Five essential studying tips for students

If you ever struggle with distractions, check out these five essential study tips that any university student can use

Becky Bradley

January 31 2019

Let’s face it. Even if you totally love the classes you are taking at university, sometimes studying can be the last thing you want to do.

So here are some foolproof study tips that can help you to get your head down and make your study time more productive. From easy ways to limit distractions to how to make your studying more active, these are the things that help me make sure I don’t spend the whole time on my phone or staring into space.

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Check out my tips below, highlighting five essential study tips that help me get the best grades I can.

1. Limit your distractions

Turn your phone off and put it in a draw so that you aren't tempted to look at it. I also try to pick paper over my laptop while I'm studying to avoid distractions, but sometimes that is unavoidable.

So instead I use software such as SelfControl which essentially stops you from visting websites that you find distracting, so you can't access them for a certain amount of time.

It's also important to learn the specific things that distract you and take the steps to eliminate or avoid them.

2. Location matters

Do you need pin-drop silence or does siting in a library work best for you? Perhaps you find studying a coffee shop more productive?

Find out what kind of environment works best for you and you might find that you find studying a little bit more easier.

3. Active studying

This can be broken down into two different pieces advice. The first is that everytime you take a break, be sure to get up from your seat, walk around a bit, stretch - anything to get the blood flowing around your body. You'll find that when you sit back down to study, you'll feel more refreshed and energised.

Secondly, study your material actively not passively. Reading your textbook over and over again isn't always that helpful, but quizzing yourself on what you've just read will help you to retain the information better.

Study in study groups and have discussions with your coursemates as talking about what you're learning does help.

4. Take study breaks

It's as simple as just giving yourself 15 minutes every hour or so to step away from your work and give your mind a rest, before getting back to the books.

5. Your grades do not define you

If you know that you put in your best effortrs and worked hard, you should be prod of yourself no matter what your grades are. Instead you can use this as a learning experience to understand what didn't go well and how you can change that in the future.