10 Best Tips for Achieving Study Goals for Exam Time

Most people don’t realize it, but there are special studying routines that allow your brain to learn new information quicker. However, studying can be stressful if you’re not interested in the subject, or if there is either too much information and too little time. It’s important to overcome the first step of making it interesting for yourself and focusing completely on studying. Here are ten tips to help you achieve your study goals for exam time.

1. Make a study plan

Planning is an essential part of studying correctly and with proper time distribution. Before you start studying make sure you devise a study plan which will help you allocate your time and resources properly.

2. Create structured goals

Setting study goals is great—you try to complete a goal and reward yourself with something in return. However, a much better approach is to create structured goals that, when completed, lead to other goals or other activities. For example:

• Study Subject #1
• Study Part 3 of Subject #2
• Play games for one half hour

This is a highly organised form of planning which will help you complete everything in time.

3. Develop study goal timescales

Distributing time properly is imperative to getting good grades on exams. Try to figure out how much time it takes you to finish studying a chapter or a subject. This will enable you to allocate your time appropriately so you use maximum efficiency when studying.

4. Exploit technology

Technology nowadays is so advanced that everything is available at the click of a mouse. Use this to your advantage. Even if everything you need to know is written in books or you wrote it in your notebook, finding other sources is recommended because it might be easier to learn new information through them.

5. Set your study goals and create a flexible study plan

You don’t need to make a strict study goal that you can’t deviate from. On the contrary; it’s recommended that you keep it as flexible as possible. If you finish studying a subject before you thought you would, you’ll be able to modify the study plan accordingly.

6. Don’t lose motivation

This is where most students lose their stride. Motivation is the key to success because it’s what keeps us going when times are tough. If something seems impossible, make it possible! Don’t give up simply because something is too difficult or it’s taking too much time. Think about the end game.

7. Get creative with online study tools

Online study tools can simplify the way you organize your time and study by a large amount. Use these tools as best as you can by being creative. Modify everything so it fits your needs and wishes, especially when it comes to organizing everything. You don’t need to write on paper—everything is available to you with online study tools.

8. Collaborate with study partners

Learning new information by yourself might prove boring, and if you run into a problem that you can’t solve it will seem hopeless. By collaborating with other students you’re guaranteeing that everything you’re studying goes faster. Each problem that might appear can be solved through teamwork.

9. Be positive and test yourself

A great way to see where you’re standing with your study goals and just how much information you learned is by testing yourself. After you complete each study session, give yourself a small test and ask yourself a few random questions that are related to the subject you’re studying. If you pass it, great—keep going! If you don’t, don’t kick yourself. Be positive. Learn from your mistakes, go through the subject once more, and try again. Eventually you will succeed.

10. Establish a study routine

Study plans can be as flexible as possible, but a study routine can’t. Establish a study routine to maximize the chances of your success. For example, tell yourself that you need to study for 6 hours a day, with 2 hours of breaks/free time. Don’t stray away from the routine or you’ll find yourself having too little time to study everything.

This article was written for the Global Digital Citizen Foundation by Tavistock Tutors.