7 Reasons To Study All Summer Long

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Back when I was in high school you couldn't drag me by my ankles back into a book during summer break. I officially shut down shop in my brain. I wouldn't think about school one time until months later. I still completely understand the pleasures of never thinking about school. The months of summer can be awfully fun but...

College is the time when I learned the errors in my ways. In an attempt to graduate from college early, I consistently took summer classes. That led to me spending virtually the whole year studying for school. It wasn't until then that I started to realize how valuable that actually is. In fact, it's so valuable that even after graduation I kept it up.

1. Habits Make Life Easy

There is an old joke that 99% of the time is a challenge, 100% of the time is easy.

Until you start living it, you don't understand how true that statement is. When you study consistently, it's easy to pick up a textbook. It's just a habit that you've strengthened for years. It feels completely natural. If you're like most students, picking up a textbook is more like trying to saw your arm off with a butter knife (painful and boring.)

Summer break can kills your study habits. If you have a good study habit then summer can completely ruin it for you. Make your life easy and keep studying at least a few minutes everyday.

2. Time For Subjects You Love

During the school year, studying subjects that you want to study can become a challenge. When you enjoy a subject, you tend to learn it faster than other subjects. Given the choice between studying a school subject you're not great at or a subject you love, you probably should pick the school subject you're not great at to help your grades. Summer gives you the chance to flip that upside down.

Life rewards you for the things that you're really good at. Use summer to study and get good with the things that you really love. You can maintain the habit of studying while enjoying the process of it a whole lot more than during the school year.

3. Remember What You Learned

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Summer break causes most students to forget about a third of what they learned during the previous school year. That is not a good thing. All this information is information that you'll need to relearn at the beginning of the next school year. Studying a little bit through summer can help your brain retain the information that it's learned easier.

Holding onto the information you learned from the year before is one of the easiest ways to get ahead for the next school year. While most students will be struggling to remember what they should know, you'll be focusing on the new material.

4. Experimentation

During the school year, it can be tough to practice new and better ways of studying. You can't risk using a new study method on a big test you have coming up without a little hesitation. If it doesn't work then your grades may suffer the consequences. That's why you want to do tons of study experiments during summer break.

Summer break is the perfect time to try studying in a different method than usual. Most of the study tricks you'll try won't do all that much for your grades but every once in a while you'll find something that dramatically increases your recall. That's the kind of thing that can turn B's into A's for a whole school year to come.

5. Getting Ahead In Life

Why do you try to get good grades in school? If you're like most students, somewhere in the answer to this question you'll mention that you want to get ahead in life.

One of the best ways to get ahead in life is to spend the time most people spend watching television learning new stuff. The more you're willing to dedicate your life to real learning (not school learning) the farther you're going to be able to get.

Spending time studying when you don't have to is an option you're going to be given for your whole life. The people that choose to put in that extra work will be getting the benefits of it. Everyone else will just be living the status quo.

6. Less Distractions

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Let's face it. There are going to be at least a few boring days throughout your summer. Sure, most of it is going to be a ton of fun but most of the time you'll have a couple hours everyday that you don't know what to do with. You certainly won't have schoolwork getting in your way.

It's a lot easier to study when you have plenty of time for it. Studying in a packed schedule is painful. Studying in an open schedule can be a little fun. Even if you weren't so good at studying during the previous school year, get in the habit of studying more while you don't have as many challenges.

7. It Can Be Fun

Yes... I know... I used the three letter word that annoying educators have been claiming for decades but I swear... there is some truth to it.

Studying for school sucks. I can't argue with that. I absolutely hated it most of my time in school. It feels like you're wasting your time learning stuff that you'll never use anyway.

Study outside of school is different. That's because you can control absolutely everything you spend your time on. You don't have to worry about failing a test during summer. You get to study for the sake of studying. You can pick when you study it too.

This completely changes the study equation over time. Take note of the words: over time. It takes a little bit of time but soon you'll wonder how you lived without a regular study time during your day. It's a unique pleasure that very few people learn to appreciate.

So... have I convinced you to pick up a subject you love and start studying? Remember, the hardest part with anything is getting started. Once you get going, it will come easier and easier over time.

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7 People You Don't Want In Your Study Group

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It wasn't until I realized that he was picking the dirt from under his nails with a paper clip that I realized I made a big mistake. I've never been a huge fan of studying in groups. That has nothing to do with the results though. Studying in groups can provide amazing results. There is nothing like a little social pressure to improve your focus on studying but there is one major challenge that I've had to face virtually every time I tried to study in groups.

Most people are not good at studying. Really... studying in a group with certain kinds of people will do nothing but limit your ability to learn. You need to know to avoid certain kinds of people in your study groups. In most cases, given the choice between studying in a group with one of these people, or studying alone, you should pick alone. At least you can predict your results when you're studying alone.

Here are the 7 people you don't want in your study group:

1. The Story Teller

No... I love people that can tell a good story too but that has nothing to do with studying. I can remember one of my study groups spending 20 minutes listening to this one guys story about this night he was at a bar. Notice how miserably I tell that story? That means I'm the kind of guy you want in your study group.

You cannot let your study group get distracted by stories that aren't related to the study material. Good story tellers are fun to listen to but if they can't restrain their story telling through study time then you're not going to get any studying done.

2. The Gossiper

If someone says even two words about an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend during the study time then you might as well leave. I'm sure you can recognize a gossiper. When someone gossips they're showing that they have absolutely no interest in the material being discussed. More importantly, it can drag everyone else out of the study material as well. (Well... when they tell you what they think, you gotta tell them what you think... It's a dangerous slope.)

3. Answer-It-All

Don't mistake an answer-it-all for the classic know-it-all. The answer-it-all has very little connection to that. A know-it-all knows the answer to every question being asked. That is not necessarily a bad addition to the study group. An answer-it-all thinks they know the answer to every question being asked and insist on proving it to everyone else in the group.

If there is anyone in your group that answers all the questions being asked without letting anyone else have a turn then you've gotta get away from them. Study groups need to offer everyone in the group the chance to answer questions. Hogging the questions is no different than hogging anything else.

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4. The Hopeless

“There is no way I'm going to pass this...”

“I'm totally going to fail.”

“This is soooo hard...”

Imagine it's one of these lines being said by someone with a horribly depressed face. Some people feel the need to express their lack of confidence at every chance they get. Now... we all feel that way sometimes. Heck, we probably even express it but it doesn't help anyone get anywhere.

Expressing a lack of confidence hurts everyone in the study group. When one person feels hopeless they drag everyone else down with them. It doesn't matter how right they are about the challenges of the test. No one needs more insecurity. One of the biggest advantages of a study group is the projected confidence of the group. A confident study group is a productive one.

5. Too Cool To Study

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Some people are more worried about looking good than passing the test. They go to the study groups just to hang out with friends and maybe... occasionally... remember a thing or two. These people are poison for a study group.

First of all, they're terribly disruptive to real studying. They're generally pretty polite with the whole format but they'll still break character and have unrelated conversations whenever they feel like it.

That isn't all that deadly but it is disruptive. The biggest problems come when you get two or three of these people in a study group. A once productive study group turns into a social gathering with the occasional person trying to ignore conversation while they try to study.

You're there to study. Make sure the people you're with have that on their mind too.

6. Give Me Perfection Or Give Me Death

While people that don't care much about improving their grades are bad, you also don't want people that always need perfection in your study group. These are the kinds of people that get 99's and cry about it.

People are not machines designed to learn everything and anything. They have limitations and that's okay. People that can't accept that project their neuroses with them everywhere they go. You don't want those neuroses spreading to everyone else in your study group. There is an appropriate amount of stress to have for a test. Don't let those that could pull a train with the knots in their neck study with you.

7. People You Hate

I've tried studying with people I don't like too many times. (I don't like many people. Eventually it became sort of a necessity. That's, sadly, partly true.) It offers some advantages to your study time. Specifically, when you're dealing with someone you don't like in your study group, you don't need to worry about mindless friendly conversation distracting you. Both people know why they're their and stick to the subject.

That doesn't make up for the pre-studying problem though. When your study group involves people you don't like, you're going to have to force yourself to go. You'll need to discipline yourself to follow through despite thinking, “I really don't want to see that person again...”

It's okay to study only with people you like.

Notice how difficult it is to find people that are good for a study group? You'll find that 9 out of 10 people fit into one of these categories. That's generally why I never enjoyed any long term study groups. They're absolutely amazing when they work but you need to find and hold onto the people you want in your study group. To those not inclined to do it, that can be a real challenge.

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Don't Use Your Computer To Study For Class!

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I know... I sound like a technology hating idiot. Computers are an amazing way to increase your ability to learn anything. The point of this article is certainly not as simple as the title might make it sound. I have absolutely nothing against using a computer to study but there are a few individual factors that need to be watched out for.

In my experience, when student's use their computer to study for a class they hit a very similar wall because of 3 different factors. These factors make studying significantly more challenging than it has to be. Students are forced to study hours longer because they're missing some of the most powerful aspects of studying.

Your Computer Is A Time Death Trap

Take note of the word “Your.”

Using your own personal computer to study is usually a bad idea. The average student's computer today is buried with significantly more interesting things to do than studying. You could play computer games. You could talk on your instant messenger. You can check your Facebook. All of these activities are significantly more fun than studying.

Your personal computer can easily eat away your study time with hundreds of non-studying distractions. Even if you don't indulge in those distractions, your brain can still lose some of its focus worrying about it. You're always fighting an uphill battle.

There are many solutions to this. Many students try to solve this by having two computers. One is exclusively used for schoolwork while the other is the one they kill most of their time on. That can work but it still takes some discipline to not turn it into two personal entertainment computers. You might hear your brain start trying to rationalize stupid things like, “Well... I need a messenger installed on this in case I need to talk to friends to help studying...” Oh no... Don't play that dangerous game because you'll never win. Proceed with caution if you plan on getting a second computer.

Another solution to using your own computer is using a different computer. Ideally, you could use a computer at school or in a library. This makes it much easier to focus on the actual studying that you need to do. The main challenge is that you can't install specific programs on these computers.

Using your own computer to study is possible but it makes studying an unpleasant act of discipline. Make it easy by removing the possible distractions.

The Class Is Not The Internet

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One of the most common mistakes people make with studying on their computer is losing focus on their classes specific material. There is an unlimited amount of valuable information about just about any subject on the internet. That makes it an amazing place to learn tons of information. But... learning tons of information is not the point of your class.

Classes are designed to teach you very specific sets of information. That information is what your teachers focus on teaching you. It's also what you're going to be tested on. If you spend two hours reading scholarly articles on the internet about the subject you're supposed to study, you will learn a ton of information. That's great but that has absolutely nothing to do with class. You can read those articles, learn the information, and still miserably fail the test because the information in those articles isn't the information that they wanted you to learn.

Yes... This is a fairly shallow mechanism for schools to try to teach you but it's the mechanism you have to keep in mind. They do not care how much you learn. They care if you learn what they want you to learn. While studying a subject online, don't try to fool yourself into thinking you're studying for your big test. You're just doing it for fun (or masochism.)

The saddest part about this whole situation is that you will learn better for class off the internet despite learning more on the internet.

Why You Should Use The Internet To Learn

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The amazing thing about the internet is how easily you can cater the information to a style that you're interested in. If you have to learn about the assassination of President Lincoln then you have tons of options. You can search it on the web. You can find documentaries about it to watch. You can read articles about it. You can find conspiracy theories if that's your thing. You can find humorous comic strips. All of these sources can teach you some information (some less than others,) and you can focus on the ones that work best for your personal preference.

You might absolutely hate reading about mathematics in a textbook but kind of enjoy watching someone showing you how to do it. With the internet you can find that.

The internet is amazing for learning because it gives you almost exactly what you are interested in finding. If you're actually interested in something then your able to learn it significantly more naturally than any forced class learning.

Learning is not studying though. Don't think that studying your Lincoln's assassination for class will be as effective online as using your specific class materials. While you can use it to peak your interest in a subject, never fool yourself into thinking your studying. While I'm not a fan of textbooks, use them if you have to. The ideal source for studying is usually specific notes (or video or audio) of the lectures.

Teacher's intentionally layout their courses to focus on the tests. The lectures are your chance to hear what's important coming straight from the horse's mouth (Did I just call your teacher a horse?). The vast majority of teachers repeat virtually everything that's important on their tests. Listening to what they emphasize means more than any textbook or internet search for your grade.

The future of education has absolutely nothing to do with the strategy I'm teaching you. Everyone knows that the current school system is completely outdated and ineffective. Someday, hopefully, students will be able to focus more on learning the subjects that they naturally love. That will allow them to learn more than ever.

That day is not today! Remember that. Their goal is not to teach you. Their goal is to teach you specific sets of information.

Technology is an amazing tool but it's an amazing tool that can be used for studying or entertainment. That means you have to watch out for the way you are using it. In most cases, I recommend not using your personal computer for studying. (There are scenarios where it's practical but everyone assumes they're the exception.) Use an alternative computer that requires less actual discipline to stay focused.

Getting amazing grades doesn't require that you drown yourself in pages of textbooks. It also doesn't require hours of your time everyday. That's what this blog is all about. If you want to learn more of the secrets to studying faster than ever then be sure to follow this blog and keep up.

9 Reasons You Shouldn't Have Your Cell Phone While Studying

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Put that cell phone down when you pick those textbooks up... Wanna know why?

1. It's Too Hard To Stay Focused

Yes. I know you like to think of yourself as the kung fu master of focused studying but I can assure you everyone does. Everyone thinks that they're somehow above the mild urge to pick up their cell phone whenever they get a tad bit bored. Even if you have the discipline not to pick up the phone, the little urge in the back of your head will still distract you from studying.

2. If You Get A Call...

If you get a phone call while studying, whether you like it or not, you're going to get distracted. If you don't answer it then your brain will suddenly start asking questions like, “Who was that?” or “Is it important?'' That alone is a distraction but it goes farther. Naturally, you're going to check who called. Then if it's something you think might be important you'll check your voicemail. Your brain has officially given up on studying mode. Whenever you let your brain leave studying, you make it harder to get back into it.

That is all, assuming you don't answer it after the second ring like most people.

3. If You Get A Text...

Yea... I know studying seems boring. It can be much more entertaining to text a few friends while you're trying to remember the information. More entertainment isn't the reason you should be studying though. If you want entertainment there are better ways. The little distraction every couple minutes does matter. Focus on studying or don't study at all.

4. Entertainment

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Imagine you're sitting at a table with a steak dinner on one side, and a meal you absolutely hate on the other side. Studying is that meal you hate. When you put a steak dinner next to it (like your amazingly fun phone) you're going to need all kinds of discipline just to sit on the correct side of the table.

Studying with a phone next to you just makes studying more difficult. When you're in the habit of doing it, you're bound to learn to hate the process of studying because your brain always has the ability to compare it to using your phone. Imagine you were hopelessly trapped in a room with nothing to do but study or rot away for weeks at a time. Studying won't look so bad when it's the only option. The more you make it feel like your best option, the better you're going to do with it.

5. Your Friends Deserve All Of You

I can imagine that it (might) be possible to study effectively while talking to a friend. That being said, you won't be talking to the friend effectively. Studying requires serious focus. If you're doing it right then your friend is going to feel insulted by how little attention you're giving them. Do your friends feel insulted while you're studying and texting with them at the same time? If not then you're not studying right.

NO! I'm not saying you should make your friends feel insulted. I'm saying you should focus on one or the other. When you study, you should give studying the respect it deserves. When you're talking with friends, you should give them the respect they deserve.

6. Emergencies Don't Really Happen (Much)

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This does not apply for everyone but do not go assuming it doesn't apply for you. The vast majority of people don't have emergencies that they need to be informed about immediately. If you're a parent, a doctor, or a superhero, you may have emergencies. Other than those, and similar categories, you probably don't need to be informed immediately.

99.9% of the time you're not going to have any important emergency while studying. Carrying your phone with you every time you study is 99.9% of the time, a pointless distraction. It will always have brain space whether you intentionally think about it or not. It's better to accept that the world will be waiting for you in 15-20 minutes when you're done studying.

7. Cell Phones Make Terrible Calculators

Yes. The calculator excuse has been done plenty of times before. Some students believe their lack of a calculator is a good reason to carry their phone. Okay... I understand that you need a calculator. If you have no other option then maybe you should leave your phone next to you but really...

The buttons are usually crap. The calculator rarely has all the features you need at easy access. They're painfully slow. They can easily become a distraction. Spend the 5 bucks to get a real calculator. If you're not willing or able to do that then you have bigger problems than your grades.

8. Blankie Disease

The resistance people have to leaving their phone ten feet away from themselves while studying is insane. No matter how many rational explanations I try, people always want to hold onto them for some other strange reason. I get the impression it's similar to the attachment a child has to their blankie...

Grow up. You can live without your phone for 20 minutes of your life. The world will keep on spinning. You've lived without it before (probably) and you can last a little while without it.

9. Smart Phones Make You Dumb

The more information your phone holds. The less your brain needs to hold. Remember that.

There was a time when people actually remembered the phone numbers to their friends. They didn't have contact lists to help them out. Today more and more information is getting stored. For most applications, that's great but it comes with a cost. The more you rely on your phone, the less you rely on your brain. The less you rely on your brain, the less your brain is strengthening over time.

Does that mean you shouldn't ever use your phone? Hell no. It's way too useful. Getting your memory a little stronger isn't necessary for most people. The point of me telling you this is just for you to be more aware of it. Relying on a phone has negatives as well.

I have this creeping feeling that 9 out of 10 students are going to pick up their phone after reading this. I figure it's kind of like yawning. It's a little bit contagious. That 1 out of 10 students that learn to control themselves are going to be the ones capable of making the most out of their study time. Try to be one of those ones.

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Achieving Perfection In School

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Many students struggle through school. Not because they're incapable but because their expectations are waaaaaay out of touch with reality. They set goals for their grades and work to achieve them. Most students, do, appropriately, work to achieve those goals.

Many students get discouraged as they try to improve their grades though. They can usually improve their grades but over time, they don't see the results they're looking for.

There is this crazy misperception that every failure a student has is 100% their own responsibility. Certainly, a student has responsibilities but everything is significantly more complicated than that. This becomes particularly true for the highest scoring students.

The Challenge Of The Perfect Score

There is a concept that I've mentioned a few times on this blog but I haven't gone into any real depth with. If you're looking to add another 5 points to your final grade on a test, it's significantly easier to go from a 75 to an 80 than a 95 to a 100. The higher your score is the harder it's going to be to get an even higher score.

This goes all the way to the final potential points on your test. Going from a 98 to a 99 is way easier than going from a 99 to a 100.

Thats because, with every point you gain, there are fewer ways to gain a point. If you had a 100 point multiple choice test, and had a 98, to gain that last point, you would need to answer 1 of 2 different questions. To go from a 99 to a 100 you would need to answer 1 specific question. You have twice as many possibilities to go from 98 to 99 than 99 to 100.

This is absolutely essential to understand if you're ever going to try and achieve perfection in school. Grades get progressively more difficult to improve upon. Using my personal experience, I've seen most C students can turn into B students with 10 minutes of studying a day (even if they're a little inconsistent about it.) Students trying to get from B's to A's tend to need (at least) twice as much studying. Students looking to move from A to A+ need to invest significantly more time.

Taking Responsibility

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People encourage taking responsibility. It's usually a pretty good thing but many people, teachers in particular, take it too far. You can take responsibility for a lot of things. You cannot take responsibility for everything. If you're reading this article trying to improve your grades then, guess what, you're obviously taking responsibility for your grades.

Now that we can take that off the table, why are you not achieving the grades you're looking for?

Are you taking responsibility in an intelligent way? You can build a skyscraper out of popsicle sticks but you'll probably have trouble finding tenants for it. You can study with some amazing effort but that doesn't make up for studying foolishly. Your grades won't be affected.

Are you taking enough responsibility? In most cases, if you're reading this, it's a yes. If you read about studying better but never actually do it then, maybe, you need to find a reason to actually put in a few minutes of effort. That being said, most students can get A's with 20 minutes of daily consistent studying (eventually, it takes a while because there is a learning curve.) If you're putting in more effort than that, I'd look back at whether you're studying in an intelligent way.

Are you actually responsible for your imperfect grades?

You're probably thinking I'm crazy now. No one likes to let you think about this but not all imperfection is your own fault. You are not a master of the universe. You can't magically make everything work in your favor. If you're averaging upper A's then I can almost guarantee you're not solely responsible for the points you don't get.

There is an unlimited number of problems that you could have with perfecting your grades but to list a few:

You can't control what the teacher puts on the test. Teachers are human. Sometimes they make mistakes by asking a question that you weren't taught to study for. It happens.

A fun problem: Sometimes teachers don't like you or they like you and expect more from you than other students. Again, this fits under teachers are humans.

What if a family member passes away before a big test, yea, it's okay to not get perfection during major personal problems. Guess what, you're human too.

Do not let someone tell you that you need to take more responsibility without them knowing how much responsibility you take. Teachers, parents, and many good students, are quick to attack anyone struggling with comments about “not putting in enough effort” or “being lazy.” These are usually nothing but blind attacks. (Really, how many of the people that say this actually watch how much effort you put in?) It can be true but it can also be a complete load of bull. Know the difference.

Setting Expectations

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Achieving perfection in school is a noble goal. Students that are able to achieve the perfect score are certainly worth looking up to in one way or another. At the same time, there are a number of factors you need to keep in mind before you set this expectation.

First of all, you're going to have to put in an absolutely ridiculous amount of time. You're not only going to have to know specifics. You're going to have to study random facts that probably won't show up on the test (but still might.) The vast majority of your study time is going to be on irrelevant information. It's not going to be efficient.

Second, you can't control everything. No matter how hard you try, you're probably going to not achieve perfection because of factors out of your own control. There are students that can maintain perfection for a very long time in school but virtually none hold onto it forever.

Is it really worth it to you? Of course, I'm saying this with a bit of a lean on it not being worth it. I've seen too many amazing students grow up to end up in the same place as average students to appreciate the difference in grades but that's not everything. There are advantages to perfecting your grades. The number one advantage is the effort that you learn to put into what you do. (That being said, never let yourself say your grades are a means to an end. Learning is never ending. If you can't maintain it for life then you'll just fizzle out. Any advantages you gain from school will be lost.)

It can be worth it to aim for perfection but honestly consider the possibility of settling for great grades. Most students can average A's with only a little bit of consistent effort. That consistent effort is well worth the results. On top of that, you'll also have time to pursue the things that you're most passionate about it life.

Do you want to know how to get great grades without putting in hours of work a night? That's what How To Study Faster is all about. Please share this article if you enjoyed it.