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Are you a student who loves watching Netflix & Co.? Then you will surely like these study tips from fictional high achievers.
There is something about watching a series or movie about an A-student that motivates you to study like them.
So let’s take a look at how to do that most effectively.
Read also: 11 Tips to Study Effectively | How I Study for Law Exams
Read also: 9 Time Management Tips For Students | How To Manage Your Time
1. Spencer Hastings – Go deeper and research
Spencer Hastings from Pretty Little Liars is a master at research. When she wants to find information, she digs deep.
She could literally create one of those boards with pictures and strings like those from crime dramas.
Through this total immersion into the subject at hand, Spencer learns a lot at a rapid pace. Of course, you can’t afford to go that deep into every subject you need to study. But it could be especially helpful with the most difficult topics.
I studied law at University and easily got overwhelmed by the many different sources of information I had at hand. It took quite a while for me to find my way around, but all the research was worth it. I now know exactly where to get the information that is easiest for me to learn.
2. Spencer Hastings – DON’T go without sleep
Sleep is not only important for our health but also a necessary part of the learning process.
While asleep, our brain processes the information we learn while awake. Without sleep, transfer into long-term memory will be difficult.
Therefore, Spencer’s drug-induced all-nighters were detrimental to her health and well-being and the efficiency of her studying.
The best way to get enough sleep is with a sleep schedule that you adhere to not only during workdays but also on the weekend. It will be much easier for your body to fall asleep and wake up if it is always doing it at the same time.
Occasional deviations from this plan are alright, of course, but you want to make sure it is usually followed.
Read also: 4 Reasons for Low Grades (Hint: It’s Not About Intelligence!)
3. Rory Gilmore – Read more
Rory Gilmore is always reading something in every episode of Gilmore Girls. She reads in her room, at the park, at the café, and in the cafeteria at school.
Undoubtedly, this habit of hers has greatly contributed to her success at school. After all, reading improves your focus, your vocabulary, and your knowledge.
Luckily, there is an abundance of reading material for us to choose from nowadays. You can choose to read books, articles, blog posts, or well-written fanfiction.
I encourage you to try out non-fiction books. They condense decades of experiences of the author in a way that you can learn from them within hours. It would be a shame not to take advantage of that.
4. Rory Gilmore – Cherish constructive critique
As much as Rory Gilmore is an A-student icon for many of us, she has sadly been a disappointment character development-wise.
Remember how she dropped out of Yale because she got some harsh criticism over her newspaper work? She did that, after all of the effort not only she but her entire family went through for years to get her into that University.
In a way, growing up spoiled and having everyone praise her has made her unavailable for any sort of criticism.
But how else are we supposed to improve? That’s what education is about! You learn, your teachers correct you, and you do better next time, rinse and repeat.
Constructive criticism is not something to agonize over but to cherish.
So the next time you get a graded paper back, take a moment and analyze the comments for things you can do better next time.
5. Elle Woods – Integrate studying into your daily tasks
We all know that study montage in Legally Blond, where Elle Woods is studying on a treadmill, at the salon, and with her sorority.
This scene isn’t just motivating to look at, it is also quite a clever way to immerse yourself in a subject.
Of course, multitasking this way only works if your other task requires little focus. Otherwise, your attention will constantly switch back and forth, and you’ll do neither very well.
So find mindless tasks like doing the laundry, walking your dog, going for a run, or commuting and add something informative to them.
You could listen to a podcast that talks about important court rulings, watch YouTube videos that explain different biological topics to you, or read a relevant magazine.
Whatever the subject you are studying, immerse yourself in it even if it is not your official study time.
6. Hermione Granger – Create a study plan early on
Hard work is useless if you work in the wrong direction.
You don’t have to meticulously plan out every study session of every day until the exam. It probably wouldn’t work very well anyway, since it’s hard to anticipate how long it takes to learn something.
However, you should at least have a rough idea of what topics and subtopics you need to learn and how much time you have for them.
Hermione Granger adored study schedules and even forced some onto Ron and Harry. You don’t need to be as obsessive as her, but having a plan will benefit you, as well.
Read also: How to Create a Study Plan | Tips For An Effective Study Schedule
7. Hermione Granger – DON’T memorize textbooks
Hermione regularly sounded as if she’d swallowed a textbook, as Harry once remarked.
While it is good to read a lot and memorize the information well, nobody is interested in having a human copy-and-paste machine.
Teachers want to see that you understand the underlying concept and can explain it in your own words.
This becomes especially clear if you take a look at different textbooks that explain the same topic in multiple different ways. Which one would you even choose to memorize?
Use your time more wisely and focus on a couple important keywords and the fundamental understanding. This will save you time and please your teachers.
8. Blair Waldorf – Test Yourself Constantly
There is this scene in Gossip Girl where Blair lets herself be quizzed by her maid.
I doubt that you have a maid readily available to aid your study efforts. Luckily, there are many other options available to test yourself.
Flashcards, for example, both physical and digital, mock tests, and online quizzes.
Many students prefer reading texts over doing tests because it is so much easier. But that’s exactly how you know testing yourself is more effective.
The increased effort it takes to recall information will help them solidify in your memory far more than reading will do.
These were the study tips from our favorite fictional high achievers. Would you like to add anyone to this list?
Also, what are you currently studying? We’d love to hear from you!
Until next time, Felicity Seeker!
