How to Study Smart and Study Less

Are you wondering what the most effective study methods are? Do you want to know how to study fast in less time? Do you require more time for extracurricular activities but have to reserve to get prepared for exams? With our scientifically proven study tips and tricks for college students, you will have these issues solved.

For successful and fast learning, you have to:

  • Understand your studying mistakes.
  • Create a schedule and a proper environment.
  • Use brainstorming techniques and online tools.
  • Study various subjects each day without multitasking.
  • Truly comprehend the topic you’re exploring.

In this article, we are going to discuss why learning takes so much time. Our experts listed typical students’ mistakes and shared some secret study tricks to ease your struggles. So, let’s start!

 Contents

  1. ⌚  Why Do Your Studies Take so Much Time?
  2. 🏃‍♀️ How to Study Fast in Less Time
  3. 📚 How to Study More in Less Time
  4. 💡  Study Smart, not Hard

⌚ Why Do Your Studies Take so Much Time?

A great starting point is to analyze your studying pattern to see what mistakes you usually make while learning.

We’ve listed some common ones below:

  • No planning, no schedule, and no priorities. Some students prefer to focus on random assignments, depending on what they WANT to do rather than what they NEED to do.
  • Leaving everything to the last minute and then cramming. This strategy has proved to be not effective at all. You may pass your exam, but you’ll quickly forget what you’ve learned after you’re done.
  • Having too many distractions while studying. Gadgets, TV, music, loud family members, etc.—all these factors will keep you from progressing too much.
  • Trying to remember everything without taking any notes. Rely on your brain wisely. It can process and store a lot of information, BUT you have to gradually fill it and leave some written notes to refresh it later.
  • Leading an unhealthy lifestyle. Being sleepy, not exercising, and eating junk food are harmful activities for your body and studies.

There are many more mistakes that high school and college students make, of course. So make a list of your own and start improving. Meanwhile, our 12 tips will help you get on your way.

🏃‍♀️ How to Study Fast in Less Time

Anyone can boost their efficiency and improve their study skills. They just need to learn some tips and hacks to do so.

Let’s go deeper into the matter and see what students who are tired of studying can study more effectively.

1. Make a Schedule

The number-one secret to effective studying is to plan out all the things that have to be done and learned and then schedule them accordingly. Spend some time finding out more about time-management skills. It will completely change your approach to your studies.

We all know the saying, “Nothing makes a person more productive than the last minute,” but not in our case… If you plan everything for the last minute, you risk losing time and ending up with a low-quality assignment. And no time left to set it right.

Still wondering how to save time for study?

Just think, plan, and act in advance.

2. Let Your Brain Choose the Best Time

If you want to make the most of your studying time, you first need to identify the time when your mind is ready to interact and perform at its best. Most people can think, memorize, and produce their freshest thoughts after a night of good, sound sleep. Your body feels rested and can offer you its highest working capacity.

The thing is:

The exact time of day that’s optimal can vary from one person to another. Some people feel too sleepy after a full night’s sleep, and all they can do is to yawn and make themselves a coffee cup.

The best learning time for a student.

Hopefully, your best performance time is not during the night. Otherwise, you’d have trouble combining your day and night studies. Remember that you also need 6-8 hours to sleep to stay healthy!

3. Study in a Quiet and Comfortable Place

Trying to concentrate at home, where it’s always noisy and loud, can be a super-complicated task. You will hardly have high performance in a place with so many potential distractions.

In this case, we’d recommend that you look for a quieter place to study.

Why not go to a good old library? Or maybe your local internet café?

You’ll find some more excellent suggestions at ThoughtCo.

4. Take Notes in Class and at Home

Note-taking is something that you can’t do without if you want to learn how to study faster. You might try to object, thinking that taking notes takes too much time.

But does it?

You’ll indeed spend some time taking notes. Then again, you’ll save way more time when studying at home and preparing for the exam.

  • You’ll have all the necessary data and references collected in one place.
  • You’ll recall the critical information taught during your lessons (something that you might not find in books).
  • You’ll memorize faster when you write the information out—writing works much better for your memory than typing!
  • You’ll immediately refresh your memory on all the key points that you’ll need for your test.

The note-taking method ends up being one of the best studying methods for those who wonder how to study for a test fast and effectively.

5. Take Breaks

Incredible as it may seem, taking regular breaks during your studies will save you time. The secret is giving enough of a break to your brain to increase its performance.

Don’t sit still for hours.

Instead, get up every 30-60 minutes, remembering to stretch your legs and hands. This way, you’ll avoid stiffness and muscle cramps. You may even choose to do some more vigorous exercises to launch your metabolism and make you feel more energized. By moving your body, you’ll also improve your concentration, memory, and creativity.

📚 How to Study More in Less Time

With our tips, you’ll be able to:

  • spend a minimum amount of time learning;
  • have a busy and entertaining social life;
  • and end up with As on any assignment or exam.

We interviewed a dozen A-level college students who always manage to spend just a little time studying. They told us about some effective learning techniques and tricks that we listed below.

6. Use Mind-Mapping

Organize your ideas into maps, clouds, diagrams, charts, tables, etc. to make your facts visual and memorable. This study method is sure to boost your performance and save some time, especially if you’re a visual person.

You can take this method one step further and use mind map tools online, like Popplet or Spiderscribe, where you’ll collaborate with your classmates, brainstorm thoughts, exchange ideas, and share your maps.

Don’t you think this would save tons of your time while studying?

7. Use Online Tools for Learning

Online tools are not only fun, but they can also serve different purposes and increase your productivity.

Here’s how they can help you:

  • Develop your creative and critical thinking skills.
  • Collaborate and exchange ideas with classmates, friends, and peers.
  • Perform research using rich online content databases.
  • Organize and manage your information.
  • Find an optimal studying method through a learning style quiz.
  • Deepen your knowledge through the ability to take free online courses.

Make sure to read more details about 36 Best Websites for Full-Fledged Learning and look at our custom writing service.

8. Study Different Subjects Every Day

Have you ever noticed that focusing on just one particular subject each day is not as useful as studying a couple of them each day?

A tree of life and school subjects.

Let’s look at an example:

Imagine you have to prepare for final exams in literature, chemistry, math, and law. It will work better if you study each subject a little bit every day. Focusing on only writing on Monday, chemistry on Tuesday, math on Wednesday, or law on Thursday might be too much. The sheer volume of information on each subject may make you feel overwhelmed.

You’ll learn much faster and retain that knowledge better if you spend, let’s say, one hour on each subject every day. This way, your brain will have more time to process and absorb the new material.

9. Don’t Multitask

Unless you want to become less productive and more distracted, don’t multitask in anything you do. Your studies will take less time if you focus only on what you’re currently learning.

Want some essential tips on how to improve concentration and how to prepare for exams effectively?

Here you go:

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