How to Improve Your Learning & Study Skills

tips to improve study skills

Background photograph designed by Pressfoto – Freepik.com

 

Have you ever been in a situation where you feel like that you are working hard and giving more time in studying than your friends, but still you are not getting good results or not making a good progress? And on the other hand, your friends are scoring better than you in exam even though they study less?

 

Hmmm… Depressing situation, right? Let me tell you a story of my school time….

 

I was in 11th standard and I wasn’t so good at Maths, never in my whole life. Sometimes I just hate solving those boring and tricky problems. No matter how much hard i tried with Math, i always get a C or D grade! Once I did really bad in my JEE exams just because of Maths. That moment I felt like I messed up everything and I was feeling extremely bad! But after a day or two I was feeling glad that my days with Maths had been over. But here came the twist. Little did I have any idea that it would come back to create problem for me in BITS.

 

During my 1st semester, I did everything I could, started preparing from my 11th and 12th class notes for test and exams. I stopped doing parties or any kind of outings with my friends and locked myself up in a room for preparation. I really studied hard, almost 15-16 hours a day, but still I was unable to get good grades.
But out of stubbornness, I did not give up. I started working harder with effective learning strategies and study skills. I solved every Math problem from my intermediate notes again and started understanding the questions in deep rather than just solving it. Then came the Big day – the day of my exam results!

 

I don’t know what to call it – My luck or having a confidence in my ability and learning skills….I nailed my exams and scored really well! First time in my whole life, I scored ‘A’ grade in Maths. Unbelievable? Right? But trust me, I did.

Looking back at most of those situations and days, I suggest you to keep working hard and smart and always trust yourself. Nothing is impossible!! Even the word itself says “I M Possible”

 

Moving forward, I am sharing some tips on how you can improve your study skills and make your learning ability more effective.

 

  • Take energizing study breaks: Taking a small and right type of study break of 10-15 minutes can help you get back to your books refreshed and focused. Studying in chunks not only helps you in improving your attention abilities, but also boost your productivity. In a study break, you can take a 10 min walk, talk with a friend, meditate, listen to your favorite music or enjoy a healthy meal etc.

 

  • Study the curriculum in advance: Whether you are in school or taking the tuition at home, always be prepared and study the curriculum in advance so you get an idea what’s going to be on it. Getting along with teacher will help you in understanding the topic or subject more clearly and you will be more comfortable in asking the questions to clear your doubts. At the end of the day, don’t forget to summarize what you learn.

 

  • Repeat, Repeat and Revise: There is a famous saying – “Repetition is the Mother of learning”. One of the best ways to improve your learning skill and boost your memory is repeat, repeat and revise. Whether you are learning any lesson or a particular topic or preparing for the exams, revising the lessons couple of time at regular interval will increase your chance of remembering the lesson for longer time.

 

  • Build up Good Concentration and stay focused: Focus on whatever you’re studying. When going to study, always select a place at home that have minimum distractions. Developing a keen interest in what you’re studying will leave ‘no room’ for a distraction to disturb you. By building good concentration power, you will become more productive and perform better in your exams.

 

  • Work Smart: In today’s competitive world, just working hard is not enough. You need to work smart in order to achieve your goals.

Here are a few actions that you can take right now to do smart work.

– Choose your study time wisely and make it a priority.
– Set your goals and plan how to achieve it.
– Never stop obtaining knowledge and stay curious.
– Manage your time well as this is your most precious resource.
– Don’t spend much time on the tasks that are not important. It is useless if you are working hard on the wrong things. Therefore, try to concentrate on what is important for you.

 

  • Doing one thing at a time: “The shortest way to do many things is doing only one at a time”. Don’t let your brain buried under a mass of multiple tasks. Prioritize your subjects and when you have studied one lesson thoroughly, then only move on to the next lesson. Doing one thing at a time will make you more productive.

 

Begin your journey of self improvement today with the help and guidance of qualified home tutors who can help improve your overall academic performance.