Managing time effectively is an amazing skill that every student should possess. While attending college and throughout my tutoring career, I often heard students talking about the numerous hours spent preparing for examinations. It is a common occurrence for students to pull all nighters and study all day straight with barely any breaks.
At Transformation Tutoring, we believe that what is most important is not how many hours you study but the effectiveness of your time spent studying. Why? We have a limited attention span. Studying for many hours without any breaks is not as effective since it will lead to a loss of focus.
Here are five ways to improve your studying habits and prepare for the tests efficiently:
1. Make a priority to-do list. On this list, you can add items that need to be done in order of priority.
For example, for a chemistry test the list might look like: 1. Go over the first practice exam 2. Go over the second practice exam 3. redo quizzes 4. redo HW1,2,3
Place check a mark or cross out the items you are done with as your studying progresses. This becomes a very fun and exciting process!
2. Take breaks.
Breaks are important for letting your brain rest and re-energize. Take a walk, have a snack, drink water. Breaks are necessary. Whenever I study, I like to take a 15 minute break after every hour of studying. You know yourself best. I do not suggest studying for more than three hours without any breaks.
3. Start studying early.
This ensures that you do not have to cram all the information last minute. Practice every day. Do your HW on time. You will prepare yourself for your class and exam.
4. Get to know your professors and what problems they like.
The key to effective studying is learning the information and practicing the problems that will be most similar to the exam. Therefore, priority should be given to past exams, quizzes and HW given by the professor. Visiting your professor during office hours is helpful in learning the exact topics your professor may select for the exam and provide insight into how the questions may be phrased. Talking to the classmates who have previously taken the class will also be useful in providing information on the best ways to succeed in the class.
5. Make a schedule a week or two in advance of the exam.
Creating a schedule is especially useful when studying for multiple exams at a time. This effective form of time management will take away the feeling of being overwhelmed that so many of us have when studying. It will give us guidance on what to follow and the amount of work that needs to be performed every day to prevent last minute cramming.
At Transformation Tutoring, we believe that the key to exam success is effective studying. For more information about our chemistry, biology, physics, and math tutoring please call 646-407-9078.
We also provide tutoring for MCAT, SAT, Regent, AP chemistry, Economics, GMAT, and GRE.