Are your study skills sub-par? They probably are if you are not getting the grades you want. The good news is that study skills can be learned. I know that “learning” something else is not what you want to do. But, if you learn some elementary study skills you will be able to get your best grades. And it’s not as hard as you might think.
Do you find that when it comes to studying you are easily distracted? Would you rather hang out with your friends or watch TV or play video games? Does studying get in the way of having fun? I know it can seem that way, but school and getting good grades are very, very important if you want to be able have a good life as an adult
What you need is a “study system.” Something that you can call on any time that you need to study. This is probably something that you can just keep in your head because it isn’t difficult. But if you like to keep things written down you can do that too.
Your study system should start with, are you ready? An appointment with yourself that you have to keep. This means that you designate a time that is tween books best for you to study. And please don’t make the appointment for after you finish everything else that you want to do. You know why? Because that time will never come. You will always want to do something else. So, pick a time to study (a reasonable time like right after school) and keep that appointment. It also helps with the study time selection if you can estimate how much time you will need to study. Then pick a start time that will allow to finish studying.
Make sure you pick a quiet place to study. This will really help you to be able to concentrate. And guess what? The ability to concentrate is one of the most important aspects of studying. If you can’t concentrate on your studying, you will not remember very much, and isn’t that the point of studying?
Last, make sure you have all the study materials that you need at hand. This way you won’t have to stop and interrupt your studying to find that book or whatever. Have your textbooks, your class notes, your computer for research and a dictionary on hand. I know that dictionaries are for the older generation but they really are a quick way to look up meanings and correct spellings. OK, I know you can use the computer for this. So just do what works best for you.