Tips for Studying, Surviving, and Succeeding

Photographer%3A+Sophie+Knepper+18

Photographer: Sophie Knepper ’18

Ashley Chase '18, Staff Writer

Having a hard time keeping your grades up? Here are 5 easy, helpful tips to help you get that A!

 

Step One: This first step is simple, yet effective. Studying right when you get home is a great habit that can help stop procrastination. Life as a teen can be challenging especially when trying to balance school and an actual social life (not to mention all the other things). It is honestly so much better to get all of your homework done first, and then have the rest of the night for free time to do WHATEVER you possibly want!

 

Step Two: While studying, it is important to turn off any distractions and eat food. The T.V. and phone are tempting during these study sessions. So, do yourself a favor and just turn them off. If this step is too painful for you, then ask your parents, siblings, or a friend to take it from you. Also, eating a snack really helps keep you alert while studying! Plus, who doesn’t love food?

 

Step Three: Reward yourself after every 30 minutes or so of diligent studying with something that you really like! You could go on your phone for ten minutes, take a bubble bath, or do whatever pleases you. Just don’t get carried away and take a 2 hour-long break! This is the step that will help you break through the chains of procrastination. Convince yourself that if you get an assignment done or work for a certain time, you will get rewarded in some way. Don’t reward yourself otherwise!

 

Step Four: Prioritize and plan. I cannot stress this enough! Having a planner (AND using it) is such a big help when you forget what homework was assigned. I suggest buying a cute planner to whip out to write down your assignments. You can also download apps from the App Store to have a digital planner! It’s a good idea to mark your test dates to remind yourself to study for them.

Once you have a planner and write down all of your assignments, read through them and decide which are more important. Ask yourself these questions: What is due tomorrow? What will take more time?

Number them in levels of importance and work in that order! I tend to do my homework in this order:

  1. Everything due tomorrow (starting with hardest and ending with easiest)
  2. Study and make flashcards for quizzes or tests that are tomorrow or coming up
  3. Work on long-term projects or assignments and study for tests that seem far away

 

Step Five: Little things. Here are some smaller changes that could change your academic life:

    1. Do those extra credit assignments to give you some room after a tough assignment or test grade.
    2. Bombard your teachers with questions, and don’t ever leave that classroom confused! If you are ever lost about anything, relieve your stress by meeting with the teacher. Never be afraid to ask for help!

 

  • Never beat yourself up over failures. Getting a lower grade on a test isn’t the end of the world. Think to yourself: Will I even remember this score in a week? Month? Year? Your test score does not represent your worth as a person, and instead of feeling bad about your grade, come up with a solution or goal for next time.
  • A word about goals: Goals are awesome, and can help you so much. It is fun to make goals and dream of what we could become. There is just one thing that needs to happen in order for goals to really be effective. They need to be realistic, and you actually need to take the steps in pursuing them!

In the end, just have fun learning new things! Try out different studying strategies that work for you, and don’t get stressed out about it. See you in class!