How To Study for an Exam

I always found revising a really difficult process. A bit like reading a book you have already read, I was easily distracted and always bored. This meant that I never got the hang of revising in my early years. In my book “revising” was sitting and reading through some sort of revision guide and calling it a day. But eventually I reached a point where I had to actually figure out this whole revision thing. University exams where not something that you could simply walk in and ace, at least not for me, so I had to figure out a way to not only get through the large amount of content but also internalise it.

I think the actual nuts and bolts of learning content are really dependant on you and what you are studying. So I’m not going to talk about that today.¹ What I did find valuable was figuring out how to get my butt in a chair. And keep it there. Remaining focused on the task at hand, and not totally losing the will to live.

Working to a timer #

You may have heard of the Pomodoro technique that has become popular in the productivity space. The technique involves having a timer with periods that are assigned to work followed by short breaks. After a couple these cycles you earn a longer break.

A common split would be 25 minutes of work followed by a 5 minute break. This is done for 4 cycles, then you get a 20 minute break.

Personally, I found this to be shockingly effective in getting me to spend more time studying. It takes out all of the decision making required in how long to study for and when to stop. The clock is in charge. When the time in a study session is up, you simply stop. And when your break is over, you start again. No fuss.

There is a lot of room to manoeuvre, in terms of the timings, as well. Depending on you attention span, you may want to try a 45/15 or a 50/10 split. I tended to mix things up depending on how I was feeling on a given day.

You do have to be quite strict with yourself in using this techniques, but I think this is a reasonably easy adjustment. When the work timer is on, you have to be working. No idle scrolling. No messaging friends. Just working on what you’re working on. I always found that never looking at the timer and just letting the alarms tell me when to stop really helped to keep me off of my phone.

In contrast when the break timer is on, TAKE A BREAK! There is no understating how important breaks are to studying. Within the break timer you can do what you want, as long as it isn’t studying. Surf, scroll and message guilt free - as this is what the time has been allotted for. I think this way of doing things is far more effective than the endless distracted method of study that most people default to.

You can find of different Pomodoro timer apps in the app store or even online if you want to try it out.

Music on a loop #

This one may be a little strange, but bare with me. When studying I always listened to a single song on a loop. I got the idea having listened to an interview with Matt Mullenweg on the Tim Ferriss podcast, and as weird as it sounds, it really worked.

Having a single song play has a couple of benefits. Firstly, just the act of having music on blends out the distractions of the outside world wherever you may be studying; library, dorm room, or cafe. All those whispers, footsteps and creaky floorboards are a huge distraction. A little music, at a reasonable volume, leaves you and your study material in peace.

Secondly, having it be just one song has the effect of making you lose track of time. Have I been here for 10 or 40 minutes? It honestly gets pretty hard to tell, which is great when you are doing something as dull as studying.

The type of music doesn’t matter too much. As long as you find it engaging enough to listen too, without it giving you the urge to go full karaoke mode. I had a range of different songs and genres fill this role over the years, but pop music in a language you don’t speak often works well. Also, there is now a whole genre of music that was almost conceived purely for the purpose in Lofi Hiphop.

Have a plan #

Pretty simple really. It’s way easier to get started when you know where. None of that faffing about to find the right notes or text book. Or deciding which lecture to revisit or paper to look at. No None of that. Just sit down and go.

Make sure to have a plan for the first thing you are going to look at the next day. You don’t have to have everything lined up, just the first thing. That way there is as little friction as possible to that first study session.

It’s better with friends #

The place where you study can have a huge effect on how effective this studying is. Some people swear by libraries, often citing how being surrounded by people quietly working away will peer pressure them into doing the same. Personally, I was never really a fan. I have always found the library to be a little uncomfortable. This meant that I often ended up studying on my own in my dorm room etc. This was not ideal either because I lacked that external accountability to keep me in my seat and working.

The solution that I found towards the end of my time at Uni was to fake it. Gather a group of like minded people (3-4 is ideal) and find yourself a room on campus that is big enough to accommodate you all comfortably. My friends and I had good success simply walking in to one of humanities buildings and occupying a seminar room, but I know may libraries/Universities allow you to book rooms so that would probably be easier.

This was great as it was the best of both worlds. I was in a room of other people that were also trying to work, study for an exam etc. So I had that little bit of external accountability, knowing that I should be working as well. But it wasn’t at the scale where things get uncomfortable. There is only a couple of you so getting up doesn’t disturb too many people. If there is a brief whispered conversation there’s a good chance you’re a part of it. And if you are working on the same subject then it opens up the chance to ask questions or quiz each other.

Caveat to this is making sure you do this with people who actually want to study. Otherwise you’ll just end up hanging out with your friends, which is fun, but not what we are aiming for here.

Stop #

The last piece of advice I have for sitting down to study is… At the end of the day stop.

Pretty simple right. But you’ll feel all the better for it. It’s not uncommon for people to “study” in a distracted manner almost without end. Getting to the library for 9am and leaving again and 9pm. This is nothing short of soul destroying. So don’t do it.

Knowing at the start of the day that you will be leaving at 5pm. Taking plenty of breaks throughout the day. And actually studying with focus when you sit down, is far more sustainable than the long drawn out slog. You can do it for longer without burning out, in my opinion it is far more effective, and it leaves time so that you can still do other things. Otherwise your life will grind to a halt, which will just make things worse.

So stop. Go to the gym or something. Go see a friend, do a hobby. Just anything that distracts you from the stress of your studies for the moment. You’ll be all better for it when you get back to working tomorrow.

Hope this helps and good luck! I’m sure you’ll do great. :)