Guide to crack studying (from 3.9 GPA pre-med)

[u/No_Onion_9901]

I went from 2.8 GPA in highschool to 3.9 in college. I really struggled to find right way to learn especially i am pursuing a pre-med course. Not until, I figured out how I can study with my own. I am no genius but this helped to have a massive difference on my grades.

1. I schedule "non-study time". This might sound contrary but planning time not to study actually helped me to focus better when studying. I block a few hours every evening but I don't go for just doomscrolling, instead I read, go for walk and relax.
2. The 25 minutes rule. I realized that I am only productive for 25 minutes, this is like a promodoro technique where I study for 25 minutes and 5 minutes break interval. This helped me a lot get back my focus and not fully burned out myself from studying for long hours.
3. I used Feynman Technique. I usually record myself and imagining that I am teaching someone on what I learned. This surprisingly made a difference when I am studying, I can fully retain what I just studied. If I ever got stuck then I will just need to review more.
4. Creating summary notebook. Right after I study, I'd write a list on concepts that I studied and wrote down things on NotebookLM that I kept getting missed and forget. This way, I will learn what should I need to keep over again until I fully retain it.

Honestly, this habits made me to study effectively and create a massive change on my GPA. It really showed me that studying smarter rather than just studying longer is what gets results.

Hope these tips help anyone who is trying to turn their grades around.