Try Your Hand at Stand Up

No, not like Chris Rock or Aziz Ansari. Literally just stand up and work. The Johnson computer lab has tall tables that are just the perfect height for students to pop open a laptop, stand and work. This is a great study habit because it gets your circulation going (no more falling asleep, Foot. Take that!). Standing while working also helps you to not fall asleep unless you are really talented or part horse.

Play the Name Game

Sooner or later, it’s going to happen. Whether you’re a biology major leafing through the “agonizing” works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, or an English literature major studying the “incredibly dull” work of enzymes, you’re going to have readings from a class that aren’t your cup of tea. To keep alert during less-than-thrilling reads, play the name game. In the margins of a page or next to seemingly boring headlines, transform the title of chapter 16 in “The Scarlet Letter” from “A Flood of Sunshine” to “Mom, you can’t hide your sin tho.” Likewise, alter “An Introduction to Enzyme and Coenzyme Biology” to “Not sure if enzyme or random word ending in -ase?” Creating catchy or memorable titles can assist in your memory while also activating creative centers in your brain. Then who knows, maybe you’ll want to become a bio/English lit double major!

Keep the Tempo

We’ve all heard that famous one liner of procrastinators united. It’s the justification, “I work better under pressure.” Well, students and study buddies, it’s time to turn on the pressure cooker and turn up the heat. Instead of spending hours at the library talking or getting distracted or yes, even taking a brief nap on the second floor couches (you think we can’t see you but we can, St. Ed’s couch-nappers), clock in and get cracking. By putting yourself in a “timed testing” environment, knowing you have 30 minutes to memorize 10 French vocab phrases becomes not only more focused study time, but a weirdly fun and competitive. Better yet, to switch things up, you can alternate between different course material so that you don’t get stuck in a rut. Ah, if only every study tip were this fun.