A 5-step plan to improve your study habits

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Studying much? You might be using the classic moves. You know—rewriting all your notes into newer, bigger notes; highlighting all the things; and generally cramming information into your brain. Sometimes those moves work just fine. But what if you’re looking for more than “just fine”? And what if you could get there with a little less stress and a little more purpose?

That’s where metacognition comes in, a learning theory based on thinking about how you think. Researchers at Stanford University and elsewhere have been looking at how metacognition can help students perform better in their academics.  

Metacognition is taking the time to consider how you think. Reflecting on your thinking can give you some key insights into what you’re learning and what you’re missing. It means thinking through the methods, tools, and resources available to you and deciding which ones can best get you where you want to go. It also means evaluating how you performed on an exam and thinking about what changes you’ll make to improve your score next time. 

Consider this: Textbooks, tutors, academic advisors, past exam questions, and homework assignments are all resources that you can use to study—but what’s the purpose of each of them? And which ones will help the most? 

“Learners should take the time to explicitly think through why they want to use each resource for learning,” says Dr. Patricia Chen, metacognition researcher and assistant professor of psychology at the National University of Singapore. Bottom line: It’s about thinking carefully about your resources—how to choose them and how you’ll use them.

Metacognition goes beyond reading through your class notes

Rereading and/or rewriting your class notes is a form of passive studying, which doesn’t take into account any form of self-evaluation of your best study practices. It can even lead to “fluency illusion,” or the belief that you know the material better than you do. When it comes time to recall your study notes for the exam, you may not be able to remember them enough to do well on the test, leading to poor scores and frustration. 

The best part about metacognition is that it’s simple—you can do it yourself by making a plan and setting some goals. And who knows? You may even see a similar boost in results. Here’s how to go about it.

Think about your options before you study

This means ditching your autopilot plan and taking some time to make one that works. Start by jotting down the resources you have access to. For example:

• Notes
• Class readings
• Slide decks or class presentations
• Audio recordings
• Essay prompts
• Past quizzes or exams (used with permission)

• Course syllabus
• Tutors
• Classmates
• Academic success center 
• Online forums
• Review sessions
• Conversations with your professor

Then list out how those resources could help you craft your plan. 

“This [process] allows students to identify in advance which topics they need to spend more time on and which they are already very familiar with,” says Dr. Chen.

Here’s an example of what this process would look like

Step 1: Identify your chosen resource

Let’s say you’re taking a look at your exam questions from earlier in the semester.

Your professor probably has a particular way of creating test questions, so if you’re looking at an exam from earlier in the semester, it’s likely the upcoming one will follow a similar format or ask questions in a similar way. Use that to your advantage. Practice your responses to the question type and exam format. 

Step 2: Make your plan

Now that you know which resources will work best, it’s time to make it work for you. And that involves making a specific plan. Participants in the Stanford study were asked to do just that—plan when, where, and how they would use the study resources they identified. It worked for them; it can work for you too. “Planning is crucial because it helps learners translate their strategies into action,” Dr. Chen says.

Make a chart that lists out the resources you’re using along with all the details: when, where, how, and why.

Step 3: Set and get those goals

It all comes back to goal setting. Knowing what you’re looking to get out of your studying can help you get there. Think beyond pure performance here; what’s the long-term goal of knowing the material? A foot in the door at your first post-grad job? Feeling confident in applying your newfound knowledge? Grad school? Write down those goals, add them to your chart, write them in permanent marker on your forehead—whatever makes them stick. 

“Goal setting helps learners clarify exactly what they want to achieve and focuses them on their goal as they plan out their studying,” says Dr. Chen.

“I realized that when I had goals, I did better and got more done. Working at things aimlessly, without goals, has led to poor results, in my experience. The more I reached my goals and saw how they were benefiting me, the better I performed and the more motivated I was.”
—Blair C., fourth-year student, Indiana University Southeast, New Albany

Step 4: Know that you can

Yup, we’re asking you to have a little faith in yourself, and not just because you’re awesome, but because it actually affects how well you do.

Self-efficacy, or simply believing that you’re capable of planning and carrying out the tasks necessary for your performance, was the greatest predictor of college students’ achievement and performance, according to a large review of research published in Perspectives on Medical Education.

As you’re working through your study plan, keep track of what you’re getting done. Hit your study session goal for the day? That’s a win. Mastered material you didn’t quite get last time? That counts too. 

Come up with a system for tracking your achievements. Those small successes are part of your bigger goals, and the more you see yourself moving in the right direction, the more likely you are to believe that you can keep going. The wins you rack up in the process are still there cheering for you when you slip up. So remind yourself of them early and often.

Steps 5 through infinity

Identifying resources, making plans, setting goals, and knowing you can hit them is a smart plan of attack, but don’t be too hard on yourself if some of the steps are a struggle. You might have to do some finagling to figure out what works best for you. “It’s the responsibility of the learner to experiment and identify what is most effective for themselves,” says Dr. Chen.

If you need more hands-on guidance as you figure out your ideal study strategy, make an appointment with the academic success center or tutoring center. These resources can help you navigate your options based on your strengths, preferred learning style, and the subject at hand. So keep trying, keep track, and pay attention to those small wins.