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Hello everyone and welcome to our new ~college section~ on Two Sisters Abroad. We are so excited to start blogging about college because it is such a huge part of both of our lives. Furthermore because of where I go to school (in Michigan), I do not have the ability to make a lot of posts during the school year like Kate does in NYC.
Partly because of my writing style, but also to make these posts easily readable and accessible, most items in this section will fairly short and outlined through bullet points. That being said, I am very excited to begin to write story-like posts about my sorority rush experience, how I chose my college, and a day in my life at college!
For this post I will be sharing my overall best study tips! For those of you who do not know, I attend the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI and I am studying business. I have also asked my friends, with a wide range of majors, for some of their study tips to include in this post. Additionally, I will be linking some of my favorite study products below for you to check out!
1. Never underestimate the power of a 30 minute study session
I would like to make it clear that I am not advocating for anyone to only study in 30 minute increments. However, during my freshman year I often found myself shrugging off studying in between classes, meetings, or plans with friends because I didn’t think I could accomplish anything in a 20 or 30 minute period. I have now learned that I can typically complete enough work during that time, if I really focus, to cut an hour off of another study session. In intro classes especially, 30 minutes will allow you to finish 1-2 short readings or 1/2 to a full chapter of a textbook depending on the subject matter and how fast of a reader you are.
2. Study with friends, but quietly
Studying with friends or a study group is how I study most efficiently. If I meet people at Starbucks or in their rooms, I have found that I get caught up in talking and joking around. However, if I study with a group of people in a quiet library or on a deck/patio space I am more easily able to hold myself accountable for my goals and tasks. I feel really bad about myself + embarrassed whenever I start to slack off around other people who are hard at work. For this reason I almost always try to study with a group, but with each of us doing individual work (often with headphones in).
3. Place to-do lists in easily visible areas
A to-do list in the notes app on my iPhone is a lot easier to ignore than a sticky note on my computer or having reminders constantly pop up on my phone. If you are always on your computer, I recommend utilizing the already installed “Stickies” on Macs. These virtual sticky notes stay on your desktop until you manually delete them. Furthermore, they have bullet point, highlight, and font features so you can really customize them to your needs.
There are also so many amazing productivity apps to download onto phones in order to make to-do lists, set reminders, and keep track of assignments. Everyone has a different organization style, so I recommend playing around with different productivity and calendar apps until you find one that works best with your personal style. I will say that, for the most part, using apps that notify you often are typically the best because they are a lot harder to ignore.
4.. Study at least a little everyday
Consistency is absolutely key. Research has proven over and over again that cramming and all-nighters are not anywhere near as effective as studying material over an extended period of time. Furthermore, if you hold yourself to studying + doing homework at least a little everyday, it will significantly lessen your load for Sunday night when you sit down to truly grind.
5. Have multiple study spaces
Sure, everyone might have their absolute favorite study spot (and I do too). However, changing location from a coffee shop to the library to a friend’s house can re-motivate you and stimulate your brain to continue to retain information.
