Your life is ultra busy. You have a heap of things going on – work, business functions, family commitments and various other activities. However, you committed to enrolling in online classes so you could get additional qualifications and certifications. Now you have a test coming up and in order to get your certification, you have to pass that test. Here are a few tips that will help you study better.
First off, understand that the state of mind you’re in when you try and study affects how successfully you can study. A good night’s sleep the night before an exam is also highly recommended, as is a healthy, nutritious diet that contains plenty of quality brain food!
Secondly, did you know that where you choose to study can have a significant impact on how you study? Choose somewhere comfortable but few distractions, especially if you’re the type of person who gets easily distracted! Whilst studying at home is probably the easiest option, a lot of people find it way too easy to get sidetracked. One idea could be to find a study environment that is similar to where you’ll be sitting the test. The theory here is that if you can associate study topics with certain aspects of the surrounding environment, it may help you remember that information when sitting your test in a similar environment.
Third – studying for a test shouldn’t require you to learn new things. If you’ve made a point of reviewing what you’ve learned each day, or after you’ve completed some of your online course, you’ll find studying for a test so much easier. Just take 10 to 15 minutes to quickly go through the topics you’ve covered so you can reinforce the information. This should help your mind retain it better for that all-important test.
Fourth – consider studying in a group. Obviously if you’re completing an online degree this may be a bit more difficult to achieve but if you know someone close by is also studying the same, or similar online courses, consider contacting them and arranging to meet up for some quality study time. The advantages of group study include being able to discuss aspects of the subject you may be lacking in, and sharing your own strengths with the group. However, group study isn’t for everyone, and a lot of time can be wasted in idle chitchat so choose your group study partners wisely!
Ultimately, there are many ways to study. You can read through your text book and answer some of the questions, read your notes, redo your assignments, online research, review previous tests and so on. Then there are the more ‘modern’ techniques like visualizing, mnemonics, and association. Another effective study technique is breaking your study up into small easily manageable chunks. This method avoids overloading your brain with huge amounts of information in a short space of time, a lot of which you’ll end up forgetting. By breaking it up, you give your brain time to rest in between each chunk.
We mentioned reviewing previous tests – some professions have formal test preps, or study guides available that are essentially a compilation of sample questions from previous tests. These are an excellent way to find out what types of questions you’ll be expected to answer, and the subject areas you need to study. The fire services are a good example. If you’re studying to become a fire officer for example, a Fire Officer test prep is an invaluable tool to help you study better for your state certification test.
