6 Productive Tips for Students to Study Without Cramming

Like it’s required, many students often experience cramming as they study for their examinations. Instead of being able to rest and relax while preparing for the tests, they are in a rush the night before the exam day. An all-nighter is usually needed, without any other choice because there’s no other enough time left. Most of the time, this happens because of students’ heavy workload or because of procrastination. Whatever the reason is, cramming leads to a lot of inconveniences. 

When you are cramming, you are studying in a hurry, so the feeling of pressure cannot be denied. Some people get motivated as they study close to the deadline, which is the exam day, but you might also be the type of student that gets stuck and bothered whenever you’re cramming. Instead of becoming progressive, you get distracted by the pressures around, and mainly, by the time that’s running so fast. 

Help yourself. Here are 6 productive tips for students to study without cramming.

1 – Determine the best study schedule for you.

Every student has a preferred learning style, and that is also the style that suits him/her best for that matter. Along with that, you know what time you can function and work most efficiently. 

Determine the best study schedule for you. It is highly recommended early in the day because you obviously get a lot of time to study if you do that, however, this does not work for everyone since others are more mentally active at night. But then again, be wise and responsible. If your exam will happen tomorrow already, it’s naturally unhelpful to start studying late tonight. That would exactly be cramming. You should have started studying at least a day ahead. 

The best study schedule for you is the one where you have the most motivation to study, can study comfortably, and will not cram at all, you can cover everything in that review.   

2 – Find a distraction-free study area.

Distractions never fail to ruin well-thought study plans. Even when you are enthusiastic about studying, if you let forceful distractions steal your attention and motivation, you will waste a lot of your time and regret later on.

Find a study area where you could clearly focus. It should be where no distraction comes from noise outdoors or from people at home. Things that take your attention should be absent from that space as well, so that you can guarantee that you will not be tempted to grab or open them.

If you are studying with gadgets and the Internet, make sure you can control and discipline yourself so that you will not be magnetized by them. Procrastination starts when you tell yourself that you will spend just a few minutes on your phone before you start studying or during your 20-min study break.

Ensure that you prepare your effective study area at least an hour before actually studying in it. 

3 – Think about the satisfaction you’ll get from “you did well!” rewards to self.

Rewards are always the best motivation for you to quickly finish a task. They are not supposed to be distracting but encouraging. It is always best to get a hold of them and enjoy them when you are truly deserving of it and worth it.

Think about the satisfaction you will get from “you did well!” rewards to self. Yes, treat yourself after doing a great job, regardless of the result. No matter what the result is, which is of course something you worked hard for, it would make you feel really happy and fulfilled to get something you love after all! 

Your reward could be eating your favorite food, buying new clothes, watching your favorite show, or sleeping for 10 hours!    

4 – Study alone.

Group study is good in many ways, like having someone help you when there are topics you’re confused with or discussing the answers to complicated questions that might appear on the test paper. However, it can take you a longer time to study than when you just study alone. Why? Studying with your friends will surely involve so much chitchatting, laughing, eating and more distractions. You will waste more time than you expect!

Study all by yourself instead. After your group online tutoring session, study alone. You will not cram later on because you can finish faster than when you’re talking with other people. It’s quieter and more peaceful, so you can concentrate productively.     

5 – Manage the amount of time you spend outdoors.

When your examination week is fast-approaching, avoid going on a vacation or strolling outdoors. Manage the amount of time you spend outdoors. Time runs fast, so as much as possible, make every hour count. If you are going to take breaks outside, make sure you do not go overtime. 

Balance everything. Know your capacity. If you know that it takes you a lot of time to review, then do not spend so much time at that birthday party or in the grocery store if you’re already done buying what you need.

6 – Finish other tasks beforehand.

The life of a student will not be too hard if it is just about exams, yet it is because they are given many assignments, projects, group reports, presentations and more! To make things even more difficult, they are given all in the same week, or the deadlines are all close to each other. The struggle is real! This is one of the reasons why cramming is almost inevitable for many students. But you can do something! 

As much as possible, finish other tasks beforehand. Start the nearest due date early, so you can submit them before the deadline and work on the rest after. If you finish them before exam week, you can focus on your lessons better. Or if some tasks’ due dates lie on the exam week, then at least, they are lighter than if you let them all pile up. 

Do your best. Avoid procrastination. Shoo distractions away. This is how you can do it although it’s really not easy.

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CRAM NO MORE

Study peacefully and comfortably. As much as possible, as much as you can, avoid cramming! In that way, you can rest and relax as the exam days approach. There’s a possibility that you will ace those tests! Awesome! Furthermore, you can do other tasks without much worry. Cram no more with productivity that goes ahead of your deadlines.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nicole Ann Pore is a writer, an events host and a voice over artist. Quality and well-researched writing is her worthwhile avenue to enlighten and delight others about things that matter. She is a daytime writer for InFlow Education, expert  tutoring services in Australia. Nicole graduated Cum Laude from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts.