How to study properly? And stop procrastinating?.?

[Sean]

Ok so I'm 16 and I've been told for years that if I just applied myself studied and stopped procrastinating I could get straight As , I usually get high Cs without studying .. Now I have a reason to study (I hope to study medicine I've wanted to since I was a about the age of 6 but always taught I was too stupid so I tried to convince myself it wasn't for me..now I can't see myself doing anything else..)
So how do I study properly? And how do I stop procrasting! I spend way too much time on social media .. Also how do I study maths properly? I mean I can't really just look over it.. And chemistry too how do I study over it., so that it stays in my head (I sound extremely stupid for someone hoping to study medicine I know)
Don't say oh medicine isn't for you if you don't like studying.. I do just I'm not very experienced.. I know it's what I want, and because it's something I enjoy i won't mind studying!..thank you

[matiekills]

I find the best way is to make yourself a plan. Include what your going to do each day and then also give your self some rewards and break. Use tick boxes so you can check off when youve completed things which is quite rewarding when you have a big list of completed accomplishments to look at. To make things stick in my head il go over them, re write and then ask somebody to test me. Once you sort of get into a routine it becomes much easier to stop procrastination! I used to be the same as you, Cs without doing anything, but then I applied myself and ended up with As. You can do it!

[Anna]

There are many good methods for studying, but to find the best method for you, it helps if you know a bit about how your mind works. Since you'll get more practice with this over time, the more you try and study, the more you'll learn about how you study best and you will get better. There are some good tips for studying well, however.

Firstly, a lot of people end up falling into the trap of "if I just study longer, I'll do better", and then again, I remember times I've done better on tests with little study and heard people complaining how they studied hours and they didn't get the grade they wanted. Studying is important, but HOW you study and how efficient you are is key. If you can study for less time, more effectively, then you will be able to study more things during your free time or catch up on much needed sleep or relaxation. It's important that you do not over tax yourself. Believe it or not, taking breaks from study helps your brain. Study in shorter study sessions 30-45 minutes or so, and then take a break. (A break should probably not be more than an hour) If you study for hours, do you find you remember more about the first and last things studied and the middle is just a blank? When study sessions are shorter, the information is broken up more, so you have many beginnings and ends (in study sessions) that the mind likes to remember, so it's likely you'll remember more.
Besides breaking up your studying, when you need to remember a lot of information it helps to study whenever you can throughout the day and most importantly: every day. Anytime your mind is free, you can study. Even going over information you just learned when you're waiting in line, or walking to class, is very helpful. The more you go over the information, the more you can get it to stick in your mind. Some people find flashcards helpful, they're useful in that you can take them anywhere, so if you're waiting in line, you can pull them out and study. When your mind is free, but your body isn't (while waiting, eating, or so on), those are good times to go over information in your head. Think of it like walking through tall grass or snow, the more you walk over the same places, the more you wear a path making it easier for you to walk there. It's the same thing with memory, the more you think about the information you want to learn, even if you just remember one detail or a couple things, it can help you remember that in the future.

When it comes to things like math and science/chemistry where you have problems to work out and equations to learn, it helps to practice, and practice a lot. The more you use those equations and work out different problems, the easier it becomes. If practice isn't helping you to understand and work out those problems, it might be possible that you are being taught in a way that is not easy for your mind to fully grasp. (And that's okay!) It might mean that there is a piece of information that you're not told that your mind needs to make the connections for you to fully understand. So if you need to do a little extra research into something you don't understand, I'd suggest it. There is no time you will reach a limit in how much you can know, so if you need more information to understand something or make it stick in your memory better, than seek out that information.
(Example: I wasn't grasping that the albedo in astronomy was the amount of reflected light from a planet for some reason. So I looked it up and made the connection that albedo was from latin meaning "whiteness" and reminded me of the word "albino", and I never forgot what that meant again.)

So if something isn't sticking, no matter how much you go over it, then you may need to know more information to relate it better to things you already know and understand. I had to look up more information about some logic equations, for my Intro to Logic class, because the teacher didn't teach us what the letters really stood for. Once I knew, I realized I had already worked with those concepts before, and I understood the equations better, so it started making sense.

Don't cram information into your head, let it soak in, and make it a living part of you. Don't go over information and then never go over it again; glance over things you read last week or last month, don't let yourself forget and don't let your mind be stagnant. Again, relaxation is important, but don't let your mind sit idle for too long if you have a lot to learn. This might not be too difficult if you like the subject you're learning. Don't make it something you only attribute to school, make it part of your life, part of you. If you want to save lives, you need to not just memorize information, you need to understand it fully. If you go into the medical field, people will trust you to do your best to make people feel better or even save lives. It is a very important job, and you will have to learn a lot. So first believe in yourself, and as you learn more and get better: learn to trust yourself. Don't second guess yourself and be confident. If you put in the effort that you deserve (that the people you may help in the future deserve) then you will be truly great. It's okay if you're not there at first, you have time to learn. But do this for you, because you want to learn, and not because you're told to. Sometimes you may have to stay in and study rather than hang out with someone, or stay on Facebook, but I think if you go into the medical profession, you owe it to yourself to put your best effort forward. It's not an easy job, and many people look up to doctors/nurses/etc for a reason, we trust them to help us. Don't let someone misplace their trust in you because you didn't really learn what you meant to back in school, your job will be important. So your study time is now very important.

If you never give up, try your best, and believe in yourself, you can do amazing things.
Good luck, hopefully some of that helped even if only a little. It's never too late to start.


Unfortunately, you'll probably have to cut down the time you spend on social media. There's not much way around that. Don't cut good people out of your life completely, but still, you need to put your own needs and life goals first if you're going to accomplish your dreams. If you find yourself bored, it might be helpful to look up information, not necessarily related to what you're learning in class, but there is a lot you can learn and teach yourself over the internet. Sometimes I enjoy reading 'Psychology Today' online, or if you're ever curious about something, look it up! Especially if it's related to health, the human mind/body, and so on, your own research could help you in classes or your future later on.