You’ve spent the last two days cramming for an exam that’s supposed to be a breeze. You’ve studied all of your homework and are looking for some extra help to get you prepared for this exam.
If only there were a way to study last minute and still get an A on your test, wouldn’t it be great?
Is Last-Minute Studying Effective?
Last-minute studying is a common college student practice. It’s not uncommon for students to cram for an exam the night before or even get up at 3 a.m. to study.
Well, it all depends on your goals, but there are some benefits to last-minute studying:
- It gives you time to calm down and focus on what you need to do so you don’t forget anything important.
- You can avoid procrastinating by working on your homework immediately instead of waiting until later in the day or week.
How to Effectively Study Last-Minute
Last-minute studying is the bane of so many students’ existence and the reason why they suffer from procrastination.
It can be challenging to study for finals when you don’t have enough time, but there are ways to make it more manageable. Here are some tips on how to effectively study in the last minutes:
1. Set a Schedule
If you want to study at a certain time of day, set a schedule and stick with it. This can help with motivation and keeping up with your schedule.
If you need help setting up a good schedule, then it is key to draw a good study plan and manage it well. Be sure to set optimal study hours for your exam and keep stuck on it.
2. Avoid Social Media
It is easy for us to get distracted by social media during class or even at home, but this is one way that we end up wasting time that could have been spent studying.
Instead of checking Facebook or other social media sites when you should be studying, try not doing so altogether! You’ll be surprised at how much less often you’ll feel tempted to check all those apps once they’re gone from your phone or computer!
3. Optimize Your Study Area
For the last-minute study, you need to optimize your study area.
- Setup a comfortable working area with a table and a chair
- A desk lamp or lamp with low light is needed to read at night
- A cup of coffee may help you stay awake
- Avoid eating while studying, especially if you’re hungry after midnight
4. Manage Your Workflow
To manage your workload, follow these steps:
- Study before you go out. You should plan for what you will do when you get home from school or work, so you can stay on track by sticking to it. By planning, you’ll be more likely to finish your homework before going out with friends or watching a movie.
- Set up an alarm clock for study time. If possible, designate a specific time each day for studying. This way, if you need extra motivation, you’ll know when it’s time for action! If your schedule isn’t flexible enough for this, try using an alarm clock that plays music or sounds like someone is calling your name.
5. Focus on Your Weak Spots
You should also be aware of what helps you and what doesn’t. The brain is a complex organ, and it can be difficult to know precisely where the gaps are in your knowledge.
For example, if you’re studying for an exam in the English language, you may feel that you know enough about grammar and vocabulary to pass the test.
But if there’s one area where you feel like you’re not confident or competent, then it might be worth focusing your energies there.
6. Take a Break
Taking a break will help you relax and refocus on your studies. You’re also more likely to retain information if you don’t study in a state of stress.
Give yourself some time to think about your coursework and what you need to do next.
That way, when you return, you will focus on studying again with much less effort. This is important especially when you are memorizing because studying by cramming lacks quality in terms of memory retention.
Study Styles that Fit Last Minute
1. Cramming
Cramming involves learning all of the information that will be on your test and then memorizing it. This can be done by reading over the material, studying flashcards, or even just listening to lectures while taking breaks and eating meals.
Is it beneficial? Cramming allows you to learn more information in less time, which means less time studying overall.
It also causes your brain to retain more information because it forces you to focus on one thing at a time instead of trying to remember everything at once.
2. Chucking
The best study habits are those that fit into your schedule. If you have a busy schedule, you need to learn to fit in some extra time for studying.
One way to do this is to study whenever you have a spare moment or when you’re bored.
This is called “chucking” your study sessions. It means that when you’re at home, in the car, or before bedtime, just pick up where you left off the day before and keep going until you finish an assignment or chapter.
3. Browsing
A good way to keep your mind off stress is by browsing the internet, reading the news, or watching videos. You can also listen to music while doing so. It helps you relax and stay focused at the same time.
4. Writing down your thoughts
The process of writing down what’s bothering you can help relieve stress and anxiety when it comes to studying for exams due to its ability to focus one’s mind on the task at hand rather than spending time thinking about what they should have done differently or where they went wrong with their studies in the past.
5. Making notes from lectures/lectures online/videos
Not only does this help you retain information better, but it also helps with understanding lecture material, especially when it is new or hard to understand.
For example, if you are taking a course in business and your professor says something like, “you need to find out how much money you have made in sales this week,” then writing down what he said will help you remember it and make sense of it later on.
Reasons Why Last-Minute Studying is Good
1. Good for Your Memory
Memory is the most important life skill. The ability to remember things and recall information at a moment’s notice can help you in many ways, especially if you are studying and need to memorize something.
If you get into the habit of last-minute studying, you will be able to remember what you studied because it will be fresh on your mind.
This can help you with tests or exams and even help with schoolwork. This is possible when cramming before an exam. However one of the disadvantages of cramming is that it is short-lived in terms of memory.
2. Good for Your Study Habits
Study habits are important because they affect how well you do on tests and exams. If your study habits are poor, it will be difficult for you to learn new subjects or topics in school.
More importantly, if you get into the habit of last-minute studying, it will be easier for you to learn new things because they are fresh on your mind instead of being forgotten about completely.
Also, this will make it easier for you to set up good study habits from the beginning so that they don’t get broken later on when there’s too much pressure from other factors, such as peer pressure.
3. It will help you Get Good Grades
If you study at the last minute, when it comes time for your test or assignment, you will know what information needs to be learned and which are easy, necessary, and important!
You will also know where all the information is available and how it should be organized to make sense for your grade level and subject matter! This will help you get good grades on your tests and assignments!