Planning Ahead

For other students, cramming at the last minute is not as successful. Leading them to prefer a more planned out and organized method.

Senior Rose Lee typically finds the most success studying four days in advance, Lee would recommend that students plan ahead when studying for big tests and finals.

“[I would recommend that students] plan for future study time,” Lee said. “Plan to organize your notes and plan what you want to study and organize what you really need to study on.”

Crandall will typically recommend a more planned out method, working in shorter intervals in order to help retain the information long term and combat the feeling of being overwhelmed.

“The first thing that I always tell students is to work to space it out,” Crandall said. “It’s not going to feel good at first. But after like a week of doing that, you start feeling like you’re the most organized person in the world, and it gets kind of addictive.”

More specifically, Crandall would look at test dates then work backwards to make sure she had enough time to feel ready for the test, making sure to balance out the study time. Then, do the tasks in a specific order.

“I’d start with an easy one to kind of ease into it. And then whatever the most annoying thing was that I had on that list, I would do second,” Crandall said. “Because once you get that thing else is easy.”

Not only is it important to make sure you have a balanced plan. But it is also very important to use your time effectively. For Crandall, this will often look like reminding students that when you’re studying it’s not meant to be miserable.

“I think we’ve accidentally trained you guys into thinking that if you’re studying well, you’re miserable, and you are at it for hours and just kind of torturing yourself.” Crandall said. “When in actuality if you can learn to be productive in a short timeframe, 10 minutes of good studying is better than hours of moderate studying.”

This process of efficient studying starts in school with making sure the in class work and notes are organized.

For Lee, this looks like writing out the content, finding that it helps her to better memorize and understand the material.

“For tests, I usually look at the study guide or whatever notes I’m given or essays that have us write,” Lee said. “Then I’ll rewrite the notes or I’ll rewrite the essay or I’ll usually create a Quizlet.”