How to be a successful student

Get the bigger picture of your journey and know where you are going. For each course, make a mind map of key topics, creating a visual aid that shows the building blocks of your learning with the course content. First, you research topics, key words, and course objectives ahead of time. Then, as you progress through the course, add to the map: tick off or highlight important elements, and answer questions as you go! Successful students prepare and identify beforehand the main elements that will most likely be discussed in the next class. This way, time in class will be much more resourceful. You will follow concepts and ideas more easily. Your brain will already be familiar with much of the content, and you will be reinforcing the information for long-term retention and deeper learning.

Embrace your routine and be in control over your schedule. By creating a study plan you are taking the first step to being mentally prepared to study regularly and stick to a schedule. Studies show that on average it takes sixty-six days to create an effective habit (Lally, Philippa 2010, quoted in Wood 2015). Give it time and be consistent. Schedule your study blocks around the same time every day to avoid procrastination. By building these study strategies into a fixed schedule, you do not have to spend time and energy constantly trying to decide whether to ‘study now or after dinner’. Provide contexts to ´cue´ the decision to work – same time, same place, same routine, for example, a quick walk, a cup of tea and some chocolate at the same desk. When you get used to the routine, it becomes easier to do.

Bonus Tip: Try the ‘ninety-minute study block then rest technique’, otherwise known as ´pulsing´ (according to the ninety-minute rest-activity cycle, Kleitman, Nathan quoted Novotney, 2015). Set a timer and work towards the goal of intensive study for ninety minutes, then give yourself a rewarding break before starting another study block. 

Plan for spaced repetition to ‘train’ your brain to absorb the new concepts. Daily or weekly review is important for long term retention and to avoid the stress of last-minute cramming. You can look over your notes at the end of the day or at the end of the week. You need to review to master new concepts. To help reinforce good habits, you should consider creating specific review goals for certain days of the week as well. For example, you can decide that Monday and Wednesday are lesson preview days, Tuesday and Thursday are Cornell note review days, etc.

Space out the revision of each topic – don't do it all at once. When you study for a long period of time, the brain slows down and gets more confused when presented with large amounts of similar information all at once. Instead, create shorter, manageable blocks of time for different subjects. Shorter but regular periods of study during the week allows for repetition, which gives your brain more time to absorb the material. For example, review Marketing, HR, Accounting, Hospitality and Cost Control each for short periods every day rather than only Marketing for a long time on Monday, Accounting for a long time on Tuesday, etc. Changing topics during your study block has the added benefit of keeping the brain awake, allowing it to learn more effectively.

Challenge your brain with intensive self-testing. Form a study group or a ‘Buddy System’; two heads are better than one. Self-test yourselves by explaining key concepts to one another. If you can explain it well, this shows that you understand it. Prepare quiz-style questions together to test each other for short, intensive practice periods. If you build this up together, you will have a good set of exam review questions for intensive practice. If your friends are busy, you can self-test by explaining things out aloud to yourself (or to an imaginary audience). By testing yourself intensively, you are challenging yourself enough to keep your brain awake and find out whether the information has stuck. You know you’ve got it when you are able to explain it without looking at your notes.