A student might only get their motivation when it is near a deadline for preparing for exams. Here are some useful tips that students can follow. Feel free to add to your routine.

1. Preview the material. This involves doing the readings. Reviewing slides that are sent out.
2. Attend class and take notes. Notes taken by hand tend to retain information better. Have a structured note-taking method on hardcopy notes for easy review.
3. Review: within 24 hours of class just take a bit to sit down and review your notes. Focus on areas that you lack understanding.
4. Study: Go back and review the material and readings. Make flashcards or a self-study guide. Don’t try to have long study sessions. You can do 30 minutes sessions with short breaks in between and a longer break every hour or so. Look up the Pomodoro technique. One important thing with studying is not to keep going back to the source material and moving on when you have an answer. Rigour is associated with memory so struggle with it and try to remember for a bit before looking at your reference.
5. Assess: how well do I know the material? Could I teach it to others? What study methods work for me and what don’t?

This is a solid base on how to study. A few additional notes. Don’t try cramming. It isn’t very effective. Plan your course out in whatever method works best for you (I use a combination of Google calendar and Todoist) and make time to study. Have a couple of hours a night dedicated to it. Make it a habit and it gets easier. You can search for different methods and find what works best for you.

Date of Input: 29/06/2022 | Updated: 29/06/2022 | sitiafiqah