How to Study: An Individualized Guide

Last week we discussed how to hijack your brain and make it work for you. Back to school
season is coming up so this week, were going to figure out how to most effectively and
efficiently use that hijacked brain to study.
1. Make studying a happy thing
Anxiety over school and tests is very much a real thing. And if you do have anxiety
over school or tests, it can be darn near impossible to force yourself to sit down and study.
Even if you manage it, it may be damaging and it will probably be ineffective anyway. So
the first step towards effective and efficient studying is to reduce or eliminate anxiety
related to it. The best way to do this is to strongly associate studying with a very positive
stimulus, and preferably more than one stimulus (remember how to hijack your brains
reward circuitry? Same method). Make it so that when you sit down with your textbooks,
you have with you your favorite food, youre sitting in your favorite chair, in your
favorite room, and with your favorite study buddies. It doesnt have to be those specific
associations, but it does need to be something very positive that you can have or do
whenever youre going to study. I personally have a dedicated coffee for studying
budget. Whenever Im going to study, I dress up in my favorite clothes, call up my best
studying friend and ask her to come with me, take the necessary materials, walk to
Starbucks, and order an iced coffee. Since I look forward to being able to do all these
things, and I do these things every time I go to study and very rarely otherwise, I actually
look forward to studying. By the time my iced coffee is ready, Im usually ready to start
studying. After a year of associating these things together, my brain knows that after
coffee comes happy concentration time. Thats right. A year. This first step is a long-termnever-really-ends kind of first step, but it definitely proves its worth over time.
2. Figure out your learning style
This step is much easier than step one. Depending on which test or theory you
subscribe to, there are anywhere from three to nine learning styles. However, the basic
three are: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Theories with more learning styles tend to
break those basic three up into smaller pieces. And that can be really great; the more
specific you can get about your learning style, the more specific you can get about the
best studying practices for you. There are several tests on the internet that will help you
determine your learning style, and your learning style can and should influence how you
study. But its also relatively simple to figure out for yourself. Those who have a visual
learning style find it easier to comprehend new material when it is presented in a visual
format; eg: a textbook, a graphic, or a PowerPoint. Those with an auditory learning style
find it easier to comprehend new material when it is presented in a auditory format; eg: a
speech, an audiobook, or a lecture. Those who are kinesthetic learners find it easier to
comprehend new material when it is presented in a physically engaging format; eg: a
practicum, learning by doing, going through a lab.
If you break it down even further, two people can both be visual learners, but one
learns best through images while the other learns best through the written word. Figure
out what works best for you. Pay attention to what sticks the most in lectures; is it the
words the teacher is saying or the pictures on the PowerPoint slide? Does the material
make the most sense when youre doing large projects, when youre writing essays, when
youre discussing it with classmates, or when youre just straight up reading the textbook?

Do you best understand the lecture while youre listening to it or when youre going over
it in your notes?
3. Implement it
Dont waste time studying ineffectively. If youre an auditory learner and you
understood everything during the lecture but your notes dont make any sense to you
when you take them during the lecture, dont take notes. Pay attention to the discussions
and record the lecture instead. If youre a visual learner and the professors lectures make
you go to sleep or are completely unintelligible to you, focus more on interacting with
your peers and pay more attention to the professors PowerPoint presentations, the
textbook, and previous tests if you have access to them. If youre a kinesthetic learner and
group discussions make you want to bang your head against the wall, try to
build/implement/reverse-engineer/improve whatever it is youre learning about. Even if
youre an auditory learner, your professors lectures might still not make sense. You might
need to head to youtube or khanacademy or edx to listen to someone elses lectures on
that topic. Even if you learn best by reading, some parts of your textbook might still be
confusing to you. Have other books or resources ready.
4. Study consistently
Once you figure out your ideal studying style, stick to it. Dont stick to it out of
stubbornness and an inability to change. Rather, stick to what works for you. If notes
arent for you, dont be intimidated by other people frantically taking notes during class.
Just make sure your recorder is working or that you have your textbook or whatever other
method youre using. Make a study schedule if thats what works for you, and then stick
to that schedule. Make sure you study on a regular basis. If listening to the lecture three
times is all thats needed to retain the material, make sure you listen to every lecture three
times. If you need to take notes from the textbook and make flashcards for studying,
make sure you take those notes and make flashcards for every chapter or topic. Studying
does not work if you only study once a week if you need to study three times a week for it
to be effective for you. Making a super intricate set of color-coded notes and a detailed set
of flashcards for the first week of the semester wont be helpful if you dont have the time
or energy or will to do that in week eight of the semester. If you need very intricate notes,
consider forming a study group that focuses on intricate note-taking; that way you only
need to expend a fraction of the effort and will still have the notes you need. Any system
you figured out in step 3 will only work if you can keep it up week after week, and
semester after semester.
5. Review and change as necessary
You might think that fancy new way of bullet journaling is the answer to all your
studying problems, but find that you end up spending too much time organizing your
journal and not enough time studying so your studying isnt really any more effective or
efficient than it was before. Thats totally fine. Acknowledge it and investigate whether
your method can be modified to make it more effective or if you need to find a new
method. Be open to study methods that seem counter-intuitive or seem like they wont
work. I was very skeptical of the notion that working in a coffee shop would make me
more productive since I hated working in the library, but I did become more productive.
However, also be open to ideas that youre sure work for you, but in actuality are holding
back your studying. I was absolutely convinced that having music on in the background
would help me study. I was wrong. I forgot my headphones once and had one of my most

productive study sessions. After that I compromised and only listened either to music
without lyrics while studying or to white noise generators. I wanted music to help me be
more productive, but it didnt, so I had to make the decision to give that up when I was
studying.
So to recap, the steps for effective studying are: associate studying with positive feelings,
figure out your learning style, implement effective methods, stay consistent, but review and
change when necessary.

(Source: How To Study: An Individualized Guide http://www.psych2go.net/how-to-study-anindividualized-guide/)