Studying habits matter a lot to students in high school. Study habits include your study spot, strategy, timing, and other things that affect your study sessions.

For students in Pakistani boards, studying can take a lot of time as exams draw closer. The syllabi are lengthy, and there’s a lot to keep up with for students in high school. How can you improve your study habits in order to get the best marks?

Ways to Improve Study Habits

1. Build a study environment

Your study environment is basically the place where you study and your surroundings. The ideal study environment varies for different people. You probably already know what’s yours. You should keep in mind that:

some prefer studying in quiet places, with little to no noise. Others want absolute silence. Then there are those who like to have some background noise or even students who study best with music on.
you need to make sure that your spot has a lot of light, natural or artificial. Dim lighting decreases brain efficiency significantly.

your comfort matters a lot. Make sure that you’re dressed comfortably, are sitting in a chair that doesn’t hurt, and don’t feel too cold or hot.

2. Get rid of distractions

Distractions aren’t just dangerous in your studying environment. If there are any things that are stressing you out psychologically, you should solve them too. Our mind can distract itself from different thoughts. You need to be able to pay full attention to your studies. Distractions in your environment can include:

Other people
Noise
Social media
General stress regarding your board exams

3. Don’t procrastinate by unnecessary planning

Many students have the habit of just keeping planning instead of actually studying. They use planning as a way to procrastinate. It makes them feel productive, even when they’re actually just wasting time.

Create a basic schedule and get started on studying as soon as possible. Procrastination is your biggest enemy when it’s time to study. Learn how to stop yourself from getting carried away when you sit down to plan and practice focus. Your time is precious, do not waste it.

4. Motivate yourself and set goals

Picture what you want to achieve. Visualizing your goals will help you stay focused and motivated. In the meanwhile, try to set smaller goals within the big goal. For example, your target is to pass your Pakistani board HSSC exams with flying colors. Your smaller goals can be studying hard for each subject.

5. Learn how to take breaks

The human mind needs breaks every hour or two. These breaks have to be short, of about 5 – 10 minutes. During the breaks avoid doing things that will only make your brain work more. They include using social media, watching news channels, or other engaging material that can distract you when you sit back down to study. Here’s how you should spend a break:

Go on a walk
Listen to some music
Make a snack for yourself
Meditate or relax

6. Organize study materials and create a schedule

Many students fail to keep their studying materials organized. Collect and organize your notes, and make sure to keep them within reach whenever you sit down to study.

You can arrange your notes and other study resources according to your exam preparation schedule. Identify the subjects that you need to prioritize and create a timetable that will give you the most space for your weaker subjects.

7. Practice with past exam papers

Past exam papers are one of the most effective studying materials for local boards. Practice as much as you can. You can even set the goal to solve past exam papers on your own each day. Old question papers are one of the most common study materials that students in Pakistan use to prepare for their final board exams, both solved and unsolved.

Solved and unsolved past papers both offer different advantages for students. While unsolved papers let you practice self-testing methods, solving past papers — if written well — can help students achieve high marks.

8. Manage time effectively

Time management is more important than most students realize. Make sure that you’re following a good study schedule. Every minute is important and should be used to improve yourself one way or another.

As a student in high school, you should be able to understand your capabilities and lifestyle. Some students study better at night, while others prefer early mornings. Create your daily schedule in a way that will least affect your normal lifestyle.

9. Test yourself as often as you can

Practice testing methods are basically half of your exam preparation. Because local boards follow a certain format in their exams with repetition, to an extent, in their topics and questions, it’s usually easier for students to just practice tests to study instead of memorizing the entire textbook.

This is most commonly done with the help of past papers, but many students also use guess papers, model papers, and even the practice questions in their textbooks.

10. Don’t hesitate to ask questions from teachers and tutors

It is not possible for you to have every concept cleared in your syllabus without needing the help of a teacher or tutor. No matter how thoroughly you study throughout the year, there are always a few topics that get in the way of your exam preparations.

For this reason, you should not back away from raising your hand in class or asking your teacher/tutor later about whatever confused you. Every important topic should make perfect sense for you in every subject. There is no embarrassment in trying to learn.

The way you build your study habits strongly affects how you actually end up doing in your exams. Keeping your learning style in mind, your study environment and methods basically shape how you will attempt your exam in your finals. Make sure to develop good habits, and try your best to stay focused.

With these tips and strategies, you should be able to improve your study habits successfully. Exams are almost here for students in Pakistani boards. Gear up, and good luck!

About the Author:

This is a guest post written by Adeela Hadait: Adeela Hadait is the Digital Marketing Manager at tutoria.pk, an e-learning website. She writes about online education, educational technology, and the latest research about educational psychology for high school students.

If this post is important to you, kindly share it on social media with friends and families.