With the start of a new school year, homework and studying can feel overwhelming. If studying causes stress or anxiety, here are some tips to help you make the most of your time.

Join a study group, find a study partner, or get a tutor

If you have trouble with studying, joining a study group can help you stay motivated and accountable. Many studies show the benefits of joining a study group. A study by the National Institutes of Health found that study groups increase the performance and confidence of students. Explaining the information to someone else in your study group will help you make connections and understand what you are studying. When you first teach them, it is okay if you can not explain everything and need to look at your notes. Eventually, you won’t need to use your notes. Do you need help in one of your classes? National Honor Society is available for tutoring in the library during both lunches on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Mondays are for math one and two, Wednesdays are for English, writing, and Spanish, and Fridays are for all math. Make sure you sign up first.

Take breaks

Most people avoid studying because sitting for hours can be tiring. Taking breaks will help your brain process what it has learned. This will prevent you from feeling burnt out and will help you stay focused. Make sure you time your breaks so you don’t mismanage your time. Try making a deal with yourself that if you study for 30 minutes or get through one chapter, you can take a 15-minute phone break. You should try to give yourself small rewards throughout the study process. This will help you stay motivated to finish your work.

Set up a study space

One thing that has an impact on your ability to study is your setting, If your environment is distracting then you won’t be able to study effectively. It is important to find a quiet place to study, if your house is too loud then try studying at a library. Quiet environments are not the only ones that you can work in. If you are more productive in places with background noise like coffee shops, then study there! It’s important to change your environment so you can find what works best for you. 

Be an active studier

Many people think that simply reading the material multiple times will make you remember it but re-reading is not engaging with the material. If you are just re-reading, highlighting, or underlining then you are being a passive studier. Instead, you want to be an active studier. Active studying means engaging in the material by analyzing, summarizing, making connections, and coming up with examples.  One active studying technique is the two, three, five, seven method. This method requires you to go over your notes on day one, then again on days two and three, and finally on days five and seven. This method helps you boost your long-term memory, stop cramming, and improve your focus.

Remember what you’re studying

One strategy for remembering the information is to use a mnemonic device. A mnemonic device is a pattern of letters or words that helps you remember certain information. For example, PEMDAS (Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction)  helps you remember the order of operations. Using mnemonic devices will help improve your memory. Another example is using flashcards. Apex High School student Danielle Magnani says that this is her favorite studying method because it helps her remember the information.

Don’t cram 

It can definitely be tempting to procrastinate with your work and wait until the night before a quiz or test to study. But if you are cramming information your brain is not processing the information and you have not really learned the material. Instead of cramming, try spacing out your studying over multiple days so you can process it. Setting goals will prevent you from cramming everything into one study session. It is important when you’re setting goals to set realistic and manageable ones. If you set your standards too high then you will get discouraged and won’t want to study. Try setting small goals like reading a textbook for 15 minutes. Small goals will help you stay focused and motivated. 

In conclusion, as the new school year begins, managing homework and studying effectively is crucial to reducing stress and enhancing academic performance. By adding these habits into your routine, you’ll not only make studying more manageable but also more productive and less stressful.