Effective learning starts with the right attitude. A positive mindset can turn studying from a punishment into an opportunity to learn. Doing homework during student years could actually be real art. Even thorough preparation and repetition do not automatically guarantee a high grade. But there are some simple and powerful techniques that significantly increase the chances of success. Let’s overview some of them here.

Build A Strategy

Every student should have a strategy for their studies and further development. You can set any goal and go towards it unhindered only if you have a clear strategy of:

• behavior

• communication

• acquiring knowledge

• skills. 

For example, you need to improve your writing. You might want to turn to essay service and order a few essays from a team of professionals. After you do, analyze their work, and read it several times. In the end, your writing skills will start improving.

Having a clear strategy of “Where do I go next and how do I go there?” will give you self-efficacy, discipline, and additional motivation. Also, having a strategy will help you confidently move from ideas to concrete actions. A student (an employee/ a businessman/ a leader) who has a strategy will always be ahead of those who don’t.

Get Organized

Planners and diaries, although they seem rather boring things, have undeniable benefits. It is worth keeping a list of homework, projects, and tests. This is how you guarantee that you will not forget about the task and complete it on time.

Use Your Class Notes

Writing clear and complete class notes will help you process the information you are learning. Talk to your friends or teacher if you miss a lesson to make sure your notes are complete.

When the teacher explains the subject, it is worth paying attention to the new material. Experts recommend taking notes in your own words – so that new information is better absorbed. You will find your homework so much easier if you then use these notes.

Simplify Your Notes

Condensing the notes you take in class will help you understand the topic better. Structure the notes after the lesson and make visual explanations of the topic. Organizing and simplifying written material can boost your grades – knowing what to remember and visualize can help you achieve greater success.

Get Into The Flow

Flow in psychology is a state in which a person is so absorbed in what they are doing that they forget everything in the world. They ignore the people around them, messages on social networks, and external stimuli. To achieve this state, one must concentrate on work and not be distracted.

Sometimes it’s really hard to concentrate on studying – there are distractions everywhere. It is worth understanding that classmates, smartphones, a book, and a window overlooking the street become factors of distraction. Turn off your cell phone and avoid contact with your friends while doing your homework. 

Review Your Notes

In addition to helping you on tests, your personal notes can also be helpful for learning information. When you want to improve your grades, it is worth reviewing the notes regularly – after classes, during rest, or during a break. Reviewing notes helps to transfer information learned from short-term to long-term memory, thus increasing the chances of passing the test successfully.

Choose a Place To Study

It is worth making a space for yourself that can help you concentrate on your studies. The place for studying should be quiet and well-lit. Also, make sure that there is no increased traffic around you while you are studying – no family members or pets nearby. This learning atmosphere will help you focus and complete tasks successfully.

Proper Sleep

If you think that sleeping for four hours is sufficient, we will have to disappoint you. Maybe you will feel active, but four hours every day is not enough for proper brain function.

Learn Collectively

Working with your peers helps create an interactive environment that keeps you interested. When you sit down to work with someone else, it can lighten the burden of science and make the process more enjoyable. 

This gives you the opportunity to test your knowledge against others and helps boost your confidence. Mini competitions can increase healthy competition and the desire to learn better. 

Study In Intervals

Do not do all your homework at once – it can take several hours. Do not let homework ruin your life in such a way. Experts suggest taking a 10- to 15-minute break for every 30 minutes of studying. During those breaks, you can:

• move around 

• drink water

• chat with loved ones. 

Short study sessions help you make the most of your study time. It sounds like a paradox, doesn’t it? Perhaps. But short studying intervals are more productive, indeed.

Examine Your Homework

Before you submit your work, check it. Reread the answers, and make sure you understand all the questions correctly. Correct inaccuracies and add important details that you may have missed the first time. A final check will help correct mistakes made in a hurry.

Plan Your Time

When doing homework, students face two common problems: 

• lack of time,

• uneven distribution of time between different tasks. 

To avoid them, calculate the time. Rationally allocate time for preparation, and make a plan according to which you will do your homework. 

Avoid Cramming

It is better to reread the outline several times and understand it than to memorize it and not even understand what you have learned. And also do not forget about rest, because it is important when preparing for exams.

Set SMART Goals

A good goal is half the work. The SMART technique will help you remember what your successful learning goal should be:

Specific. The goal should be formed easily and clearly.

Measurable. The result should be measurable, for example, a grade.

Ambitious. The goal should be difficult to achieve.

Realistic. The goal should be achievable and not lead to a nervous breakdown.

Time-limited. The goal should have clear deadlines for its achievement.

Examples of good SMART goals: 

• to have a specific score this semester; 

• get “excellent” in a certain subject; 

• get a diploma with honors. 

Whereas bad goals will be: 

• study well, 

• study as much as possible before the exam, 

• get the highest grades. 

Specific goals prompt specific decisions.

Develop Useful Skills

Obviously, the skills that are needed in today’s world are different from those that were needed 20 years ago. These are just a few skills (out of dozens of different ones) that you need to develop in yourself:

• communication, 

• technological literacy, 

• the ability to build a personal brand, 

• media literacy, 

• flexibility,

• self-direction. 

Books, courses, and YouTube are great sources of knowledge. Be cross-sectoral, invest in yourself: learn the history of different countries, foreign languages, fact-checking tools, and programming. The knowledge gained today will give you victory in the long run. 

Find mentors who could help you gain new knowledge and expertise. Quality student is always about the useful skills they have.

Final words

Many students often feel abandoned in an unknown place without a map and compass. So, we gathered here the rules that will help students learn well, work well and achieve goals. We hope these tips will help speed up your development and open up new opportunities for you. And give you a map, a compass, and an unknown but interesting horizon nearby.