Studying is a necessary evil. It’s one of those tasks you simply have to get on with because when you study at International Hotel School, you need to pass those all-important exams in hospitality studies. Here are a few study hacks we think really help students to get the best results:

 

Chew some gum

Scientists have proven that chewing gum is a small brain booster. Somehow when we chew gum, the brain wake us up and helps us to stay focused, so don’t hesitate to buy a few sticks of gum for those long study sessions. #NoCaffeine #SugarFree #ZeroCalories

Make really impressive notes

And we mean, really impressive. Use colours to outline important sections, make mind-maps, use coloured paper, cardboard, funky metallic pens and so on to create a visually stimulating set of notes that switches on lights in your brain for important facts you should remember. If you really want to take things to the next level, rewrite your notes as if you were writing them from a teacher’s perspective, and handing them on to students to use. In other words, make them as good as the notes your teachers would give you. Because they’ll be hand-written by you, this will help you to remember the information you’ve written down.

Be that early bird everyone talks about

That saying, “The early bird catches the worm” has a lot of merit – get up early, have a shower, wake yourself up, do a few jumping jacks if you need to, and get on with your studying. Cramming late at night is not always a great idea. When you’re tired, it’s more difficult to retain information, so get up early and get your study dose over and done with before you have the stresses and strains of a long day ahead.

Listen to some cool tunes

Choose music that helps to focus you during your study time. Listening to certain types of music can calm you down, help you stay motivated and even pick up your mood. This type of music is called “music of the mind” and it’s definitely more helpful than harmful. Find out more here.

Become the teacher

It is one thing to write your notes down like a teacher, it is another to become the teacher. Speaking out loud helps you to retain vital information because you’re actually teaching concepts out loud as opposed to memorising them. Teach yourself, teach some friends or teach the dog – just remember it’s a great technique to helping you understand and retain vital study info.

Draw your work

Sometimes, rewriting notes may not resonate with you, and you may still struggle to retain information with understanding. Drawing your work may prove useful – diagrams and flowcharts can help you visualise concepts quickly, and since they usually follow a path of work, they are often easier to remember than notes sometimes.

Set your own exam

If you’re able to get your hands on past papers, go for it and use them to help you prepare for your next set of exams. If you don’t have access to past exam papers, create your own exam. Make it realistic, use key questions based on your revision notes and summaries, and then set up different kinds of questions (true/false, comprehension based / case studies etc.) in a mock exam paper. Finally, create a cheat sheet of answers and learn them well. It will help you to apply understanding to your work, and it will give you the edge in focusing on what is likely to be asked in the exam.

You’re 50% more likely to remember something if you speak it out loud instead of simply reading over and over

Don’t procrastinate, get going

Our final word of advice is to plan ahead and don’t let procrastination stand in the way of your success. Getting started is always the hard part – if you’ve planned your study, just take that step and get going. You’ll soon forget how tough it was to get started and how easy it is to get through exam time when you have a study plan you can stick to.

At International Hotel School, we offer a variety of hospitality and culinary programmes at our three campuses in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, as well as traineeships which are offered nationally, and an online division for online study. We have something for everyone and we offer our students plenty of academic and practical support, as well as study resources and lecturer assistance during their studies with us. If you would like to know more or if you have any queries, please drop us a line at info@dev.brokenpony.club or call us on 0861 44 33 00 and talk to a consultant today.

(Sources and images: http://www.fastweb.com/student-life/articles/secret-study-hacks; http://www.fastweb.com/student-life/articles/the-15-unconventional-study-tips; http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/advice-for-students-taking-notes-that-work.html#more-4075; http://www.buzzfeed.com/jamiejones/innovative-revision-hacks-to-help-you-survive-your-exams#.moeXeM0LxO; www.examtime.com; www.abodo.com; www.study-hack.com)