Developing Your Study Skills
Strategies For Faster Learning

Study skills strategies are ways on how you can improve your learning better with what you study. These techniques can help you become more successful at school or your work.

Study skills and strategies can also be useful when doing research, understanding seminars and courses on topics being studied. Even if you have learning disabilities, you can still improve study skills and the way you learn. There are different ways for doing this like note-taking and recording the lessons being given.

Being able to learn well through effective study skills will give you good grades and bring you closer to better achievements in life as well as improving your productivity.

What Involves Study Skills

Study skills strategies include the process of taking and organizing information. This is about how you absorb or get the information necessary which you need to learn. There are different things that can help you with this. Effective study skills such as listening skills and visual learning are some good examples.

It would be easier for you to organize information if you start to get organized with the way you do things. Not only as a way of life, but your environment where you study can also contribute to your personal learning.

An organized home can be more suitable for you as a learning environment and you should avoid distractions from your surroundings such as noises and other people especially when doing assignments and research.

You should make a way like going to a quiet place such as the library or a private area where you can study straight without interruptions. This would also be a part of your reading study skills.

There are times when you have to say no to anyone who needs your time when you’re having some important studying.

Prepare Yourself to Study

Study skills and strategies would include your scheduling and conditioning of yourself before you do it in order to make it more worth your time. 

For effective study skills you can study the harder and longer subjects when you’re at your "peak times" and well-rested. You can absorb and retain information better this way. You can do this as part of your morning routine early on when you wake up.

You should not forget in your study skills and strategies that sleep deprivation must be avoided because it’s hard to learn and memorize lessons when your mind is still sleepy and tired.

To improve study skills, it would be better if you’re "wide-awake" and alert without other things bothering your mind. So you should settle problems early on and you’ll be more comfortable to study.

Different Study Skills and Strategies

There are different types of study skills such as "mnemonics" which helps retain lists of information. This includes effective reading and concentration techniques as well as using study skills strategies of note-taking. Another important one is your time management study skills. This is about using your time to make the most out of it and for your best interest.

Effective time management strategies should not neglect work-life balance so you can keep up with the stress of studying and school. 

You should also have some "motivation boosters" so you can become more productive when learning things. This would include things like making a way to reward yourself when you finished a tough lesson or passed your exam.

You can be in a better condition as part of your study skills and strategies when you practice daily affirmations. A positive thinking and mood helps make difficult things possible to attain.

One of the simplest study skills strategies is learning by rote and rehearsal which are based on memorization. This is a practice when you simply read over your notes and textbooks and re-writing your notes. Exposure through repetition of significant information can help you learn as it "internalizes" within you.

Improve Study Skills Strategies

Study skills strategies have different methods and techniques that were developed by professionals for effective learning. These can also serve as timesavers for you as you grow in knowledge quicker.

1. A method based on visual learning is the technique of using diagrams and charts for easier understanding of information and analysis. Picture based learning was proven to promote "memory retention." There was a saying: "A picture is worth a thousand words."

So using pictures as an aid makes it easier for an instructor or teacher deliver his/her message.

Charts sample:

Photo Credit: jimmiehomeschoolmom via Flickr

2. Using flash cards can also be used as study skills strategies. 

If not a printed card, index cards can be used as flash cards at school for teaching and learning were short summaries are written. Cards are re-ordered or shuffled then one is picked to read over for self-testing of knowledge. 

Flash Cards can also be used for visual learning aside from just reading texts.

Flash Cards sample:

Photo Credit: guy schmidt via Flickr

3. Making shortcuts with information to make it easier to remember.

Another one of the effective study skills is making information easier to remember by summarizing or condensing it.

It is not easy for some to remember all the details of a topic and discussion for example so it would be wise to shorten what you need to remember as clues and guides for the rest of the information that you need to remember.

If you’re studying a book topic or a subject course, you can summarize all the information into notes and outlines that are shorter and easier to manage and think about. As you work to improve study skills you can also use "keywords" and diagrams as you summarize.

You should learn to pick-up or highlight the most important things to remember that would help you understand the whole thing by just keeping these few details.

4. Making fun with words through some acronyms and mnemonics helps memory retention through a set of clues.

As study skills and strategies this is a way of translating or organizing information into a form that can be easily retained in the brain compared to its original form.

For example:

• The message "Clean as You Go" can be translated as "Claygo."

• The colors of the traffic light: Green, Yellow, Red can be used as a clue phrase like "Greet Your Relatives."

• A number combination like: "Nine One Six Eight" - 9168 can be translated into "NOSE."

Improve Your Personal Time Management

Improving your personal time management study skills is also important if you want to learn faster and become successful on your subjects. 

You should learn to schedule your tasks in such a way you’ll have sufficient time for studying and be able to do it in the right moments. You should avoid certain conflicts with other activities and responsibilities while applying time management techniques.

You can use a weekly calendar to assist you with monitoring your time.

There’s also time management tools like the monthly calendar which can make it easier for you to see your monthly appointments and the events that you should manage.

With effective time management as part of your study skills strategies, you’ll be able to lessen the stress and anxiety that you may encounter.

You must also work on overcoming procrastination because it can really slow you down. This tendency is something you must resist as you try to improve study skills. There are motivational techniques you can use which can help you.

Your time management study skills strategies should start with your priorities. This is a way of arranging the things you need to study in order of significance. That is from the most important down to the least. You should then learn to give the proper amount of time for each topic you’re studying.

Leadership traits involve being resourceful when needed so you have to become flexible with your time and resources when you’re studying at school or anywhere because you can’t avoid obstacles in life like "financial shortage."

You may study much when you have the opportunity. However, you’ll still need work-life balance so you won’t lose your motivation and maintain your desire to study. You should also provide some time for relaxation therapy so you can "unwind" and recover from body tiredness.

Study skills strategies are effective ways of learning and achieving success at school and at work. Whatever you need to know, remember that there are techniques and methods that can make it easier for you to get better grades and results.

Go from Study Skills Strategies to Effective Time Management Tips