Four Ways to Hack Your Study Habits

Every year, you resolve to study more. And every year, your best studying intentions completely fizzle the second someone knocks on your door with a Frisbee.
You can’t get through school without studying. But you can make your studying more efficient and effective with our top four hacks.

1. Switch up font style to memorize unfamiliar info more easily. It seems counter-intuitive, but making your brain work a little harder might make memorizing a little easier. The thinking is that reading a list printed in an easy font makes your brain a little lazy – and makes it tough to retain info.

2. Study right before bed – but not in bed. Studying right before bed, then going to sleep, signals to your brain that the information is important, making it easier to recall the next day – but make sure not to associate your bed with studying. Studying somewhere other than bed means that when you finally tuck yourself in, all you’ll be thinking about is sleep.

3. Change your study location to remember more. Studying in a different place may actually help you remember more. According to one study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, participants who were asked to memorize a list of words remembered them better when they’d read through the list in two different places.

4. Talk out loud. Don’t do this in a quiet library, but discussing your notes out loud – even to yourself – can solidify information in your brain, making it easier to retrieve when you need it.

Studying is a huge factor in your academic success – so, along with these tips, make sure you take advantage of all the study resources available to you, including peer tutoring, and math centres, and workshops.
For more information on these programs at Toronto’s Humber College, check out http://www.humber.ca/getinvolved/.