Finals are coming (at least at this point when I am writing this, don't know when you are reading this so...) and you know what that means.

Studying.

Studying is something everyone has a hard time mastering. Even now as a Senior in college, it's still something I'm trying to get right. There are so many ways to study and from what I've picked up, some are great for me and others...not so much. So, what I'm going to do is list all the different ways to study below. Let me know which ones you guys do and if there are any other tips for fellow reads.

☀️ Study at least three days in advance. It gives you time to regain all the information you are studying.  I recommend setting a timer. I loose track of time easily when I'm on my breaks...oops.

☀️Study in 30 minute intervals and take a 5 to 10 minute break in between. Not only does it give you a lot of breaks, but it helps your brain cool down for a bit. (Do not study longer than an hour at a time)

☀️Break your studying up! What I tend to do is study in topics. So, for example, my last exam for my Age of Revolution class was over the Glorious Revolution, American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the philosophers during all three revolutions. I studied each separately revolution separately and then I went to studying the philosophers and how their philosophy impacted each revolution.

☀️Study at a desk and away from anything like a bed or a recliner. Studying at a desk will help you stay more alert on studying while studying on something more comfortable...well will make you sleepy or fall asleep (has happened to me during high school).

☀️Review your notes! This is a major studying tip for me. There are so many ways to do this and I do two. One is to rewrite your notes (what I do is rewrite the important information and categorize them). You can also make flashcards out of them. 

☀️Quizlet is a life saver! This helps me a lot to study and organize my flashcards if I don't have the time to write them all out (I type faster than I write...I think?). A tip for this, start writing your flashcards weeks or days in advance of studying. It allows you to spend more time studying than writing. However, for me personally, writing also helps me retain it. So, I usually start my studying by rewriting my notes and making flashcards.

☀️Studying for essay based exams I recommend taking and reviewing your notes, make flashcards, and make mindmaps (and wow does this work wonders).

☀️Studying for science and or math, I suggest taking notes, don't wait until the last minute to ask for help (this is why I recommend studying a couple of days earlier), and study groups. 

☀️While studying, eat light and healthy snacks. If you are anything like me, I'm a stress eater, snacks and food are the first thing that pops up into your minds when someone mentions the word exams. Back in high school I used to eat pretty healthy snacks such as nuts and fruit, but now that I'm in college...yikes! I was eating soooo bad, especially when it came to studying. So, what I have been doing since last semester is snack on sunflower seeds and of course went back to eating fruit and nuts. (author's note...when I was eating really bad...my weight went up big time, so for those of you who are curious about the Freshman 15 (or whatever number you have heard)...it's true unless you stay on top of it which I wasn't).

☀️Make studying fun! I know, I know "studying isn't fun!", but you can make it be. What I do, is make a little game out of it. Especially when it comes to my flashcards. When it's time to study them, I make three sticky notes and label them "Right", "Somewhat", and "Wrong" with of course cute little doodles. So when I study the flash cards, if I get one right, I put it in the right pile, if I got somewhat of the answer right I put it in the somewhat pile and so on. I try my best to make it seem similar to jeopardy (that's another way to study). I know it doesn't sound that fun, but it's a lot better than plain studying.

☀️Study groups are a life saver. I live by this. I usually have one or two study buddies and we typically take turns going to each other's house and libraries to study. We take all of our notes and study tools and we just quiz each other. Something my friend and I started doing is make mindmaps as well to let the process flow better.

☀️Don't just memorize the content, actually understand it.

☀️Find your most productive time of day and use it to master the harder topics.

☀️Reading your notes aloud is a great way for you to retain it. I don't typically do this one, but my sister does and she does this all the time.

☀️Teach it to someone. This helps me out as well, and I typically do this in study groups when someone is confused about it. I also teach the content to my sister or parents. It helps you retain the information as well.

☀️Create a cue. This is something I use mostly for flashcards as well. For those of you who are more visual, do a simple doodle on the front of the flashcard to help you remember the information on the back. My friend and I do this a lot and, one it makes it fun because some of the doodles are ridiculous, and two it helps you picture it during the test. For those of you who understand more when its listening or talking, think of a word that resembles it. That really helps too.

☀️Having trouble understanding a term or confusing it with another? I also live by this and have taught it to some of my tutoring students. Let's use example I gave my students and use the words fortress and arsenal (they were having trouble with these actually...keep in mind they were sixth graders at this time). The 'f' and 't' with the letters in between roughly make a castle. If you have ever seen a fortress, most of them resemble castles. The definition for fortress is "a fortified defensive structure stationed with troops". The 'o', if you draw a line from the bottom of the letter downwards and draw an other line horizontally a millimeter or two away from the letter, you make a person. So, the person or "troop" are guarded in a castle or "fortress". For arsenal, I'm going to show you another way to remember it. The definition of an arsenal is "a military establishment for the storing, development, manufacturing, testing, or repairing of arms, ammunition, and other war materiel; an armory" The "ar" at the beginning of the word can be connected to "arms" and "armory". What is in an armory? Military weapons. So, wrap that up and conclude that: an arsenal has arms of weapons in their armory.

☀️Relate studying topics to today's world/society and your life. It gives you a connection to the topics and gives it meaning.

☀️If you like to play music in the background, play instrumental. Spotify has some good studying playlists to choose from.

☀️ Sleep well while studying. Don't go to bed late, this makes you tried, especially when it is exam day. As a college student, every time I took an exam, I always become mentally and physically drained. If I don't sleep well while studying and then take the test, I am so worn out that I go home sleepy (and driving like this is not safe).

☀️Quiz yourself and/or your study group. 

☀️Create a study plan! Find a good plan for you and your schedule to study. Mine is typically, first day rewrite notes and make flashcards, second day, review and study group, and third day is review. Day of the exam, I study the ones I have little faith in just to give those more study time.

☀️Find a good and quiet place to study.

☀️Acronyms help our to if you can use them. I haven't really used them in college, but they were helpful in high school and middle school!

☀️Remember to stay hydrated while studying. I typically stay away from coffee while I study, but that is due more to a health problem that I have been noting (I can't handle too much caffeine and sugar at the same time. It makes my chest hurt a lot and I have difficultly breathing). So what I drink instead its water and tea, but mostly water. I like to change it and add fruit to my water as well.

☀️Color code notes if that makes a difference for you. I write my notes in color code and I highlight in color code. It just helps me retain it. It is not for everyone. 

☀️How to memorize: read it silently in your mind, close your eyes and recite in your mind, read it aloud, and close your eyes and say it aloud. My sister also does this.

☀️Set goals for every hour of studying. 

I actually have some of my notes on my Instagram if you guys want to look at that. My username is winglessxbutterflies. If you guys want, I can post more of my notes and stuff there too