Most students put in a lot of hard work to improve their grades, but still don’t see any results and are discouraged. But, it’s usually because of some common study mistakes that cause students to lose focus, not understand the content, or show no improvement. Don’t worry, though; these mistakes can easily be fixed. Here are some mistakes that students make while studying and how to fix them.
Studying without structure
It honestly does not matter how many hours you spend if you don’t retain information properly. Most students sit down, get out their laptops, and start reviewing their notes or studying new material. But the problem is they don’t have a goal or a structured plan, so no matter how much time they spend, they aren’t learning much.
How to fix this: Before you start, plan
- What subject you’re working on
- How long you’re spending
- What you need to complete
Even small goals or plans like “reread cell division notes and answer 20 multiple choice questions” can help improve productivity and increase learning by giving your brain direction.
Reviewing Notes Over and Over
Reviewing or rereading your notes might seem productive, but it is one of the worst study methods because you are not integrating the information into your brain. You are going to remember the information for a few hours or days after, but it doesn’t mean you understood any of that information.
How to fix this: Instead, do this
- Explain the topic in your own words
- Quiz yourself online or using flashcards
- Write what you remember before reviewing notes
This way, your brain has a chance to recall information from the back of your mind on what you read to help you answer questions.
Studying with too many or too few breaks
Long study sessions lead to nothing but exhausted minds and poor focus. After a while, your brain retains information poorly, meaning everything you probably learned after about an hour was a waste of time. That doesn’t mean you should take lots of long breaks either. That undermines your focus, too, because once you’re distracted, you don’t want to go back to studying.
What you can do:
- Use a pomodoro timer
- Shorter study sessions
- Don’t go on your phone or social media during a break
A pomodoro timer structures your study time, allowing your brain to breathe when you learn a lot of information. From personal experience, once you go on your phone on a break, you cannot go back to the same focus you had.
Studying while Multitasking
If you think you can study while watching videos, movies, or checking messages on your phone, you’re wrong. Even if you think you are good at multitasking, even taking a little bit of your attention is enough to decrease study efficiency.
Do this instead:
- Put your phone on silent
- Use focus mode on your laptop
- Put any other distractions in another room
Honestly, studying an hour with no distractions is better than 3 hours of multitasking.
Studying right before a test
Cramming in all the information at the last minute might save you on the test, but later, when you go to college or high school, you will be catching up on basic information while the rest of the class is ahead. Whatever you studied won’t stay in your long-term memory.
What you can do instead:
- Make a study plan
- Review little by little over time
- Repeat information in intervals
Not reviewing mistakes
When you get your test back, do you look at what you got wrong? Most students do, but they fail to understand why they were wrong, which leads to them repeating the same mistakes.
Do this instead:
- Ask a teacher for help
- Look the question up online to figure out why your answer is wrong
- Understand why it is wrong
- Think about where you went wrong
Following these simple steps can ensure that you don’t lose points for the same question on the next test.
Studying late at night
Pulling an all-nighter sometimes is alright, but doing it every day hurts your focus, memory, mood, and health. Your brain is already tired from the day, and it cannot focus as sharply when it’s tired.
What you should do:
- Sleep first
- Create a schedule that prevents all-nighters
Free Study Planner
This weekly planner can help you organize your school work and help you avoid making these common study mistakes. There are
Small changes in your study habits can make a difference over time, and remember, more does not mean better. Quality study time can be far more worth than many hours of studying with no structure. Here are some more study tips: https://twinsparkle.com/category/study-tips/
