When you have essays, exams, quizzes, projects, and deadlines approaching, your best bet is utilising effective study habits. Effective study habits are crucial especially when you want to keep stress at bay. If you need a bit of improvement on your study habits, or need some new ideas, follow these practices.

Know your Learning Style

It’s important to know the style that helps you learn best.

• As you can see, visual learners learn best when pictures, images, and spatial understanding is used.
• Auditory learners prefer using music, sounds or both.
• Kinesthetic learners prefer a more physical style of learning through using the body, sense of touch and hands.
• Logical learners desire to use reasoning, logic and systems.
• Verbal learners will prefer using words in writing and speech.
• Social learners will prefer to learn with other people or in groups.
• Private learners can learn best alone.

Which are you? Analyse and figure out which style of learning works best for you. It will determine your success.

Determine Your Learning Goals

You must write down what you intend to achieve out of your learning.

Identify;

• when you wish to study.
• how long you wish to study
• what subjects you need to pay extra attention to etc.

Create a Daily Study Timetable

Aside your regular academic timetable, make sure you draw a personal study timetable to track your grades and gauge the impact of hours dedicated to your new studying techniques whether they are helping. If you find that it is not helpful, then you need to re-prioritize your schedule to fit in more time for studying.

Take neat notes

When you take well-ordered and tidy notes, revising becomes much easier, especially when you’re studying for those earlier semester topics which can feel distant in your memory during exam periods.

Join study groups

It can be all too easy to read something passively and trick yourself into believing you've nailed it down. When you share what you know, you get a better gauge of what you’ve learnt and other people can also help fill in the gaps in what you know.

Get Enough Sleep and Rest

Studying when you’re sleepy, or exhausted is ineffective. If your body is telling you that you’re tired, then have a nap or go to bed early. A good night’s sleep will help you understand and remember information better.