This is going to rattle some of your beliefs, but multitasking is fake.

Your mind is blown, isn’t it?

Multitasking, if you don’t know, is doing multiple tasks at the same time.

For instance, you would do math questions, while checking your social media, while listening to music.

But our human brains are not capable of this. We can barely focus on our work in noisy environments.

I remember thinking that I was able to multitask. When I was younger, I wanted to do so many things (activities that countered my schoolwork).

Thus, I would try to do a bunch of stuff at once while I did my homework.

But as I got older, I realized I wasn’t focusing on the stuff that needed to be done when I multitasked.

If I was listening to music and doing homework at the same time, I would concentrate more on the music and not on my homework (probably because it was more fun and a simpler task).

At that time, I didn’t understand what was going on. It wasn’t until I got I took a psychology course in college that I figured it out.

Why We Can’t Multitask

We were in the cognition unit, I believe, and my professor talked about multitasking one class.

She said that it was fake and this caught me by surprise.

I don’t remember exactly what she said, but it was similar to how this Entrepreneur article explained it:

“Multitasking reduces your efficiency and performance because your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When you try to do two things at once, your brain lacks the capacity to perform both tasks successfully.”

So essentially, our brain lags when it has to do more than one thing at once.

And the reason why is because it does not possess the power to do multiple tasks (do it well, anyway).

Ever since then, I only listen to lyric-less music when I am writing or doing work.

I am able to be mindful when I do this and am able to put full focus on the task at hand.

And this is what you should do too (if you want to do better in school).

You have to work on one task at a time and put your full attention on it.

Once you’re done, go on to the next task, and so on.

A Tip on How to be Mindful

If you find that you have trouble focusing, try using the Pomodoro Technique.

This productivity hack will help you focus on a single task at a time by breaking up and timing your work period.

When used, you will work on a task for 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break, and then work on another task for 25 more minutes.

This helps you be mindful of your work because you are being timed.

The timing, for whatever reason, forces you to concentrate and be attentive. It adds pressure on you.

You can learn more about it here if you are interested.

Final Thoughts

Multitasking will hurt your productivity.

When you do it, you are mainly focusing on the easy and simple tasks, which the majority of the time are the tasks that cause you to procrastinate.

So, cut it out and do one thing at a time.

And if you really need to have background noise when you are working, listen to music with no lyrics.

I suggest listening to classical and Lo-Fi hip-hop music as these are my favourites.

You have an exam coming up.

You’re pretty nervous about it because it’s worth 50 percent of your overall grade. You need to do well.

And you will.

All you have to do is follow these exam study hacks to create the perfect study environment.

So, let’s get to them:

Pick a place and time that you’re most productive

Okay, so the first thing you should figure out is when and where you feel most productive.

Is it in your kitchen, early in the morning before everyone else is awake? Is it in the late evening in your bedroom? Or is it at the library in the late afternoon?

By figuring this out, you can start to create a ritual where this time and place will be when and where you study.

This will help improve memory and retention of information as well.

As you study at this time and place (the majority of the time), you will slowly get comfortable with this environment and studying there will be second nature (it’ll become a routine).

By implementing this study hack, you will be telling your brain that this place is for studying and nothing else. This is where you go to study.

And by creating this psychological effect, every time you go to your study habitat, you’ll only focus on studying.

And you’ll study hard.

For example, when I was in college, there was this study area near the cafeteria that I always went to.

It was right beside big windows with a lot of natural light. The desks were cubicles as well, so I had privacy to study.

And the time that I normally went -right before noon- didn’t have many students there, so it was quiet.

This was the perfect study environment for me at that time. It was bright and quiet, and I was comfortable there.

I was able to trick my brain into switching into work mode every time I went to that study area.

And this is what you should try to achieve too.

Find Out Your Learning Style

There are four types of learning styles: visual, auditory, writing/reading, and kinesthetic.

By figuring out how you learn, you’ll be able to study more efficiently and effectively.

For instance, if you were an auditory learner, analyzing graphs and charts (visual learner) isn’t going to be very effective.

You have to study like an auditory learner to reap the most results.

To figure out what type of learner you are, you can take surveys provided by your teachers.

Some teachers will have you fill this out before the semester, but most don’t.

Thus, if you want to find out, just ask them for a VARK survey or test.

This will be the best way to find out. But if you for whatever reason don’t want to ask, you can try testing yourself.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do I understand and remember diagrams/illustrations well? (if yes, you’re a visual learner)
• Does listening to lectures and recordings help me understand concepts? (if yes, you’re an auditory learner)
• Does reading and writing lecture notes and summaries help me think better? (if yes, you’re a read/write learner)
• Do I prefer to learn by observing, experiencing, and/or experimenting? (if yes, you’re a kinesthetic learner)

These questions, however, will not give you an accurate answer. They are just guiding questions that are meant to tickle your curiosity (much like this article on the topic).

Some people are also a combination of two styles, so those questions will not address that.

Needless to say, you really should ask a teacher for an actual VARK survey.

Use Active Recall and Test Yourself

As you are studying like how you study in your perfect little habitat, make sure to use active recall.

I’ve talked about this before (and you can read about it in more detail here), but active recall is a learning method.

By using this method, you will be constantly quizzing yourself as you learn.

So, for example, if you were studying for an upcoming biology exam, you would create questions with the important facts.

You could write the questions on one side of the index cards (or sheet of paper), and the answer (or important facts) on the other.

Then, as you are studying, you would go through the questions, which would be categorized by chapter and unit, and state the correct facts.

I will say that this method is more effective if you do it while initially studying (not for exam prep).

The reason why is because, by the time you have to study for an exam, you will have already gone through this process and will have already remembered most of the facts.

Additionally, the recall notes will be ready for you to study from.

You don’t have to go through the process of making them.

Try to Solve for 15 Minutes and Switch to a New Question If You Are Unsuccessful

Okay, since you are cramped on time, if you can’t solve a problem within 15 minutes, just skip it for now and come back to it later.

Seriously. If a question can’t be solved in 15 minutes, then you don’t know how to solve it.

There’s no point in trying to do so. You’re just wasting time if you do.

So, the efficient thing to do is to go on to a new question. Then you can ask someone to explain the unsolved questions later on.

You can ask your tutor if you have one, or a teacher or a friend.

But remember to do this after you have completed all the solvable questions.

This study hack will save you time and a headache.

Use the Feynman Technique to Take Notes

When studying, make sure you fully understand everything with the Feynman Technique.

You can do this by reviewing your notes and seeing if they are written in layperson terms (simple language). If it is, then you understand the facts.

If a person with little to no knowledge of the topic asks something about it, you should be able to clearly explain it to them.

If it is not, then your notes on that topic are probably wordy and full of jargon.

You’re going to have to fix this.

And you can do this by reviewing the unit again (read textbook and lecture notes). As you are doing so, re-write your notes.

Make sure it is in plain English and that a little kid could understand it.

You can learn more about the Feynman Technique here.

Take Breaks, Stretch, and Snack

As you study for an exam, remember to take breaks. Your brain is like a muscle and cannot run non-stop.

It needs to take a breather every once in a while.

And during these breaks, you can refuel it by eating snacks, drinking water, and stretching.

The snacks will feed nutrition to your brain, the water will hydrate your body and dome, and stretching (or light exercise) will drive blood and oxygen to your head.

All of these things will promote positive brain function, which will help you study better.

So remember to take a break. You will come back to your study session more focused.

If you don’t know how to effectively take breaks, try doing the Pomodoro Technique.

This productivity hack will assist you with timing so that you don’t have to worry about it.

All you have to do is set the timer and do work (and take breaks).

Space Out Study Sessions

You have probably heard teachers say this before, but cramming and doing all-nighters don’t work.

When you cram the night before a test, you are not actually learning anything.

You are just trying to remember information, which is not good for test prepping. You actually want to understand the concepts.

The best way to study for an exam is to constantly study for the class over a wide range of days (or weeks).

You have to stretch out your study sessions.

So instead of studying a couple of nights before, as many students do, you should start to study for the exam weeks in advance.

And the best way to do this is with active recall.

The reason why is that the studying process will begin as early as your first note-taking session.

Then the night before the exam, you can just review those notes to make sure you understand everything.

You should also check to see that you can explain the concepts clearly. And if you are able to, then you know your facts.

And if you know your facts, then you are going to do well on that exam.

Get Enough Sleep

This study hack might be difficult for some of you, but…

Do not pull an all-nighter. If you don’t understand something the day before the test, you won’t understand it more by going over it all night.

It’s better to go to sleep, and wake up refreshed and energized, ready to take on the exam.

And in addition to this, there have been studies that suggest sleep helps you remember information.

So, get some snooze before the test.

Not only will it help you memorize concepts, but you will feel better during the exam.

Breathe and Be Mindful

Breathing and being mindful probably sounds like woo-woo, new age crap. And in a way, that’s true.

These two things aren’t functional study hacks, like active recall or the Feynman Technique.

They are not going to turn you into Bradley Cooper’s character in the movie Limitless.

But it will put you in the right headspace. It will calm you down and help you focus. It will help you be more attentive and less distracted.

A simple way to practice this is to sit and breathe for 2 minutes before studying.

Close your eyes, take deep breaths, and focus on your breathing.

That’s it.

After, you’ll be calm and clear, and ready to absorb information.

When I was a student, I had slight exam anxiety. I wouldn’t freak out before exams, but I definitely got worried and breathed heavily.

But luckily for me, my dad was really into meditation and taught me how to do it.

Before entering every exam, I would find a quiet place to, basically, meditate. I would stand or sit somewhere, close my eyes and breathe.

Also, I would count my breaths to make sure that I was focusing on them.

This helped me get calm before exams. I also used this when I had to tackle complex questions that stressed me out.

I would do this for a couple of minutes, or if I’m cramped on time, count 30 breaths (in increments of 10).

Give this a try if you’re the type of person who gets anxious before exams. I know it will benefit you because it benefitted me tremendously.

Do Practice Exams

As I said in some of the earlier tips, solely studying right before exams won’t do much.

So, technically, doing practice exams won’t help you understand more than you already do.

And if you are using active recall during the study process, there’s really no point in practicing with these resources.

However, practice exams are great for getting familiar with the upcoming exam.

These, for the most part, are older exams that are being recycled. So, the exam format and questions will be similar.

Additionally, sometimes exam makers re-use questions. A question that you do in the practice test may end up in the exam.

And that would be pretty awesome.

A suggestion I will give is to start doing portions of the practice test weeks before the exam.

Make it part of your studying (do them as bonus practice questions).

Then, a couple of days before the exam, do an entire sample exam to review all the concepts.

This will help you find out what you do and do not know, and gauge your knowledge of the topic.

Conclusion

If you apply most (or all) of these study hacks, I guarantee you will create a near-perfect study habitat.

So go on and start experimenting to see what works for you.

When I was a student, I always had trouble managing my time.

I procrastinated a lot, which led to me not finishing my work on time.

Sometimes, I just thought I completed my homework already when I actually didn’t (I was also pretty disorganized).

But as I got into the higher grades and eventually into college, I realized that time management and organization are important.

Keeping track of things and staying on top of them was a deciding factor in my success or failure.

And it will be yours too.

But you probably already know that, seeing how you are on this article.

What you want are some tips on how to manage time better.

And, since I’m a nice guy and a borderline pushover, I’m going to give you some tips.

So, let’s get to them:

Keep a to-do list

A to-do list is a list of things that you need to finish in a day or a week. It can be homework assignments, projects, or household chores.

Creating a to-do list is pretty easy.

You can use an agenda to schedule all your tasks or you can make your own with a notebook. There are also different types of agendas as well.

There are daily ones, hourly ones, and monthly ones (I personally prefer the daily ones, if you’re wondering).

Additionally, you can download a to-do list template and use that.

To start, what you want to do is write down the tasks you need to accomplish on any given day.

This could be an assignment, a reading, or a quiz that needs to be studied for.

But be conscientious to not overstuff your schedule.

If you add too many items, you’ll be overwhelmed with the number of tasks you have and you won’t do any. This is called analysis paralysis.

So, try to only keep three items in your task box.

Some days, there will be more. But for the majority of the time, just keep the three items that you absolutely have to do during your core study time.

Additionally, you should spread out the tasks that will take a long time to complete.

For example, if you have a research paper, spread out the process of writing it throughout the week.

On day one, you can do research and planning. On day two, you can outline the paper and craft the thesis, and so on.

By doing this, the task will seem manageable. It will also prevent procrastination because it’s broken into small chunks of work.

Additionally, by breaking up large tasks, you’ll have more time to do other (shorter) tasks that also need attention.

One more thing you can do to make your to-do lists more effective is implementing batch days.

Batch Days

Batch days are days when you group a bunch of similar easy tasks together and complete them all in one day.

For instance, you can batch all your required readings and note-taking into one day.

Or, you can batch all of your weekly homework assignments, such as math or science review questions, into a day.

By batching, you’ll create more time for more to work on difficult tasks.

You’ll be able to spend more time focusing on longer, more difficult assignments because you won’t have to worry about finishing the easier work.

This is also a good way to prevent Parkinson’s Law from affecting you because you’ll be setting a reasonable time limit for completing tasks.

Rank Your Tasks

This tip will go hand-in-hand with the previous tip.

As you are scheduling your to-do list, you should rank your tasks. If there is a complex assignment that you need to finish before the week’s end, you should do that first.

The reason why you should do this is that you’ll have more focus and energy first thing in the week. You’ll also have more time to work on and complete it.

If you were to leave it until the middle of the week or to the last minute, you’ll be too tired to do it. You’ll also be short on time.

Too stubborn to believe me?

Imagine this: you’ve just spent nearly a week working on math homework, reading a couple of short stories, studying for a science quiz, and working on a fill-in-the-blanks social studies assignment.

Would you now want to also write a 5-page report that’s due in a day?

No, you’re not (and if you do, you are a big, fat, liar).

Your brain will be fatigued and you’ll be unenthused, and you’re not going to put your best foot forward. You may even just give up and not finish the assignment on time.

But by putting some urgency on this task, you’ll put in the time and effort needed to do it well.

Also, if you start working on this first thing in the week, you can break it up into smaller, daily tasks, as I mentioned earlier.

So, rank your tasks by figuring out what requires the most attention and brainpower.

Do these first thing in the week or first in your study period. The simpler tasks (the ones that are less fatiguing to your cranium) can be done after.

Use the Pomodoro Technique

If you’re the type of student who easily loses focus, try implementing the Pomodoro Technique.

The Pomodoro Technique, which you can read more about here, will help you stay focused on your task, saving you time in the long run.

It does this by making the work period un-intimidating by forcing you to break it down into short chunks.

In these 25 minute chunks of time, you will put your undivided attention to working on a task.

If your task is a long one, like writing a paper, you can break it down into stages.

Then you can work on a stage during a Pomodoro.

If you have a bunch of smaller assignments, you can work on each one during a Pomodoro.

For example, let’s say you have to read and take notes for social studies, solve 10 math equations, and read a chapter for language arts.

During the first Pomodoro chunk, you would do your math.

Once the 25 minutes are up, take a 5-minute break. Then, you would do your social studies. Take a short break when the Pomodoro is up.

Finally, you are going to do your language arts.

When the 25 minutes are up, you will take a longer break (15-30 minutes) and start a new Pomodoro cycle if you have more work to do.

If you don’t, then you are finished your study period. You are free. Go do whatever you want.

By using Pomodoros to study, you’ll cut out slack and save time.

Your work time will be concentrated, which will result in you having more time to do other things.

Conclusion

By applying these three time management methods, you’ll be more organized, less of a procrastinator, and will have more free time.

They’ll allow you to work smarter and more efficiently, rather than working longer and harder.

So give them a try and see how much they will benefit your life.

Have you noticed that you just can’t seem to remember information after a while?

You would read something from a textbook, write down the important stuff, re-read it, and a couple of months later, won’t remember it for a final exam?

The reason why you can’t remember that information is because you’ve been passively studying. This is only good for short-term memorization.

What you should do instead is use active recall.

What is Active Recall?

Active recall is a learning technique where you use memory stimulation to actively retrieve information.

This is different than passive review (how most students study) because, well, it’s active.

When you passively learn, you’re trying to remember facts from your notes or readings.

But when you actively try to recall information, you’re forcing yourself to pull out facts that you’ve previously learned by quizzing yourself.

This, in my opinion, is a better way to study. I believe this because active recall gets you to understand and connect facts.

Passive review, on the other hand, is just straight-up memorization. And it’s always better to understand than to memorize when learning.

How Does Active Recall Work?

When you use active recall to study, you are using an effect called the psychological testing effect.

The psychological testing effect is a theory that claims a person’s long-term memory increases when they spend some of their study time to retrieve information.

An example of this would be a short quiz after each chapter. Or it could be a quick critical thinking session of the complex concepts.

How to Use Active Recall to Study

One of the best ways to use active recall when studying is to write down important facts as questions (Jeopardy it).

Then on the backside of the paper (or on a different sheet), write down the concepts or theories.

For example, if you were learning about important events that happened in 1994, you can write down:

“What is apartheid and what happened to it in 1994?”

Then, on a separate sheet of paper, write down,

“Apartheid was a South African policy that segregated White people and non-White people. It was fully abolished in 1994.”

Now, when you go to review your notes, you would use the question to actively retrieve the information that you just learned.

Some other ways you can apply this method are by using the toggle function on an app called Notion or by using flashcards.

You can also use workbooks to study.

Workbooks are great because it has active recall questions following readings.

This will help you actively review with critical thinking and recall questions.

Combining Active Recall and the Feynman Technique

If you want to make active recall even more effective (which you really should), combine it with the Feynman Technique.

The Feynman Technique, created by physicist Richard Feynman, is a learning method.

This technique helps you break down complex facts into plain language, making it easier to understand and to explain.

So, to combine the two methods, you would simplify your “answers” to the point where a person with no knowledge of the topic could understand it.

This will ensure that you fully comprehend it because it’s very challenging to break down complicated theories into layperson terms.

Conclusion

There are many ways you can apply active recall to your studies.

You just have to experiment and try to find what works best for you. You have to get creative with it.

Once you figure it out, this study hack will benefit you enormously.

Thus, find a way that best suits you and start applying this method.

You’ve probably heard the term essay from one of your teachers before.

But if you’re one of those students who don’t pay attention because you’re thinking about something else, like sneakers or tech, you probably don’t know what an essay is.

But more importantly, you definitely don’t know the structure of an essay… and how to write one.

This is probably why you searched this topic and landed on this article. So, I’m going to help you out.

First, an essay is a type of long-form writing.

It is meant to either argue for a belief, persuade readers into believing something, or to expose an idea or process by sharing how-to steps.

The Essay Format

The easiest way to learn the structure of a 5-paragraph essay is by imagining a burger. This process is called the Essay Burger Plan.

So, I’m sure all of you know what a basic hamburger looks like. If you’re vegetarian, imagine a Veggie burger. They both look the same.

How to Write the Intro Paragraph

Anyway, the top bun of the burger is your introduction paragraph. This is where you will try to capture the reader’s attention.

Following the first bun is usually a slice of lettuce.

If you normally don’t have this in your burgers, then I have to ask: Are you a monster? Who eats a straight-up meat burger?

But I digress.

The lettuce is where you would put the thesis.

The thesis is a statement that tells the reader what your essay will be about.

This is where you would put your stance on an idea or argument, or what the theme of your essay will be. It is also part of your intro paragraph.

For example, if you received an essay question that asks you: “What tastes better: beef burgers or veggie burgers?” your thesis can be:

“Veggie burgers taste better because they are loaded with natural flavours.”

How to Write the Body Paragraph

Next is the patty. This is where you are going to place your body paragraphs.

In the body paragraphs, you are going to defend your thesis.

You are going to write your reasons for why veggie burgers taste better than beef burgers, for instance.

You’re going to use your thoughts/beliefs, facts, research, history, quotes, case studies, science…anything that can be used to prove that your stance is reasonable.

You also have to add examples to legitimize your reasons. And after each example, you have to explain how it is related to your reasoning.

So, continuing with the burger example, I could say:

“To start, veggie burgers have a lot of natural ingredients.

On the national health site, it says that X brand of ‘veggie burgers have fresh ingredients such as carrots, green peas, and mushrooms improving the patties taste and health.’

This example proves that only natural vegetables are used in producing the patties, which adds to its flavour.”

Additionally, there are usually three body paragraphs per essay (at the intro level anyway). So your burger is actually a triple-burger.

How to Write the Conclusion Paragraph

In the bottom bun, you’re going to write the conclusion.

You’re going to close out your essay by summarizing everything that you talked about earlier.

The easiest way to do this is to re-write your thesis and the important points that you made.

So, if you were comparing veggie burgers and beef burgers, you can write:

“Therefore, the flavours in veggie burgers exceed those in beef burgers because only fresh, natural flavours are used as ingredients.”

And that’s basically how you write an essay.

If you want more tips on essay writing, such as how to write it faster, read this post.

Transitions and Sentence Starters

In addition, I want to add that you should always try to make your essay easy to read.

You can do this by adding smooth transitions and using sentence starters, as well as using simple language for explanations.

Here’s a small list of transitions you can add to your essay to make it flow better (you can find more here):

• In addition
• First, second, third
• Even though
• Regardless
• For the purpose of
• Given that
• In conclusion
• Eventually
• in the center of
• adjacent to

And here are some sentence starters you can use (you can find more here):

• In addition to
• For example
• Accordingly
• As a result
• Because
• On the other hand
• Especially
• Granted
• As you can see
• For all of those reasons

Final Thoughts

By following this essay structure, you can write a pretty darn good essay.

Just make sure your content and arguments are sound and you’ll for sure impress your teacher.