12 Clear Signs You’re Studying The Wrong Way (and what to do instead)

by Deep

12 Clear Signs You’re Studying The Wrong Way (and what to do instead)

After years of studying, I realized these are the mistakes I was making while studying. Every students should watch out for these signs and take countermeasures to study the right way.

Signs You’re Studying The Wrong Way

1) You understand while reading, but forget later

If things make sense only when you’re looking at the page, that’s a sign you’re doing passive study. You are just re-reading without retaining anything. You have to actively engage with the information not just passive.

Use the Active recall technique
  • Close the book
  • Try to write/say what you remember. I prefer writing.
  • Then check and correct

2) You keep highlighting and rewriting notes

Highlighting feels productive but often doesn’t build memory. Again the same thing not actively interpreting things. You have to make your brain work.

Do this instead -
  • Make short notes only
  • Create Q/A format notes
  • Use flashcards for formulas & definitions

3) You forget everything after 2-3 days

This happens when you don’t revise in intervals. Our brain forget things and the key to not forget is refreshing the information.

Use Spaced revision
  • Revise same day
  • Then after 2 days
  • Then after 7 days

4) You feel busy but your results don’t improve

If you’re always “studying” but marks stay the same, you’re doing low-quality effort (no focus, a lot of distractions). You are probably over planning and getting very little done. Planning feels good but its not real the real work is executing everything that you have planned.

Do this:
  • Plan within 15 minutes
  • Study with phone away
  • Use 25 min focus + 5 min break
  • Track what you completed daily


5) You can’t explain the topic in simple words

If you “know it” but can’t explain it, you’re memorizing without understanding. If you understand it you will remember it for longer.

Do this -
  • Watch a video lecture to understand the topic
  • Ask your teacher or friend to help you understand.


6) You only study when you feel motivated

Motivation is unreliable. If your studies depend on mood, progress becomes slow. Time is limited and if you feel lazy and crave scrolling some reels or shorts then you'll compromise on your studies.

Create a daily minimum goal like:

2 Pomodoro sessions no matter what

7) You take too many breaks without realizing it

If your break turns into 30 minutes of scrolling, you lose momentum.

To avoid this -
Use timed breaks (5 minutes) and keep phone away.


8) You study in one long stretch and feel exhausted

Long sessions reduce memory retention and increase forgetting.

Fix:
Study in Short sessions (Pomodoro) + a short break.


9) You don’t revise what you studied yesterday

If you don't revise, information will fade away and the frequent the revision the better will be the memory and you would just have to look at it once to revise won't take much time.

Start every day with 10-minute revision of yesterday’s work.


10) You’re not making mistakes while studying

Sounds weird, but if you never make mistakes, you’re probably studying too comfortably (easy mode). Try more of the hard topics.

Do mixed questions and test yourself more often.


11) You study everything the same way

Different topics need different methods. You can't just try to read everything and memorize.

Here is what you should do -
  • Concepts - explain + questions
  • Theory - active recall
  • Formulas - spaced repetition + practice

12) Your exam performance is worse than your practice

This means you’re not training under exam conditions. You need to use a timer and put some pressure on yourself.

Time yourself while solving papers and mocks.

Peace 0ut ✌️

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