WHY LAST MINUTE CRAMMING DOESN’T WORK!
At some point during your university degree you’ve probably stayed up all night cramming for an exam or to finish an assignment that is due! It’s hard to fight the urge to leave all your course work until the last-minute and despite its prevalence on University campuses, cramming information is not the optimal way to study for your final exams!
Spaced repetition
Spaced repetition is the technique of taking information that you need to memorise and repeating it across increasing intervals. Information that you can recalled easily will appear at wider intervals, while information that you are struggling to recall appears at shorter intervals.
Focus on what you don’t understand
When revising information, it is important to focus your time on sections of learning that you are struggling with rather than the stuff you already know. It may sound simple, but lots of people fall into a pattern of revising information that they already know.
Stop Procrastinating
Procrastination is the ultimate rival when it comes to prioritizing your study! You may know exactly what you need to study but you just don’t want to do it! If you find yourself procrastinating before your final exams the following tips are helpful ways to stay focused:
- Eliminate distractions
- Set goals
- Organise your study into sections
- Reward yourself
Plan your study sessions in advance
Create a study schedule that outlines exactly when, where, and what you need to study! It is important to have a clear outline of your revision and learning materials so you are focusing your time on what really matters.
Try a study app
Your phone doesn’t have to be your enemy when it comes to studying! Did you know that there are a range of different apps that are available to students that can help you plan, study, and stay focused when preparing for your exams?
The forest app provides a visual incentive, the app lets you plant a tree and then holds that tree hostage until your timed study session is over.
The app is designed to stop you checking your notification or switching over to social media and if you do so prior to your timed study session being compete your tree will wither and die.
Todoist is a great app for organising due dates and exam timetables. Keeping all your tasks and due date’s neatly in one place with automated reminders to keep you on track.
Anki is a powerful flashcard app that helps its users to remember facts, equations, terms, and even images. The Anki app uses a scheduling algorithm to automatically test you on material you need to learn.
Split your study into chunks
Study a little bit each day, studying each day for a small chunk of time is a proven and effective way to get through course material without the need to cram in large sessions that reduce your capacity to retain information.
Save the night before you’re final exam for review only
It is important to save the night before your exam for a small, review session, instead of cramming a semesters worth of content into one intense cram session.
