Whether you are studying for Christmas exams, mocks or college end-of-term assessments, being efficient with your time can help take away the last-minute stress and ensure you get a proper rest over the break.

This time of the year is always busy and fraught for students with a continuous stream of assignments, tight deadlines and increased workloads leading to the break over Christmas getting easily clouded with study timetables and stress. Taking a break away from the books is essential to reset and get ready for the busy period ahead.

Here are five tips to help you improve your time management and make studying more efficient, so you can switch off and unwind over the break.

1. Get ahead:

The best way to ease stress over exams and deadlines is to get ahead and get organised. Write down all the topics you need to study or the assignments that are due and work back from that date. Work out how many hours you need to set aside to complete the task and fit it into your weekly study routine in the run-up to the date. This helps ease stress, as you won’t be cramming everything in the night before.

2. Cut out the distractions:

A lot of the study time is inefficient because we procrastinate with diversions. To get your work done more effectively, cut out anything around your study area that you find distracting. Some people find listening to focusing music helps, especially in a loud or busy area.

3. Keep your notes organised:

Having organised notes that are easy to read can help you retain information more easily.

Get a folder for each module and keep all of your past exam papers, brainstorms and notes in poly pockets. As well as protecting your notes, this also helps you realise what subject you are most prepared for and where you might need to focus.

Bright highlighters and different coloured paper also helps with retention, along with tools like brainstorms and flashcards. They allow you to pick out only essential information that you can visualise if you get stuck in an exam.

4. Use the buddy system:

The best way to learn is to teach someone else. Your peers are likely to be going through the same struggles as you. It is a good idea to reach out to classmates who are studying the same subjects and create a study group to go over the material together, brainstorm and share notes.

Once you can understand a topic, teaching it to someone else can double up on the amount of knowledge that goes into your head.

5. Find your learning style:

The most important thing is to identify how you learn and what method of studying works best for you. The first step is to identify your learning style out of the four core variations in the VARK model. These include visual, auditory, reading, writing and kinesthetic. VARK aims to account for differences in an individual’s learning method. There are online tests you can take to identify which type of learner you are.

  • Visual learners prefer using pictures, movies, diagrams and images.
  • Auditory learners prefer listening to information which might involve music, discussions, lecturers or even voice recordings or podcasts. A good tip is to record yourself reading your notes out loud.
  • Reading and writing learners have to read the information while making lists and taking notes.
  • Kinesthetic learners are more practical and retain information better through movement and hands-on experiences.

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