5 Reasons Your Teachers Are Usually Horrible Resources For Study Advice

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Most students are horrible at studying. That's because the only education they ever got on how to study came from people that are also horrible at studying. Teachers typically give some of the worst study advice around. They often suggest ridiculous time periods to study every night. They often recommend reading the textbook (as if anyone ever learned from that.) This is the kind of advice you get for studying from a person that's never learned how to study themselves.

Why are your teachers usually such bad study resources?

1. They Love The Subject

Imagine you're a history teacher. You became a history teacher because you really enjoy learning about history. People don't become history teachers unless they're particularly fond of history (otherwise they'd become math or english or some other kind of teacher.) This history teacher probably thinks about history when he's not on the job. He enjoys it.

He probably reads books about history. (Not the crappy textbooks you're given but good learning resources.) Heck, reading a book about history may be considered a good time for him.

Now if you ask this guy for study advice, what's he going to think? “Well, I study about 1-2 hours a night.” Of course, his definition of studying includes him spending time doing the things he enjoys. At best, this study advice is heavily biased.

2. They Chose This Life

Teachers don't go into teaching because they think most of school is stupid.

People that don't enjoy school don't typically become teachers (short of a few sociopaths that like to inflict suffering or something and a few radicals trying to change it.) To anyone that doesn't enjoy school, this may surprise you but some people actually enjoy the simplicity of school. It's a predictable day with friends for those people.

If the vast majority of teachers enjoyed school growing up then they have a similar bias towards schooling. That means, when they tell you to study an hour a night, they're implicitly saying, “I enjoyed studying an hour a night,” not “This is what you should do.”

WAIT! Am I saying people that like school also like studying more? Yes. I am. Let's face it. When I took my textbooks out in early high school, I had to fight thoughts of killing myself (literally actually.) That instantly ruins any potential studying that takes place. If I were able to enjoy schooling, I'd be able to study much more efficiently.

3. Education Is The Easiest Major

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Estimates regularly show that education is one of the easiest majors that you can go through in college. (It is the easiest of the major fields. By the way, I'm disgusted by that too.) People that would not survive an engineering degree, or a nursing degree, or a chemistry degree end up going into education. That lower pool of competition means you've got a clear set of people that aren't studying as well as the harder majors on average.

Remember, people with engineering degrees can get into teaching easily. (Then again, why would they?) People with teaching degrees can't easily get into engineering. That means the more intelligent degree to get is usually the more difficult.

4. Learn VS Score Bias

When teachers give you study advice, they're usually not giving you advice to help you increase your score. They're usually giving you advice to help you learn the subject. Those are two unbelievably different things.

Learning a subject is always a challenge. There is virtually unlimited things you can learn about any subject. People often spend decades of their life learning about relatively small things like WW1 (not quite small) or Crawfish. After those decades of studying, they still end up learning new things.

Getting higher scores is actually pretty easy. There are tons of things you can do to increase your final score without learning a single new fact about the subject you're supposed to be learning. Increasing your scores is concentrating your study efforts on the things that actually matter to the class.

Most students looking for study advice are just looking to improve their grade. That means any study advice designed for learning can help but isn't nearly as efficient.

This is one of the most prominent reasons teachers always overestimate the time required to study for a subject. You can study for most tests in less than 10 minutes a night. (15 minutes is what I usually say but 15 is really conservative for a single test.) Of course, studying for the test won't make you an expert on the subject. It will just get you to pass the test comfortably.

5. They Rarely Know Any Of This...

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Sadly, teachers usually think they're one of the best resources for study advice without ever giving it any real thought.

They're applauded by everyone as heroes all the time and most people aren't willing to say anything that's the slightest bit judgmental. They're coddled into thinking they're special (even if the ones that objectively suck at teaching.)

Most teachers aren't actively trying to spread stupid advice. They're just spreading the same stupid advice that they were taught by their teachers. Maybe they'll change a few words to keep it interesting but in reality, most are just recommending the same old stuff.

In the past 30 years there have been hundreds of empirical studies on “how to study.” Most of this data hasn't been dug through by these teachers. If you spend 20 minutes looking at these studies you'd learn that virtually all the advice those teachers give is horribly misguided.

Now that this has all been said, you can't keep blaming them for the bad advice anymore. Just because they give bad advice, it doesn't mean you have to listen. You have to take ownership of your own life and start looking for a better way. There are tons of resources that can help you do that. This blog has over 50 articles that can help you get started.

Do you want to know how to study in less than 15 minutes a night? That's what this blog is all about. Check out the kindle books in the sidebar for the crash course.

7 (Sneaky) Tricks To Starting The School Year Right

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Getting good grades doesn't require that you invest hours a night into studying. While some students can get good grades through that, it's usually the least intelligent way to get good grades. Instead of looking for better grades through more time investment, you should be looking for better grades through smarter time investments.

These 7 (Sneaky) tricks will help you do just that. They're far from the traditional “study more” advice that you'll hear from virtually every other source.

1. Syllabus Plot And Scheme

Every student needs to be plotting and scheming based on the syllabus their teacher provides. What do I mean by that?

Lets say your teacher hands out a syllabus that states 10% of your grade is based on your homework scores and 90% of your grade is based on test scores. Now consider how hard the tests are and how common the homework is. You need to be able to look at that information and figure out where you need to be investing your time.

Let's make this example even more obvious. Lets say there are only 4 tests through the year and there is a half hour of homework every single night with that same point allocation.

What is the smart thing to do as a student?

SCREW THE HOMEWORK!

You can get a 90 in the course by just studying well for the tests. Investing a half hour every night is wasting significantly more time to see barely any improvement in your results. You only have so much time in your day. Do you really want to use it fighting for a few points when you can use it to get a ton of points?

That being said, by screw the homework, I don't mean never do it. I mean, consider not doing it when you really don't need or want to do it. An extra few points can help. They're just not worth sacrificing too much of your time for. Some homework can also help you prepare for the test. In those cases, maybe it will be smart to do it. Just don't consider the homework essential based on this syllabus.

With virtually every class you can use a similar method make powerful changes in your study strategies. Every class is different so you need to do the plotting and scheming on your own.

2. Get A Head Start

What is the easiest part of the year? Usually it's the first month or two. Take advantage of that.

Getting good grades early on is easy. It might seem like overkill to go for great grades early on but it's worth it. In most classes, the perfect score you get at the beginning of the year is just as important to your final grade as a perfect score you get at the end of the year. Considering that early perfect grade is significantly easier to get, those are the grades you're going to want to be fighting for, if any.

I get it if you don't think it's worth the investment but if you're planning on fighting for a higher grade, early in the year is the perfect time to get a head start. It lets you relax during the harder parts of the year.

3. Teacher's Alliance

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Do not make enemies with your teacher.

As far as you should be portraying, they are smarter than you. They care about you more than you do. They are perfect while you are a dog to be trained. I know, none of that is necessarily true but as long as you're subjecting yourself to class, this is the way to get ahead easier.

You don't need to be a suck up but in any confrontation you have with your teachers, you will lose. I wrote a whole article on this that's probably worth reading.

In the best case scenario, you want your teacher rooting you on. The way you make that happen is to act like you're a good student. Students that act like good students virtually never get failed. They also tend to get treated softly in the grading process. Use that to your advantage.

4. Irritating Perfectionist

The following is a strategy I've used only a couple times myself. I read it from another book. The part I love about this piece of advice is not that it's unbelievably powerful. (It's useful just not fantastic.) The part I love is that it takes number 3 in this list and puts it in perspective.

After receiving your first low grade in the school year, go up to your teacher and ask about every single point that you lost on the assignment. Take your sweet time in asking the questions.

The most important reason you should do this is to learn from your mistakes.

The more entertaining reason to do this is to waste your teachers time to the point that the teacher questions giving you low scores in the future. The teacher is required to help struggling students. They can't afford to spend an hour with you discussing every low grade they give you. Spending this time shows them that with every low grade they give, they might have to.

Consider this the important takeaway: Teachers are tools for you to get good grades. They're not there to help you. They're there to get a paycheck. You're their tool to their paycheck. (Imagine they stopped getting paid, how long do you think they'd keep teaching the irritating students in your classroom?) You're not there to make them happy either. You're there to learn a lot and prove it with your scores.

5. Drop Drama

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People will always be trying to drag you into their own personal drama.

Don't let it happen. You can deal with drama in television shows. Most of the drama other people try to drag you into has absolutely nothing that you can help with. You'll have plenty of drama of your own in life. Every ounce of emotional energy that you invest in someone else's problems makes your life worse.

It also makes your grades worse.

6. Don't Bomb

This should be obvious but some students completely miss it.

At no point in the year should you let yourself completely bomb anything (unintentionally.) One single outlying low score can drag your grade down fast. Just don't let it happen in the first place.

Hand in all your assignments. Remember that a 50 is way better than a 0. (And from my experience working with other students, complete crap can get a 50 when it should get a 0. Hand stuff in!)

7. Sleep It Off And Up And Over And Out

The start of a new school year is stressful. There isn't a more important time to focus on getting however much sleep you need to thrive. It's also a common time that students lose track of their time and stop prioritizing sleep.

One of the sad truth's about the school year is that you're not going to have as much time to do the things you love. Don't stay up late trying to make up for that lost time. It will just make your school year harder in the long run.

Using these 7 sneaky tricks you can bring your grades into the stratosphere (maybe even the mesosphere if you're lucky.)

Great grades don't come from lots of studying. They come from smart studying. This site can help you with that. Check out our archives. Maybe you should even consider buying one of our books.

5 Lies Your Teachers Told You About College

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Yes. You know it just as well as I do. Your teachers lied to you. No... Don't start lighting your torches and grabbing your pitchforks yet. Most of the teachers lie about the prospects of college with good intentions but even if they didn't have good intentions, consider this:

A high school teacher CANNOT speak negatively about college and keep their job safe. Imagine the uproar of parents if a teacher told you all the information I'm about to tell you. That's not to say college is a negative but knowing what a teacher is not allowed to say can help you figure out where the whole story isn't being told and where you need to look out.

1. You Need College To Get A Good Job

This is one of the most egregious lies being told to high school students today. You do not need a college degree to get a good job. In fact, there are many jobs without a college degree that are easier to get and pay way more than some jobs that require college. They're just a different category of jobs.

Most teachers don't even realize how much they're lying when they say this. That's because they chose to go down the college path themselves and, of course, there are some major statistics that, on the surface, suggest they're right.

You might hear the statistics like, “people that go to college make an extra million dollars in their lifetime,” and assume that's because college gets you a better job. That's misguided though. College does not necessarily increase a persons salary just because there is a correlation. It's just as likely to say, people that will become successful are more likely to go to college.

To rephrase that, it's not necessarily that college makes people smart enough to get more money. It can also mean that people smart enough to make more money tend to go to college. That's a major difference. People are told the benefits of college their whole life. People with a good head on their shoulders are waay more likely to consider it. These people may be just as successful without it.

That being said, this lie could actually hold some truth if you rephrase it:

You need training to get a good job.

Training can come from college. It can also come from years of experience. There are tons of different ways to get the training required for a job. Don't narrow down your focus to exclude everything except college.

2. College Is An Investment

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Not understanding this point can cost you years of your life.

More of my friends than I like to think about are now suffering from the consequences of this mistake. College is not an investment by nature. It's just not. Education means very little economically and can cost you a fortune if you don't plan it out like an investment. It's only an investment if you treat it like an investment.

An investment is something that has a clear way to pay you a return on your investment in the future. School is not always that clear cut. You are not guaranteed a job just because you graduate college. You're not even guaranteed an interview. You need to look at the job market you're investing in before you actually spend tens of thousands of dollars on college.

This might be painful but it will be a whole lot less painful than paying down your student loans on a job you could have gotten without your degree. College is only an investment if you make it one. Otherwise, it's just a luxury.

3. It's Harder Than High School

Many high school teachers like to scare students into focusing on their work. Instead of actually providing their students a reason to learn the material, they tell their students that they're going to fail out of college if they don't learn to work hard now. That's the most common reason I've heard teachers make this lie but there are a few other reasons I've noticed.

Most people that graduate from college and spend time talking about it are just the kind of person to brag. While it's not every case, many people like to make a big deal out of things that aren't all that much of a challenge to make themselves feel better about it. Instead of trusting volunteered opinions about the challenges of college.

Ask people that have graduated and don't brag about it. Sometimes they'll tell you it's a little harder but you won't get the average scare story you get from most people that bring the subject up themselves.

Don't expect college to be much harder than high school unless you're heading into a super challenging degree (medical, etc.) or a super challenging college (MIT, etc.)

4. Go To School For What You Love!

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Yes. This is another unbelievably dangerous lie.

The average teacher that tells you this one is so confident in it that they're easy believe. Don't. Imagine how you'll feel 4 years after college when you need to pay off $30,000 worth of student loans with $10 an hour. My friends are doing it now. It's not fun.

College is not the time to learn what you love unless you have the money lying around to pay for it. As mentioned before, you need to treat it like an investment. That means you should be going for a degree that has a clear market for a job after graduation. By market, I do not mean a few teaching jobs. I mean jobs in just about anyplace you look.

You cannot count on being in the small minority of women's studies majors that get a teaching job after college. You might as well be going to the library and buying lottery tickets because the odds are stacked up against you.

Oftentimes, you can make a reasonable compromise with this kind of thing. If you want to go for some of those more fun sounding classes then do it while getting a degree with real potential for a job.

5. You Won't Go If You Don't Go Now

This is close to true. Most people that don't go to college right after high school, don't end up going to college ever. That is mostly related to the kind of person that usually doesn't go to college. Responsible people are more likely to go to college. The irresponsible people don't go to college. They end up living paycheck to paycheck, and maybe accidentally having a few kids. Eventually, they can't change their might.

Don't ignore another group though. What happens to the responsible people that don't go to college? Well... they don't limit their options in the future. Personally, I went to college 2 years after I graduated. Working for a few years was one of the best things I could have done. I learned more in those two years of working than I did in school. All around me at my minimum wage job, I saw people that I didn't want to be like. I saw them partying and doing drugs and I stayed responsible because I knew I didn't want to end up where they were.

If you're responsible then you don't have to go to college now. The only thing that can keep you from going back in the future is yourself.

Don't just take everything your teachers tell you as fact. They're just as human as anyone else with an opinion. Look at yourself logically and trust that you're capable of making the right decision for yourself.

Do you want to learn the secrets to studying faster than ever? Follow this blog and check out my books to learn more.

How To Know When To Stop Studying

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I've given some pretty bold study advice but one piece of advice that confuses most people is this: You should not study when you're completely prepared for a test. Even if you have the time.

There is a time when every student should be absolutely done with studying before a test. In fact, there are plenty of times when stopping studying does way more good than continuing to study. While most study advice focuses on “STUDY MORE!” I tend to believe in an appropriate balance. The human brain is not naturally designed to memorize large sets of information without some survival necessity. The less necessary the studying is, the less effective your going to study it anyway.

When To Stop Studying Before A Test

If you have a good study habit then you probably don't need to study the night before you take a test, in fact, there are plenty of advantages to not actually studying before you take the test. If you've studied all the pieces of information that you planned on studying then studying for it one more night won't help too much.

The brain gets bored when it starts getting used to the same information. The first time you memorize something it's a novelty that your brain is more inclined to let stick. If you're going over it the sixth or seventh time then the brain is a whole lot less interested in making it stick. That leads most students to a nasty case of horrible distraction.

That distraction is terrible for the study habit but it can also lead to poor recall during every study session in the future. When you struggle through the final study session before a test (because you're not focused,) you're also setting yourself up to struggle through the test. In fact, you might even start to have to worry about the test. That can ruin your sleep that night. That can ruin your final score on the test.

I've found, one of the best ways to eliminate worry about a test is to not study the night before it. Instead, I accept that I'm as prepared as I ever will be. A bad study session before the test is a whole lot worse than no study session. Sleep is generally easy when you have the required confidence. When it comes to test time, your brain will have spent 24+ hours thinking about how confident you are. Stress won't be an issue.

One of the best things about cutting out studying the night before the test is the habits that it helps develop. When you avoid studying the night before a test you train yourself to never cram. Cramming absolutely kills most students ability to study. (See my other articles for a long explanation.)

If you haven't studied everything required then it may be better to study the night before a test but in the future, try to be at least one day ahead.

When To Give Up Studying For A Night

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There are times when you should stop studying during a regular study session. Many times people think it's important to study no matter what. While I recommend a habit of starting to study, I certainly don't think it's necessary to end studying at the same time habitually. Some days, it's better to stop studying early than to ruin your good study habits by studying longer.

The first and most important time to stop studying is when you've mastered the information you intended to master. Before any study session, you should have a goal to understand a certain set of information. When you have memorized that information, and have proven it a few times, you don't need to spend more time studying. It can be helpful to reward yourself and stop studying then. When you study faster than expected, you can make some really amazing things happen.

Another time to stop studying is when you can't study effectively mentally. If you've spent 10 minutes trying to stop thinking about something other than studying during your study time, you may be too distracted to effectively study. If you're usually really good about studying then don't feel bad to stop studying when you're that distracted. It shouldn't be a habit but there are times when there are more important things to think about.

The last time I recommend stopping your studying is when you're physically incapable. If, after ten minutes of studying, you're physically exhausted to the point that you can't focus on anything, you should stop studying. This is usually because of sleep deprivation. Learn your lesson and fix whatever happens to be causing your struggle. That being said, don't give up studying to do something fun. Spend the time you should be studying laying down or resting.

With all these opportunities to stop studying, you might consider not studying at all if you're expecting to hit one of these problems. I recommend never not starting. Be in the habit of starting to study whether you're capable of finishing or not. Many times, when you think you won't be able to study, you wind up having a great study session. It's worth starting the session to find out.

Summer Study Stop

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Students hate me for this but let me make my case.

Nearly 30% of the information you learn during the school year gets forgotten during the summer.

If you study through the whole summer, you can be 30% ahead of your peers when school time comes. That can make the following year easier than ever. You should be taking advantage of that. You should not stop studying at the end of the school year. You should continue your habit so you're still working at peak when the next school year starts.

That being said, you don't have to study a bunch of information you hate. While it's good to review some of the subjects for school, you can focus most of your studying on subjects that you enjoy. Think about the things that you want to do with your life and study those subjects. If you want to travel the world then study Mandarin or Spanish or another language. If you want to become an artist then study art. Just keep that habit going.

The habit is the most important part. Once you're good at studying at a certain time, you don't wont to risk losing it. It can take a very long time to get it back.

Use this article as a guide to know when it's time to stop studying and when you shouldn't stop studying. Studying more is not always the best solution. Your brain is not magic. It can suffer from fatigue that drowns your ability to learn. Unless you're using some nootropic drugs then you can't get away with the forced information shove. You need to learn the effective means to deliver the information naturally.

Do you want to know the secrets to mastering school without spending your whole life on it? Follow this blog and our Twitter to keep up. Also, be sure to check some of our older articles.

Why You Suck At Studying

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I'm sorry but if you're like the vast majority of students, you're just plain bad at studying. The average student is taught hundreds of pointless facts throughout their education but it seems like none of the students are taught how to actually study effectively. Effective studying is not reading the textbook or trying to remember all the facts. Effective studying is about doing everything in the most efficient way possible.

When it comes to studying, most students are taught to stay back in the dark ages. Really, most teachers recommend the same awful study advice that was being used hundreds of years ago. Times have changed and our understanding of the brain has increased dramatically. There is no reason to be using the same antiquated advice to learn your material for class. It's time to upgrade to the next level in studying.

Why are you so bad at studying?

You Don't Link The Information

The human brain is not designed to memorize material out of a textbook. I'm sure you know how that goes. One second you're diligently thinking about the material in the textbook, the next second you're imagining how Benjamin Franklin would look at a smart phone. The brain doesn't work through the traditional lens of focusing on a single subject. The brain is more like the internet.

Whenever your brain is thinking about a subject, it's like looking at a page with hundreds of links on it. If you think about Benjamin Franklin, you might see, American history, electricity, printing press, and other links related to him. Every subject that you connect to Benjamin Franklin has a link straight back to him. This might seem a little out there but it helps illustrate the most powerful means of remembering information.

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Instead of focusing on remembering random facts, you need to remember the connections between different areas of information. This is actually what your brain does naturally. Where it gets difficult is in controlling the links tightly focused around your study material. You need to do everything you can to not let any of the information you're studying be random. Find the connections and focus on remembering them.

That being said, one of the best ways to hold onto these connections is to change the way you look at studying.

You Study What You Can Do

To Study effectively in the traditional sense, you need to do a bit of “brain gymnastics.” While that's reasonably effective, there is always a significantly better way to learn. While I was comparing your brain to the internet earlier, don't let that thought sink in too deep because it doesn't go farther than the linking. People are powered by emotions and chemical reactions.

Just think about how pointless remembering random facts would be to a prehistoric man. People are designed for survival. Survival doesn't involve remembering when World War 1 started (unless, of course, you're doing some awesome time travel experiments. Note: Please invite me!) Survival involves physical activity like walking, running, and fighting off bears.

Your memory is most effective when you're able to use your body. Everything is like riding a bicycle. You cannot learn to ride a bike effectively without actually climbing on the bike to ride. Sure, you might be able to learn to spin the pedals, turn the handlebars, and understand the physics of staying upright, but you'll always be a little away from being able to do it. That is no different than learning anything else.

If you're studying math then don't study the equations, just use the equations. If you're studying science then do some experiments. If you're studying human anatomy, don't study the textbook, grab a sharpie and draw the muscles and names on someone sleeping. The more you're able to use the information you're learning, the better off you'll be.

This is why many people use the loci method for studying. The loci method is just imagining the information you're studying in a location you recognize. As you walk through that location, you connect more and more information to different landmarks. This works well because you're turning facts into relevant landmarks and imagining physical activity. While the loci method is often significantly overrated, it has some major things working for it. It at least pretends to have value to the brain. It's still better to do.

You Hate Studying

I can't blame you for this one. If you hate studying then you're going to always suck at it. I used to be one of the most guilty people of all when it came to this. I absolutely hated studying. For years of my life I preferred scraping easy c's and d's so I could avoid studying completely. I hated studying. My grades didn't change until I chose to change my perspective on things.

Studying for school is often a pointless task. Really, you're not going to need most of the information your teachers like to shove down your throat. While some of it's absolutely essential, most of it's a complete waste of brain space. Once I was able to accept that I came to realize something. Most of the information in the world is information we don't need to have.

I never need to worry about not knowing anything. The internet has changed the way most information works. Whenever I have a question, all I have to do is search the internet for an answer. Sure, it can't answer everything but it teaches more than I could learn in a lifetime of schooling. What the internet cannot do is put together the knowledge you're learning. That's a skill that needs to be learned and practiced.

Improving your ability to study and learn information will help you for your whole life, even if the actual information they teach you doesn't. Maybe that doesn't work for you..

If you hate studying then you need to find a way to change your perspective. It can be any of a million different things. Maybe you want to make a good living as a doctor or impress your parents. You need to find some reason to want to study. Once you do that, you're going to be able to study faster and more effectively than ever before.

You're Reading And Not Recalling

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Reading your textbook is not the same thing as studying. In fact, it's usually one of the least effective ways to remember information. Reading is a method of gathering information but most people have trained their brains to just pull the information and throw it out for good. Are you really remembering all the information that you're reading? There is no way to really know.

Recalling information is the secret to knowing whether or not your remember something. On a test, when you are asked a question, you can't reread a paragraph to find the answer. You need to dig below the sports scores and fashion advice through the depths of your brain to find the answer. That is recall. You need to actively use recall during your study sessions to know that you're actually studying effectively.

Most people avoid using recall because of how stressful it can be. It's painful to try to remember information. It's so stressful that most people just give up and go back to reading. If you want to continue to suck at studying then continue to avoid recall but if you want to study like a pro, you need to push through the pain.

Flashcards are the classic means of using recall during studying. You either know the information on the other side of the flashcard or you don't. Use whatever means of recall that you can train yourself to use effectively but make sure to use it.

Studying with recall can make this last mistake a whole lot easier to solve...

You Study Too Much

What?!? Your teachers will probably hate me for this but it's true. Most students that struggle to learn are spending too much time trying to study. If you're studying effectively, you should not be able to study for hours straight. If you're using recall then you'll start to wear yourself out after 15 minutes.

When you study for too long a period of time, you get in the habit of “half-studying.” You probably have seen “half-studying” at least once in your life. Maybe you've seen someone studying while talking to friends, or searching the internet, or listening to music. If you're using recall then it's going to make “half-studying” absolutely miserable. You want to focus on studying when you study. By reducing your study time, this can become a whole lot easier.

Your brain has serious limitations in its short term capacity. If you're actually using your memory then you're not going to be able to effectively study long without significant rest periods in between. While this might sound like completely good news (less studying! YAY!) it's actually a little troublesome if you don't have the discipline.

Studying needs to become a habit. You can't expect to prepare for major tests by cramming the night before. You need to plan in advance and study a little bit on a regular basis.

Fear your sucking at studying no more. You now know enough about studying to change everything. Link the information that you study to get it to stick better. Don't study stuff that you can do. Find some reasons you'll enjoy studying. Recall the information instead of reading it. And kick back and relax a little bit. Using these simple strategies you'll be out of the dark ages of studying and into the modern world.

Did you enjoy this article? Do you think it would help your friends out a bit? Then share it! Every share is like a pat on the back. I appreciate it greatly! Thank you!

7 Best Study Strategies For Dominating That Test

Studying is a skill that most students really suck at. Even the most successful students usually miss the most important factors in learning everything you need to learn for that test. Most students end up just throwing more time into studying while hoping it improves their grades somehow. The truth is, that's one of the least effective ways to improve your test scores.

The best study strategies involve managing the individual tests and your own psychology. Professors don't like presenting the strategies taught in this article because these strategies don't fit with the classic, “work hard to succeed” narrative that school try and fail to shove down student's throats. These strategies can make taking tests one of the easiest parts of your day without requiring any massive investment of time.

1. Limit Your Study Time

The number one problem students have in studying is spending too much time doing it. I know that sounds insane but it's completely true. Virtually every student that studies at all, studies too much. If you're studying right, 20 minutes of studying should wear you out in a good way. If you invest any more than 20 minutes in studying per sitting then you're probably doing something wrong.

Studying too long usually means that your brain isn't actually memorizing much. Most people let their brains phase in and out of study mode while they're supposed to be studying. One second they're thinking about Lincolns assassination and then they're wondering why they love guacamole but hate avocados. That is not productive studying. Other people lose their productivity by throwing on music or talking to friends while studying.

All those activities are doing is increasing the time it takes for you to study. It's better to study focused for less time than unfocused for more time. While it may sound a little bit counter intuitive, one of the best study strategies is to just reduce the amount of time you study.

2. Don't Study If You Don't Have To

Some tests don't require studying. Unless you're fighting for that scholarship and need to ace every test, do not study for easy tests. Whenever you study when it's not required, you train yourself to relax during studying. If you know you'll do great but sit down anyway, it will take significantly more discipline to focus hard on studying. If you get out of your good study habits then it ends up hurting every single test you take in the future. It's not worth it. Study when you need it and no more.

There are some tests that you might choose to study for in the last minute. I don't recommend last night all-nighters but I am a big advocate for last ten minute cram sessions. Right before class begins you can tear through study sessions more effectively than ever. While you may not be able to get away with it for most large tests, many small tests can become no brainers if you wait until the last minute. The best part of this study strategy is it encourages effective studying. Always study like you have only minutes left to study.

Take note that the first two top study strategies focus on working smarter instead of harder. 

How do you know when studying is required and when it isn't? Number 3 addresses that problem.

3. Know Your Tests

Most students can radically improve their grades by thinking about their general test strategies. Every test is different. There is no magical piece of advice that can apply to every professor and every test but no matter what a professor does, there is always a way to benefit from it. No one knows the tests your teachers give better than you. Use that information to pick and choose the right study methods for that class. This probably sounds pretty boring but imagine this:

Compare your teachers old study guides to their old tests. How closely does the teachers test match their study guide? I've seen teachers match study guides they provide question for question. I've also seen the opposite where using the study guide to study would have been a complete waste of time. It usually comes down to the teachers preference. Once you know the teachers adherence to the study guide, you may be able to eliminate 90% of the material you would have had to study.

Using the resources you're provided, there are always a few tricks of the trade that will bump your grade 5 or 10 points without a second more of studying. That makes it one of the best study strategies while being regularly overlooked.

4. Don't Memorize Much

Straight up memorization is difficult. While a few people are great at it, most will always end up struggling. That's why I always recommend eliminating information that you need to study before studying. Most students spend most of their study time studying information that they don't need to know for the test. Not only is that a waste of time but it's completely discouraging when test time comes.

Before you try and memorize anything, try to find specific reasons why you'd need the information. Is the information listed on the study guide? If not, don't waste 20 minutes trying to lock it in your brain. It's probably not on the test. If it is on the test, it's probably not worth all that much if you haven't heard you needed it.

Many students look to gain every single point they can possibly get. That strategy encourages you to focus on millions of tiny details that no one could ever predict. Forget about that. Focus on the obvious points to study for. Accept that you'll lose a few points here and there for the details. Overall, your score will end up higher for it. 

Really... One of the best study strategies is to not need to study it in the first place.

5. Don't Study. Recall.

This point is mostly a play on words but it's absolutely essential you get the point. Most students sit down with their textbook to read and assume they're studying. I've never considered that studying because it's usually very inconsequential in the final test score. When you really want to have an impact on your score you should spend less time with that kind of studying and more time with recall.

Recall is actually remembering the information you studied. Spend at least as much time recalling as reading. Flash cards are the classic example of recalling. When you have flash cards, you either know the information or you don't. It makes you dig in the same part of your brain as you'll be digging from during the test. When you're reading, you may be memorizing some of it but it's impossible to know what stuck and what didn't.

The best study methods require this become a natural habit.

6. No-Stress

I don't care what you have to do to make it work but this is one of the most powerful skills you can learn. Listen to some mellow music. Try meditation. Distract yourself. Do whatever you have to do to not worry about the test.

Worrying about the test is horrible for many different reasons. To list a few:

First of all, when you worry about the test you can't memorize as well. Worry was designed for running away from tigers, not remembering random facts.

Second, worrying encourages procrastination. No one wants to do something that they have to worry about.

Third, when you finally get the test, you won't be able to take it effectively. You'll be stuck in the same habit of thinking about the test and worrying. You'll be too worried to remember anything important.

Virtually every student can increase their scores by 5-10% by just becoming more laid back about the test. This comes down to using the best study skills you've got as effectively as you can.

7. Make The Choice

Laid back is good about the specific tests but never become complacent with your test taking strategies. While you may be able to pass your tests easily now, there will always be harder tests in the future. When you become complacent you will start to make mistakes. You may end up focusing a little less during your study times or you might stop looking out for opportunities to improve.

You'll recognize when this happens.

When it does happen, you have to make a choice. Do you want to get even better or do you just want to survive the rest of your schooling? I can understand why you'd choose either.

Why do I consider this one of the best study strategies?

Many students never take the chance to ask these questions and they end up making mistakes. When tests become easy, the excess time and score can get you distracted from your goals. You need to know what you're looking for when the time comes. Why are you studying for these tests at all? Are you looking to pass the course or make a career out of the information you learn?

Once you start to answer these questions you're able to focus your energy into the most important directions for your life.

These are the 7 best study strategies ranked in no particular order. Some of them are more important for some people than others. Look at your personal test taking problem areas and act accordingly. If you're the kind of student that sweats through their shirt on test day then you will see the most results from number 6. If you're the kind of student that studies for hours on end then try number one out and everything else tends to falls into place. The best study strategy for you is the one that you need most.

How To Pass Any Test (Easily)

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Taking tests can be terrifying. You never know exactly what's going to be on any particular test and most of the study habits people are taught as children are downright wrong. 

Teachers have been telling struggling students to study more, try harder, and pay more attention for years but that advice is bull. Really... This is a teacher's way of saying they don't care enough to find the real problem. 

Studying more doesn't always improve grades. Trying harder, when you're already making an effort, can often lead to excess stress which just kills the grade more. A teacher telling a student to pay more attention is just an admission that they don't know how to stay interesting in class.

Learning how to pass any test is not a difficult thing to do. It's not taught in school because it doesn't fit the traditional education narrative. You might even get the impression that these are a set of secret strategies employed by all the highly successful slackers out there.

Too many students are getting suckered into a culture that encourages work without considering results. When you learn to get more done in less time, you get to do more. You can tutor yourself into making test taking time easy. Many times, you don't even have to study for exams. All you have to do is keep a close eye on the test requirements and know your own limitations.

Scouting A Test

At least a week before any test, you need to be looking at all the information you can find on the test. If it's a standardized test then look it up online. If you have study guides then look them over. If the teacher ever starts to talk about the test, you clean your ears and listen close.

Teachers have a bias in this situation. Teachers look bad when students fail their tests. That means that teachers regularly give away all the information required to pass the test. They may give you multiple chapters worth of dense textbook to read but after you scout the specific information you can narrow it down to pages.

Your first goal in preparing for any test should be elimination. Studying can be stressful. The more information you're able to eliminate from your study session, the better you're going to perform on the test. Students that just sit down with their textbooks to study everything usually struggle the most with the test. It's better to figure out what you know you need to know and focus on that.

Sometimes, this will lead you to missing one test answer that comes out of the blue. That's okay. You're sacrificing one hard point for tons and tons of easy ones. Unless you're looking for a perfect score, you don't need to worry about the information that you couldn't have predicted in advance.

Study Sessions

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I absolutely hate when people say to study more.

That is the absolute worst possible advice in 9 out of 10 cases. Do you study? If you study then you're not studying too little. You're probably just studying with bad habits. First of all, you should not be studying more than an hour a day. NEVER. Don't even do it before a big test.

If you're studying right then after 20 minutes of studying you'll be worn out. Any more studying after that produces diminishing results while encouraging you to develop poor study habits. Worn out studying is a mistake. It's better to study with better habits for less time than with worse habits for longer.

One of the most effective ways of studying is creating multiple short sessions for studying instead of one long one. Your mind needs time to process the information you're trying to remember. Give it that time before loading more information in there.

During those study sessions, remember that reading is not studying. Studying requires recall of the information. Flash cards are a great example of this. Just reading information can help information stick but if you're not 100% engaged in the moment then it's wasted. You can't get away without recall on flash cards. You either remember it or you don't. The recall is the important and stressful part of studying.

Also, never study distracted. When you're studying, do not IM friends. Do not listen to music. Do not daydream. Make sure you have plenty of privacy and quiet. You need to only study. I understand that can be difficult. If you have to then cut your study times down dramatically. Focused study for less time is better than unfocused study for longer. Make it 5 minutes if you have to.

One of the most important reasons to study this way is habit. At first you might not get much out of it but over time you're going to train your brain to study faster. When you concentrate 100% on studying, your brain gets better at it with new habits. Whenever you let yourself get distracted you get out of the habits that let you study fast. Study or don't study. Don't just pretend to study.

What about that test you didn't prepare for tomorrow?

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Do not break the study habit by trying to cram. It's a waste of your time. You

may gain a few points but it's just going to encourage you to make the same mistake in the future.
Study less than an hour in multiple sessions during that period of time. Take enough breaks to know you're not stressing. After that accept that is all you can do. 
The real problem isn't the few points you lose by not studying enough tonight. The real problem is that boatload of points you already lost by not starting your studying a week ago.

What if you don't think you need to study for a test?

Well, if you scouted the test properly then you know better than I do. If you're wrong, it's going to end up biting you but that's a risk that you need to decide you take yourself. There are many of tests that you don't ever need to study for. You probably will end up with a slightly lower grade but it can be very motivating to pass without ever picking up a textbook.

Test Taking Time

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When you're thinking about how to pass any test, the most important factor is not study habits. Yes, study habits are a massive portion of the final grade but most people don't even need to study to pass any test. The vast majority of testing points comes down to a persons ability to manage the test in their own heads.

Stress will completely destroy your final score. You can have all the answers locked up somewhere in your brain but they do absolutely no good without your brain being in shape to find them. Getting worried was intended to let you run from tigers, not to help you find answers tucked away in the nooks and crannies of your brain.

Keeping the stress down usually just requires you keep a clear perspective on every test you take. There is nothing life threatening about failing a test. If you studied enough, there is nothing else you can do anyway. If you studied too little then you're just going to stress out worse if you worry about it. When test time comes, your score has been decided before you even answer the first question.

During the test, if you don't know an answer, skip it until the end. Fighting over a difficult problem can ruin stress levels for the rest of the test.

Don't feel the need to keep stressing about a problem you don't know the answer to for the whole duration of the test. I test take by this philosophy: I either know it or I don't. Almost knowing an answer doesn't count. Every second you stress out trying to find an answer is a second you're learning to stress out during tests. You won't remember the 25 minutes of breezing through the easy answers. All you'll remember is the one answer you spent 10 minutes on to still not get right.

If you use the strategies taught in this article, your grade will surprise you. You can often get away with studying significantly less while improving your grades. You don't need a tutor. You don't need a drug. You don't even have to spend all that much time really trying. You just need to figure out the test or exam, study with the right habits for not too long, and then let yourself pass the test without pulling your hair out.