By: Sarah Henderson
With the transition into in-person classes and being in the midst of midterm exams, you may be feeling very overwhelmed no matter what year you are in. As a current sophomore, I’m already finished with my first year at UMass, but still don’t have much experience with what college exams are really like when they aren’t online. Despite this, I have been working on some study techniques and ways to avoid procrastination, which I know we all struggle with sometimes. Many of these tips are also helpful for the entire semester with regular assignments, essays, and quizzes. Remember to take what works for you and try out some different strategies until you find your favorites!
Write Everything Down
Your assignments, your notes, and anything that will help! I’m guilty of buying planners and periodically not using them - but it is beyond stressful to have to figure out what assignments I have to do by navigating numerous different websites and making sure I don’t forget to do anything, rather than just writing it down. Do what works for you: use an online planner or calendar, academic planner, whiteboard, or even just sticky notes or a spare notebook. Being able to check things off your to-do list can also help make you feel motivated, productive, and much more accomplished. Also, try to rewrite any notes you take in class down (especially by hand). It’s a really effective study strategy that has been proven to help with memorization.
Schedule Out Times to do Work
Whenever I want to get an assignment or some studying done, but it’s extra hard to actually make myself do it, I try to commit to having an assignment done, for example, in one hour. I tell myself that I only have to focus for that amount of time, and maybe also listen to a one-hour long playlist of your favorite study music - try to have it be something that you only listen to while studying. You can also change the time frame however you want - you could tell yourself you’re only going to study for five minutes, and then when you get focused, it could turn into longer than that. I highly recommend trying this; it can really help perfect your time management skills!
Watch a “Study with Me” Video
Sometimes, when I really can’t focus or just can’t get myself to actually do my work, I watch a “study with me” video on YouTube. Seeing somebody else being productive makes me feel like if they can do it, I can too – without the potential distraction of studying with a friend. It also just gets me more in the mood for studying. I have seen some of these types of videos for essay writing too, and if these are something you know you won’t get distracted by, they might be able to save you a lot of time.
Take Some Time to Yourself
Do this especially the night before the exam - you don’t want to get burnt out, and if you have a very busy schedule, it may get overwhelming very quickly. Of course, if you find one night that you haven’t studied at all for your exam the next morning, study if you feel like you need to and if that is what will make you less stressed. I remember in elementary school, whenever it was time to take MCAS tests, my teachers would always say to watch a lighthearted and funny movie the night before to relax. For me, it made the experience so much better, and although elementary school may seem worlds away from college now, this might help some of us out too. If you feel prepared and like there’s nothing else you can do to study, it is best to distract yourself and not worry. Take enough time this semester to do whatever it is you like to get yourself away from studying and stress, it’s super important!
Be sure to get to know yourself and the ways you learn best; figuring this out now will help you tremendously in the future. Good luck to everyone with the rest of your semesters, you will do great!