personal trainer.
2) Adopt a Growth Mindset
What you get:
- Improving performance in all aspects of life
What to do:
- Watch these Growth Mindset videos 3 min video 10 min TED talk
- Re-inforce your Growth Mindset, i.e. by:
- Watching the videos a few times over days/weeks
- Read a Growth Mindset book
- Discuss Growth Mindset with others
3) Sleep - Get sufficient, high-quality sleep (7-9 hrs for most adults) on a fairly regular schedule
What you get:
- A brain that isn't significantly impaired by fatigue
- Consolidated learning
- Happier, less stress, more energy, less procrastination
- Improved health
What to do:
- Learn a bit about sleep and academic performance:
- Don't procrastinate, then cram
- Get your exercise on track
- If you are still having issues with sleep, then
- Study and implement sleep hiegene (wikipedia, books)
- Get help as needed
Improving poor sleep can be challenging, but the benefits are substantial
4) Hire a tutor
What you get:
- Quick help with the specific challenges you are facing right now.
- Possibly mentoring
What to do:
- If you have the money, seeing a good tutor sometimes can be very beneficial. This is particularly true in math, where gaps in your knowledge can otherwise make learning very difficult.
- Make sure you are also addressing exercise/sleep, which provide a wide array of benefits and can replace a lot of tutoring.
5) Fill in you math gaps with Khan Academy