HAVING GOOD STUDY skills is always helpful. For more than 100 years, psychologists have done research on which study habits work best. Here are their 7 tips to improve your study habits especially now that classes have started.

1. Space out your studying. It’s a good idea to study the day before a big test. But research shows it’s a bad idea to cram all your studying into that day. Instead, space out those study sessions.

Cramming before a big test can leave you very tired. But you’ll learn and remember material better if you divide your study sessions over several days.

2. Don’t just reread books and notes. When students reread material, it’s often superficial. Rereading is like looking at the answer to a picture puzzle, rather than doing it yourself. It looks like it makes sense. But until you try it yourself, you don’t really know if you understand it.

3. Test yourself. Quiz yourself the way the teacher asks questions. Teachers often dig deeper. They don’t just ask for definitions. Often, teachers ask students to compare and contrast ideas. That takes some critical thinking. Aside from that, checking the answers can make your study time more efficient. You can then focus on where you need the most

4. Mix it up. It helps to mix up your self-testing. Don’t just focus on one thing. Drill yourself on different concepts.

Try to solve problems and recall information on your own. Then check to see if you’re right. Retrieval practice boosts your learning and memory, say psychologists.

5. Use pictures. Pay attention to diagrams and graphs in your class materials. Those pictures can really boost your memory of this material. And if there aren’t pictures, creating them can be really helpful.

6. Dig deeper. It’s hard to remember a lot of facts and figures if you don’t push further through elaboration. Elaboration helps you combine new information with other things you know. And it creates a bigger network in your brain of things that relate to one another. That larger network makes it easier to learn and remember things.

7. Make a plan and then do it. Many students know they should space out study periods, quiz themselves and practice other good skills. Yet many don’t actually do those things. Often, they fail to plan ahead.

If you have a study plan, stick to it.  Even when students do make plans, something more enticing may come up. Studying has to become a priority. Try to stick to a regular routine. And get enough sleep, not just the night before the test but for weeks or months on end.

Finally, if you struggle to follow the advice above such as you can’t keep track of time or find it very hard to just sit and focus on your work, you may have an undiagnosed condition. To find out, check with your doctor. The good news is that it may be treatable. By Manny Palomar, PhD (EV Mail September 23-29, 2024 issue)