If you dread going to school, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered! In this article, we’ll show you some fun ways to build your study skills. From playing games to exercising, these activities will help you learn more efficiently and have fun whilst you’re doing it.
Nailing Time Management
Before jumping into the main activities, there’s something important to get out of the way first: time management. The thought of sitting down to study makes a lot of people anxious so, in turn, they procrastinate and risk failing because of it.
Usually, people get anxious when studying because they think they need to learn all the material at once, which isn’t necessarily true. Many educators suggest breaking down all the topics which you need to cover into sections.
Additionally, many people make the mistake of forcing themselves to study for too long. According to the Pareto principle, 80% of your work should come from 20% of your time.
If you apply the Pareto principle to studying, about 20% of your time should be dedicated to studying so you get good grades.
For example, it’s much better to study a topic every day for ten minutes than to study for an hour all in one go. The same principle goes for exercise and language learning! It’s all about consistency, staying focused and feeling good about yourself while studying.
By practicing healthy time management skills, you’ll have a much easier time achieving your goals. Here, we’ll look at a few ways to create dynamic studying habits.
Playing Strategy Games
Playing strategy games is a great exercise to do between study sessions. Besides being fun, strategy games also help build time management and creative problem-solving skills.
Poker is an especially useful game for studying because it requires players to think ahead and plan their moves carefully. Additionally, it’s a pretty accessible game since you only need a deck of cards and a partner to play with.
On the other hand, you can also play poker online. Typically, players go for the online option when they want to try new variations. Of course, playing variations you already know is also fun, but experts suggest that playing different variations helps players to understand the game from a fresh perspective. However, if you want to play poker in the US, it’s best to consult the Legal poker states guidelines first, because online poker is only available in certain states.
Explaining A Topic to Someone New
Much of what we learn happens through conversation. Explaining to a friend or family member about a topic you’re studying helps solidify your understanding of that concept. It’s a way of practicing active learning, which is the key to making sense of a subject.
Explaining to someone else removes the pressure, allowing you to talk freely without thinking about the exact correct answer. It also helps you to understand the concept better because you have to put it into your own words.
Hearing someone else’s questions about the subject can also help you to grasp it more fully. Additionally, they might ask questions you haven’t thought of, which can help you fill in any gaps in your understanding.
Exercise
Many people think that studying has to be a sedentary activity, but that doesn’t have to be the case!
Don’t force yourself to just sit there the next time you feel tired or bored of studying. Get up and dance, run, do yoga– anything to get the blood pumping. The reason this works is because exercising gets more oxygen to your brain, which improves your concentration.
It also lets you study with fresh eyes, so that the material has a higher chance of making sense to you. Exercise can help to create a more pleasant physical and mental studying experience.
Final Thoughts
You don’t have to suffer for good grades. You can achieve all of your academic goals by being kind to yourself, practicing consistency, and creating new ways to learn.