Salam alaik. Today I’m going to share with you guys some study tips. These are some of the things that I did myself since CFS (foundation) years and alhamdulillah DL (dean’s list) in every semester while maintaining an active extracurricular and social life. The consistency has gifted me with the title 'Tokoh Siswa Kebangsaan 2016 (In English: National Student Figure?)'.
Hence I'm sharing with you guys some of my study tips with the hope that it can be my asset in akhirah (afterlife) inshaAllah. Surely there are other people who have better methods than me but I’m just sharing in hope that it can benefit others.
(Will be writing in English, hopefully, my international friends can benefit from this too)
1- MINDSET
Before going to practical ones, let's get this thing right. It’s crucial for 2 reasons.
- A) We have the right purpose of achieving. In case there is any downfall, we don’t take our self-worth/self-esteem with us because our result on the paper should not be the definition of our self-worth.
- B) insha'Allah it’ll be easier for us to pick ourselves up in times of difficulties or failures as we know that there is Higher Power and regardless how much our efforts are, He is the Best Planner as He knows best.
The mind setting is: this ‘ilm or effort in achieving is not our ultimate destination. It should be our tool to get to our ultimate destination which is mardhatillah (His redho and blessing). And NOT the other way around, i.e. scoring exam becomes your end goal, while Allah SWT is a tool for u to reach it. Nauzubillah. Allah is the end goal, and the ilm, the achievement is to achieve the end goal. Shaytaan is tricky, need to get this straight first.
2- STUDY HARD or STUDY SMART?
Both.
You've got to study hard before you could get used to the strategy and be able to, study smart. Yes, first u have to have more time to prepare, to be familiar with the subject and the teaching method, before you could strategize your learning curve. Pisau, takkan tajam kalau tak diasah, kan? Don’t bother about what other people is going to say. ‘ZZZ Nerdie’ ‘Oh minah tu, library girl~~ boring~” (Who cares? We don’t live in this world to please them) .
“Malu laaa. Org nampak belajar penat2 sekali tak skor pon? Acanooo” (sayang, this world is too short for you to focus on what other people’s going to say. Just be yourself, and don’t bother. At the end of the day, it’s your life and they are not going to be responsible for whatever you decided and going to become). So, if you need to study hard, then be it!
When I say study smart, it simply means be strategic. It’s only after you have studied hard that you will be able to study smart. Why? Because you’ve already grab the outline of your subject and the big picture of your study life. You have an aim and more importantly, you have tried your method or planning strategy and you know which one is the best one for which subject.
Nooww going to the more practical level:
3- ORGANIZE YOUR STUDY PLAN
This is relevant for those who have the capability to organize their study plan. Meet your seniors and korek2 the commitment for each subject. We usually have different subject levels right? I.e. subject of level 1, 2, 3 and 4 (4 years study period).
Try to mix them a lil bit. For instance, if you’re at level 2, and you are planning to take 5 subjects, you could try adding 3 subjects of level 2 (your current level), 1 subject of level 1 and 1 subject of level 3. Why ? Because subjects of a lower level usually (might not be all) are less critical/difficult, and maybe lower commitment so insha'Allah easier for you to score. This can be your savior in case your scores for other subjects are not as good.
In opposite, subjects of a higher level usually require more commitment and more critical than the previous ones, so it’s good to have this “difficult” subjects NOT to be cramped in one semester/year. Boleh but you might be too occupied with your academic commitment. If you are an active student then it might be il bit difficult for you to juggle so planning it this way insha'Allah can give you some room to do your activities.
Yet, still, be careful not to take subjects that you are yet able to comprehend. Do consult your seniors or lecturers before adding them up. And don’t la mix them all too much. Just sikit2.
4- KNOW THE CARRY MARKS METHOD/TASK
Different tasks have different analysis and require a different amount of commitments. For example, mid-term exam or test only requires your own study time while group assignment requires other people’s timings and efforts. Hence, you might want to start establishing your strategies such as earlier planning for group assignment and earlier meeting as you do not know the commitment that your group mates can give and just to prepare earlier in case there is any free rider or what so ever huhu (Nauzubillahimin zalik).
Besides, this can help you to stay on track with your carry marks. Say your quiz mark is quite low, so you might want to put more effort for other tasks e.g. your group assignment or your mid term exam later.
5- TALK/DISCUSS/TEACH OTHERS
The more you use the knowledge or, explain it to others, the easier you’ll understand and remember it. How to do this? Simple. You can choose either one of these options:
- A) conduct a study group
- B) offer to teach whoever that needs help. E.g. your friend is sick and unable to attend classes so you might wanna offer your service to her.
- C) talk to yourself and try to apply in real life setting.
Trust me, just reading the textbook will just make you zzzz. Sleepy. Or maybe, too occupied! So speaking about it will help you to chunk your understanding as you’ll be organizing your thoughts to deliver the information properly. The more organize your thoughts are, the easier you’ll memorize it.
In class, try to be interactive and involve with the discussion! (oh this is a must for me otherwise I’ll easily fall to sleep in the class. Unintentionally, of course).
Alright, done with the first 5. Will continue the other 5 later inshaAllah. (Baby dah cry). Till then!
Salam.
Salam.
