Study hacks
There are many techniques and tools for studying effectively and efficiently, such as the Deakin study workload planner. Experiment with some of the approaches outlined below to find a strategy that works best for you.
Tip
For support with time management, note taking and reading techniques, explore the guides on Organising your studies, Making digital notes and Active reading.
Organising yourself
Be curious about what situations and conditions help you to learn. This may be consistent with your study practices you used in high school, and other learning environments. Or you might want to try something new and find out what you prefer and what makes learning enjoyable for you.
Click on the plus (+) icons in the scene below to explore some ways you can improve your study conditions.
Activity overview
This interactive image displays a scene in a house with music playing, two people chatting and a person studying. The scene has 4 selectable hotspots. Each hotspot contains considerations on improving your study conditions as follows:
- Distractions: Location and physical environment are important – Are there lots of distractions? What would help you to feel motivated?
- Communicate: Negotiate house and carer duties during your studies.
- Study time: Choose the time of day to study when you are focused and alert. For some this may be first thing in the morning, and for others it may be in the evening.
- Planning: Be realistic and think about how your study fits in with other commitments in your life (e.g., work, exercise, social activities). Consider using the Deakin study workload planner to keep track of your tasks.
Interleaved practice
Often when we revise we sit down with one subject to focus on for an hour or so. Studies on interleaving practice suggest that revising in shorter blocks and mixing up different subjects or topics in one session helps you to master concepts and remember long term. The key here is to mix up the topics and study unrelated concepts together. There is no ‘right way’ to use interleaving, but here is one example of using interleaving in your revision.
Plan for one hour revision time:
Spaced repetition rather than cramming
This strategy is about creating a schedule of short intensive study periods that you repeat over a longer period of time. Rather than focusing just on new content each week and revising at the end of the course (for an exam or an assessment), this approach is about planning for short and regular (e.g. daily) revision sessions. Use your phone or calendar to schedule reminders or even use ChatGPT to create a study plan.
When you use spaced repetition, you give yourself a regular prompt about the concepts - the act of revising and remembering requires frequent effort and helps encode information to your long-term memory.
There is no ideal spacing, so plan a schedule that works for you. The revision session can be short (e.g: 10 – 20 mins). One approach is revising 2 days, 2 weeks and 2 months after learning a new concept.
Tip
When you first break up your study into smaller blocks, alternating from one topic to another, you might feel that you’re not making as much progress as you normally would. This is okay, stick with it, and allow yourself time to get used to this study technique.