Tips for Creating Study Habits That Stick

​A new semester always brings excitement and motivation to get started. But it also means a new round of courses, trips to the library, and late-night study sessions. Before you know it, students will be right back into the swing of things and hunkering down with their homework.

To try and help ease some of the new semester worries, we've put together a few tips that will make any study session a little bit easier to get through. Make sure to bookmark this page so you can come back to the tips that you want to try next time you're sitting down to study. 

• Don't Underestimate the Power of Rest
  • During university, it can be easy to let sleep fall through the cracks. Without a good night's rest, you're unable to give your full attention to your study materials. You might think that you'll be able to get more done if you stay up late to finish a few tasks, but for those who sleep around five hours a night, their productivity is reduced by 29%.
• Finds the Times of Day When You Do Your Best Work
  • Once you're aware of the times of day you find it easiest to focus, you'll have an easier time retaining the information you're studying.
• Find a Place Where You Love to Study
  • Maybe this is a cafe or your dorm room, but either way, find a space that's quiet and where you can get things done.
• Understand How You Learn
  • If you're more of a visual learner, try and find videos or visual resources that you can use to explain the topic you're studying. If you learn more from audio, then search for podcasts or interviews with professionals on the topics you're learning about. Sometimes it simply helps to have another person explain the topic outside of your course instructor.
• Start Small
  • When you sit down to study, your goal shouldn't be to memorize everything at once. Instead, you should break the material into chunks and plan to study only one chunk at a time. This is not only better for retention but helps prevent you from losing motivation.
• Understand When You Need a Break
  • It's easy to think that you need to cram in as much study time as possible before a big exam. And while that might be true in some cases, it's important to understand that breaks are an essential part of the study process. To fight stress about your upcoming exams, make sure you schedule times for breaks just like you schedule times to study. We recommend trying to study for in increments of 50 minutes with 10 minute breaks in between.

• Get Active
  • Studying can become mundane and stressful over long periods. Make sure to take time to get some type of movement in. It's not only good for your physical health, but this movement can help reduce stress and soothe our emotional and mental health.
• Start a Study Group
  • Studying is almost always easier when it's done with a friend. Collaboration can help you retain information more easily and help you gain different perspectives from your peers.
• Change the Material You're Studying Often
  • To help you cover a range of topics in a short amount of time, move through several different types of material during your study session. Similar to studying in small chunks, switching up the material you study can help you understand where there are gaps in your knowledge and note places you need to come back to later.
• Quiz Yourself
  • Before the actual exam, make time to quiz yourself. You can answer questions aloud, or type or hand write your answers. Whatever works for you will be an effective method in conquering your upcoming exam.
• Be Patient With Yourself
  • Not all study material comes easy to everyone. And it's normal to have questions about what you're learning. Recognizing that you need added support and understanding where to find it is a huge piece that makes up a successful student. 

​Everyone approaches studying differently, but these tips are in place for you to get the most out of your pre-exam period.

What's one study tip not on this list that you always use?

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