Looking for some strategies to help make better use of your study time? Needing some tips on how to study effectively? I learned that I had been studying all wrong when I failed a test for the first time in my life. It was a big one, the nursing licensing exam, the NCLEX.

Before I wrote that test I had not learned how to cope with failure, but that’s a different story. I learned that I really didn’t know how to study and the thought of doing something different was overwhelming. Studying effectively was not something I was doing and I thought if I read it I would retain the information. I recognized this thinking itself was a barrier to my studying and embraced new and effective methods.

Between school and life, I have learned how to interact with content in different ways to help me retain the information. I have learned some effective study strategies that I think will also help you! I have been able to tutor repeat writers of the NCLEX exam with these methods and it had been successful for all those I have tutored.

Here are six strategies to help you study effectively.

Ditch what you have been doing

Lets face it, if you’re here you need help. What you have been doing hasn’t working. Start from scratch. Often people think reading the same information over and over will help you retain information. This might work for some people, but not everyone. Some people need to interact with the content in new and more stimulating way.

Check your attitude

A barrier to retaining the information you are studying is lack of motivation or desire to learn it. Often for tests we may not be interested in ALL the material and there are some things we don’t care to study. Try and reframe your thinking about what you may not be interested in and have a positive attitude about learning new material that may not feel relevant now.

Organize yourself

It is important to create a study plan. If you have a certain amount of time to study or a deadline, use a calendar to map out the content you will study weekly and/or daily. Do not study for more than 4 hours at a time. For example, say you have a biology test in 3 weeks and you have to know 3 different body systems: cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal. One week you break down studying cardiovascular, the next respiratory, and finally the last week study musculoskeletal. Break down the content you have to study into weekly and daily goals. This not only keeps you organized but makes it seem less daunting.

Use colors & recall information

Colors are a great way to cue your brain and allow you to visualize information with brainstorming or mind-maps. I used a whiteboard or paper and used one color to write everything I knew about a topic from memory. I would use a different color to fill in the information I was missing from my textbook or other resource. This allows you to see how much you know or don’t know about a topic.

Don’t study what you already know

It is a waste of time to study information and content you already know. It can be easy to go to what you are comfortable with and know. Instead, it is important to differentiate what you know versus what you don’t know and need to work on. Another way to organize yourself is to have color coded folders. I used a Green, Yellow, and Red folder to organize the content and what to focus on. The green folder was the content that I knew. The Yellow folder included content I still needed to spend some time on. Red was what I haven’t given any time to or didn’t know well.

Self-assess as you go

It is important to take time to reflect on your study calendar and make sure you’re realistic with your goals. Check in and ask yourself if there are any barriers to your learning. Are you having trouble focusing? Are you interrupted often by pets, children, husbands? Have you fallen back to old study habits? Check in with yourself to keep yourself accountable as you move along in your studying.

These strategies have helped me pass the NCLEX, complete a masters program, and navigate a new job.

Hope these help you!