The exams are getting nearer with each passing day, which means that you no longer have time for procrastinating and need to step up your study game to ace your grades. Now, before you start to freak out with stress, you will want to dive into the list of tips that will help you beat procrastination.
Here is what you should know:
Remove Distractions
The thing about the human mind is that it is constantly working, even when you are asleep. While you are awake, the brain keeps analyzing and storing information, which can potentially prevent you from focusing on your studies.
For instance, if you sit down to study and your notifications keep popping up, demanding your attention every other minute, then you will certainly do anything but not focus and study. Now, if the exams are getting nearer, you will want to roll up your sleeves and stop fooling yourself.
Snap yourself out of the reverie and eliminate all distractions. The first thing that you will want to do is to switch off your phone. Close all tabs that link to your social media accounts, and what is even better, you will want to put your gadgets on airplane mode.
Now that you have eliminated the basic distractions, you will want to ensure that your study space is free of distractions as well. You will want to keep the table clean – only your study materials, such as the mcat study guide, your notebooks, markers, and your water bottle, should be on the table. The water bottle is for staying hydrated so that your mind can work to its full potential.
The goal is to remove all distractions and study in a clean and organized space. If there is a mess around you, it will only lead to a cluttered mind, which won’t enable you to focus and memorize.
Use All of Your Senses to Learn and Memorize
When it comes to learning and memorizing difficult information or large chunks of information, you will want to utilize your strongest sensations to form a mental picture and to memorize things. You might want to think of it in terms of a mind map that utilizes your strongest senses to create mental images to memorize things.
It is important to mention here that everyone has a different mechanism for learning and memorizing things. Some students are good at memorizing facts when they listen to an audio recording or watch a video where the subject is explained.
Others prefer reading and writing in their notebooks about what they have just read as a way to stick the information in their minds. So, you will want to find your strength and see which one of your senses is the strongest and more likely to stick to your memory.
Instead of relying on others methods, you will want to test all methods to find out which technique works the best for you. Not everyone is blessed with a photographic memory, but everyone is blessed in one way or another, which is why it is important to find out what works for you and then stick to it.
Set Deadlines and Time Slots
Even with the approaching exam, you cannot study all the time, as it will do you more harm than good. This aspect indicates that you will need to be strategic, set deadlines, and assign time slots to each subject.
By setting deadlines, you will be giving yourself the challenge of reading or writing a certain number of words within a given time slot. Studying without a sense of time can be highly productive. The best thing to do is to set a big goal into smaller milestones, such as dividing a chapter into a specific number of pages and then setting deadlines for each milestone.
After completing each milestone, you will get a sense of achievement and you will feel motivated to tick off the next milestone from your list. However, it is important to mention here that you will want to be realistic when setting deadlines and milestones. You will want to keep in mind the attention span and how much you can actually achieve within a given time frame.
The more realistic you will be in setting the goals, the more focused you will be, and the quicker you will reach your study goals.
Take Breaks
Take care of your diet and consume more fruits and veggies. More importantly, you will want to avoid drinking too much coffee and opt for water instead. Take breaks, stretch, and go out for skateboarding or running errands to freshen up your mind before you resume studying.
You will want to be mindful of your sleep pattern. Study as much as you can throughout the day so you can get quality sleep during the night. You will want to avoid pulling an all-nighter before the exam day as it will cause a foggy mind, and you will be more likely to forget the things that you memorized the night before.
