College students often think that there are not enough hours in a week to cope with everything they have to do: tests to study for, projects to work on, written assignments to do, and lots of other important responsibilities. Oftentimes, they have to buy cheap essays online to save at least some time for social life and hobbies. Unfortunately, you may study very hard and be disappointed with the results of your exams and tests.

However, there are efficient ways to study smarter, excel in studies, and lead a balanced life. In this article, you will find six effective strategies to learn faster that are proven by science.

Connect ideas and concepts together to see a bigger picture. Instead of memorizing a lot of details and cramming last minute, you should organize the information you are learning in a way that makes it easier to recall. For example, you can associate new information with something you already know. You can try to find relationships between information by comparing complex ideas to simple ones. Besides, you can try to find broader patterns across different topics.

Space out your studying over several short periods of time. Study several different subjects each day instead of focusing on just one. If you need to prepare for tests in physics, sociology, math, and biology, you will accomplish more if you learn a bit about each subject every day. But you should study intensively and use active learning strategies like self-testing. In this way, you will learn information more deeply and will be able to retain it for the long term. The problem is that during long study sessions, you are likely to confuse similar information and may lack concentration. Spacing out your work will also help you avoid procrastination. You can also use flashcards and take advantage of the spaced repetition technique.

Learn the same information in a variety of ways. Recent research revealed that various media affect different parts of the human brain. Using different learning methods and techniques, you will be able to activate more parts of your brain and, as a result, you will better understand and retain the information. For example, when learning a specific topic, you can read your textbook and your class notes, create a mind map (table, graph, chart), research for the information in online resources, watch educational videos on YouTube, take quizzes or do exercises from a variety of sources.

Don’t multitask. Research showed that multitasking has a negative impact on results. Students who multitask need more time to learn the material. That’s why to study smarter, you need to focus on one thing at a time and eliminate all possible distractions during your study sessions. While studying, you shouldn’t use social media, play games, respond to messages, or watch TV. Take measures to eliminate distractions, and focus on studying: use apps to limit your time on specific websites, turn off your phone, clear the clutter in your study area.

Teach someone else. Find someone who doesn’t understand the topic you are studying and try to explain it to them in your own words. You can do it with your study partner or with your study group or at least, you can imagine you are teaching an audience and say the material out loud. This practice will force you to organize and help you understand difficult concepts. During the explanation, you will need to make connections between concepts and use different examples to prove your statements. Explaining complex concepts to other people can help you deepen your understanding of the topic and save you a lot of time because when you share information, you are sure to remember it.

Test yourself. Self-testing is crucial for the success of your studying, so you need to test yourself on a regular basis and not just read your textbooks and study notes. You can use online tests or find different practice questions and answer them to find out how well you understand the key concepts, formulas, and equations. You can also create quizzes for yourself. Learning new information in this way, you will actively engage your brain and significantly improve your memory.

Use these effective techniques to study smart and create good study habit that will help you become a successful student and get high grades.