4 Study Mistakes That Kept Me from the Grades I Wanted

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It’s the middle of the semester and right about the time many students aren’t doing as well as they thought they would – I say that with myself included. Luckily, there’s still time to put in the work to get the grades you want.

Sometimes, all you need is a slight adjustment to your schedule or your study habits, and it’ll make all the difference. Here are four common studying mistakes you may have found yourself victim to.

Study Music That’s So Good It’s Bad

When I’ve got a major test coming up and a lot of homework to do before studying, I crank up the music and get to work. In retrospect, starting off my most recent study session with Marvin Gaye and Ben E. King was a bad decision.

If you are the type that likes to study with music, make sure you’re picking music you can focus with, not focus on. It really comes down to your tastes and preferences. If hard rock is something you can listen to while reading carefully (and actually retaining what you read), then kudos to you. The trick is to listen to genres that you enjoy but won’t get distracted by. Many people suggest classical or jazz because they have no lyrics. You can even try movie and game soundtracks or Celtic music, as my brother does.

It can be hard to find new music. If you’re looking to start a new playlist, I highly suggest creating a radio station on Spotify, Pandora, or whatever music platform you like based off of “Perpetuum Mobile” by Penguin Mobile Café. It’s a great upbeat song that keeps me plenty productive.

Studying By Repetition Only

Many teachers will give you printed handouts or a copy of their notes. A common mistake is to think that simply reading over the notes – or even reading them over and over – will be beneficial. In truth, reading, rereading, and even reading out loud are most effective when paralleled with tactile learning and actively engaging your brain with mnemonics.

Writing down your own notes in class or even copying printed notes on a sheet of paper assist your brain in learning more. I’ve found the following these three easy steps to be most effective:

1. Write your own notes.

2. Reread them while highlighting the important parts.

3. Teach someone else.

image via quickmeme

Everybody has their own study habits that they’re comfortable with. If studying with someone else isn’t for you, try other tricks such as flash cards or create a chart. Pictures to associate terms with are also often a great way of learning.

Working in Yellow Light

Fun fact: Yellow light helps to relax the body (think candle light). When studying, try to read in places with whiter/bluish light. Yellower lights can check you out of “study-mode”.

At home you may find that you have an older yellow light bulb in your bedroom or study. Daylight or white light bulbs are much better. As a rule of thumb, too dull of a light and you’ll fall asleep, but too bright and you’ll strain your eyes. The best thing to do is mimic outdoor conditions or the lighting of a place you know you study really well in.

Not Planning Ahead

I can think of countless times I’ve plopped down at my desk and decided to – rather vaguely – study. Eventually I’d buckle down a few hours later and get started on something.

image via memecenter

In order to study and study well, you’ll need a game plan. Outline what you need to do and how much time you should use in doing it before you get started. Getting organized before you begin will help your studying be much more efficient in the long run.

What are some common studying mistakes you’ve made? Tell us how you now avoid them in the comments below.

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