Study Tips That Actually Helped Me

I work full time and study and at times it's a hassle. My very first semester at UNISA went very well; I passed the subjects I used to fail dismally and even managed to get a distinction for economics (my first ever in my life at university).

I never considered myself to be particularly intelligent but I know I'm not dumb either; it just takes me a little longer to go through and understand work. Anyways I used to get depressed after studying and getting unpleasant results back and the only advice I got from my mom was "read", which frustrated me even more because that's what I had been doing all along and I wasn't getting the results I wanted or at least passing my modules.

I don't know why I had never thought about using this tool for my studies because I'd been using it all along to catch up on the latest music and other unimportant things. The other day my dad said to me "have you ever thought of using YouTube to help you study?" I was baffled at this because after he said it, it seemed so obvious and no, I had never thought to use YouTube to help me and let me tell you it has changed my life! That was just one of the new methods I tried.

For many years people have been holding study tip workshops and talking about effective study methods & here are the ones that worked for me:

• Watch lectures and lessons on the subject on YouTube
• Make notes that are bright and colourful in your own words that are easy to understand 
• Use drawings and diagrams
• Use mnemonic devices ( for example My Very Elegant Mother Just Served Us Nice Pizza for the order of the planets i.e. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto)
• Make little flash cards you can carry around and read while you're in traffic or long queues 
• Read out loud so you can hear what you're trying to study; the more senses you use the better
• Make voice notes that you can listen to while getting ready for work or school
• REPETITION!!! The more you go through the work, the better it sticks 
• Use a red pen/marker to highlight important keyword or definitions
• Exercise
• Take regular breaks & reward yourself; for example study 1 hour then watch your favourite series for 30 min or go out for ice-cream

The most important tip I can give you is something that has been repeated over & over again but it is vital, DRINK PLENTY OF WATER & GET ENOUGH SLEEP. Your body needs this in order to allow your brain enough time to process and store new information.

These are just a few helpful tips that I tried, please feel free to share yours with me.