Your studying habits

<p>It's a simple question. How do you guys study for tests/SAT I's & II's? What are your studying habits like? </p>

<p>I know for sure my studying habit sucks. I ALWAYS get distracted by Facebook, tumblr, my phone, and other things. It's so hard not too stay away from them!</p>

<p>I'm just curious because as Junior year comes around, I definitely want to know the 'correct' way of studying.</p>

<p>NOTE: 1* See note.</p>

<p>First I put on a pair of cargo shorts. (so nobody comes near me)</p>

<p>Than I sacrifice two sheets of notebook paper and an eraser tip to the great god, Imma Smartypantus. (You can’t prove he doesn’t exist)</p>

<p>Afterwards I turn on my itouch to some emo music to remind me that even though studying sucks, someone elses life sucks more. (motivation b****es!) </p>

<p>To continue, I create a sandwhich and grab a red bull to keep my energy levels high. (water is for wimps)</p>

<p>Furthermore I pull my pen, notebook, textbook, notes, notecards, laptop and another can of red bull from the pockets of my cargo shorts (Cargo pants, **** yeah!)</p>

<p>Finally I create little notecards with questions on the front and answers on the back. Review them afterwards. (At least, thats what I WOULD do if I wasn’t playing my xbox right about now)</p>

<p>1. - This is not the ‘correct’ way of studying.</p>

<p>I always get distracted. I’m retaking junior year, which sounds really bad, but in the UK it’s actually quite common, and i’m doing that for a number of reasons, mainly to change my subjects. I have to retake because they’re 2 year courses. Basically for my exams I just read my notes and looked at practise questions. I’m taking the SAT in november and I’ve made lists of words to learn, so I write the word, then alternative ways of phrasing it, like quiet and silent. Then I aim to learn the spellings and definitions of 5 words a day. Not many but by november that’s a lot.</p>

<p>I also take practise tests and read advice on essay writing etc.</p>

<p>I’ve written myself a killer study plan for next year, hopefully i’ll actually stick to it. The thing is I feel guilty for not studying because I know there’s no reason why I don’t.</p>

<p>I completely agree with StraightsJacket. </p>

<p>LOL well not exactly, but it’s true that that’s often what happens. Sometimes it’s actually easier for me to wait until the last minute, until I get that feeling of panic, because that’s actually motivating. I bought my SAT II math 2 book the night before at about 8:30, did one test, and still got a full score. I probably shouldn’t be advocating this method, but the best advice I have about it is to know your limits - if you know you’re not good at the subject, the panic should come earlier and you’ll know it’s seriously time to study. On the other hand, if you’re a math whiz, why bother studying for the math 2?</p>

<p>I also have an issue with all those things - Facebook, tumblr, phone, iPod, whatever. I like to keep a lot of food on hand (healthy things, mind!) to give my hands and mouth something to do when I’m reading or taking notes. I also like to play with some random trinkets I keep on my desk, again, just to keep my hands busy so I’m not tempted to resort to Facebook. But if the laptop poses too much problem…just slam the top done and do your business. Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to be firm with yourself. The real world isn’t amused when you waste your time.</p>

<p>All in all, I’m really glad it’s summer XD Good luck!</p>

<p>I used to have a big problem with distractions, so I started going to the library. It’s the BEST. Take only what you need. It’s so quiet there, and there is such an atmosphere of productivity–it really helps.</p>

<p>Also–last minute studying is good. It really is. But it isn’t enough–especially if you need to memorize things. It’s never to early to start studying.</p>

<p>I try not to study near a device with Internet or music capabilities, because I know i will use it…lol. In general, I do light studying every night, as in briefly looking over material and working ahead. If I have a test for school I will look over the material for a while, take a short break, then repeat. During a break I may drink some water or have a small pick me up snack. It is best to take a break before you get really tired. In terms of studying for the SAT, I worked some problem from each section pretty much every night and took a practice test every sunday for about 2 months</p>