LIFE

Love may be in the air this month, but for a lot of students, February is also the beginning of a new marking period. And if you weren't thrilled with your mid-term grades, now might be a good time to start thinking about your studying habits. What's working? What's, um, not?

Maybe you were distracted by the fact that your crush sat right beside you in Chemistry, or you overloaded on after-school activities and didn't even have time to think. The good news? It's never too late to start over. Below, the six mistakes you were probably making—and how to fix 'em fast. 

1. You waited until after 8PM to study.
Picture this: you head home from practice, eat dinner, fiddle around on Facebook…and suddenly it's 8:30. Sound like you? If you're waiting until later to start working on homework, you might be too tired to give it your best shot (or even retain any information). Clubs might cause you to get home a little late, but do your best to start your work as soon as you get home. You'll get to bed earlier, feel less panicked and—who knows?—maybe even ace those Algebra quizzes.

2. You didn’t use a planner.
It's basically scientifically proven that if you have an impossible history exam, your English term paper will be due the same day. Okay, maybe not, but it does seem like when it comes to assignments, when it rains, it pours.  A pretty planner can help you stay on track and be a physical reminder of all those due dates.
Plus, you can also use it to track your oh-so-busy social life.

3. You didn't reward yourself for your hard work.
You work hard, so you deserve some recognition—even if it's just from yourself. Reward yourself for super-long study sessions or As on exams with a spa day or some fro-yo. Grinding all day, every day is exhausting, so make sure you're treating yourself well, too. Oh, and don't forget to incorporate little rewards (like 15-minute Instagram breaks or snacks) into your everyday study seshes to keep your mind fresh.

4. You didn't take advantage of electronic study tools.
Repeat after us: You don't have to handwrite flash cards. Step away from the typical sesh (notes, worksheets, giving up out of sheer boredom) and shake things up with study apps like Quizlet or OpenStudy. 

5. You texted while doing your Trig.
If you want to use your phone to help you learn, that’s great. Otherwise, it's just going to be a distraction. Let's put it this way: if you're trying to memorize your irregular verbs in French while Snapchatting your meilleure amie, odds are you're going to get un F. Send out a group text when you start your study sesh to let your besties know you can't be bothered for x number of hours.  That way, you'll know you're not missing out on anything. 

6. You only studied alone.
Okay, so we're contradicting ourselves a little. But if you seriously can't stop yourself from hanging out with your friends after school, think about forming a study group. Working together can be really beneficial and amp up information retention—but just make sure you're *actually* studying.

What's your studying style, GL girls? Let us know below!
 

by Julia Selsky | 1/4/2018