How to not fail your classes

Study techniques that you should use to manage your time efficiently and study more effectively

Hello, I’m Alex, and in this week’s newsletter, I’ll be talking about specific study strategies that you can use for various subjects. I found a lot of these to be really helpful, and I unknowingly already used a lot of them before I realized that they had actual names behind them. Before we start, it’s important to note that these strategies are not one-size-fits-all, and you should take time to identify which ones work for you.

The first technique that I’ve used when I find myself procrastinating is the 5-minute rule. I tell myself that I’ll do my work for five minutes, and then continue from there. Typically, those 5 minutes get me engaged enough that I decide that I want to keep working. I’ve also seen a similar technique around on social media called the “3-2-1” technique, in which you take three seconds and immediately dunk yourself into a different task. Both these techniques are really good in helping you to start studying, but what happens if you start losing motivation in the middle of your session?

That’s where the second technique I use comes in. The second technique that I’ve used is called “Revenge Studying”, and I’ve seen it floating around social media recently.  Even though it sounds really weird and edgy, there’s a pretty simple concept behind it. You want to picture something that gives you motivation to do better, like a bad test grade or someone that really annoyed you, and you use that as motivation in order to study. I’ve done this a couple of times when I’ve received bad grades on tests, and it’s certainly a way to push you to study a ton, especially when you start getting the urge to check your phone when studying.

Moving on, there are different techniques that I use for different subjects. For the more repetitive subjects like physics or math, I use what I’ve called the “Alex Technique”, in which you throw yourself repeatedly at any related worksheet that you can find and just do them and check the answers. For me, it’s just better to get in a lot of practice regarding the more “straightforward” topics, but it’s a different story for subjects like history. 

United States history has singlehandedly forced me to develop new strategies in regard to memorizing and understanding a large volume of content. When reading textbooks, I usually use a technique called “Cornell Notes”, where you take notes on a portion of your notebook, write down potential questions that you think might be asked on a different portion, and finally, write a summary at the bottom summarizing your information. This forces your brain to actively think about the information you’re taking in and helps you articulate information better.

Another technique that I use exclusively for history that I recently found had a name is “blurting”. You set a timer for yourself, and in that time frame, you write down as much about a subject as you can. Although it results in a lot of hand cramps and dead trees, it helps you reinforce the information that you already know. In addition, you can identify gaps in your knowledge and go back and review your material. 

I’ve also heard a decent amount about the Pomodoro technique, where you study in 25-minute increments broken up by five-minute breaks, taking a longer break every four rotations, or every two hours. Although I like the idea in concept, I find it annoying to settle back down every 25 minutes. Instead, I study in 50-minute increments, with a ten-minute break after each session. At the end of the day, it’s important for you to find out which study strategies you like and which best suit you. 

That’s it for this week! I’ll be talking about AP classes next week, and everything that you should know about them before and when taking one. See you next time!