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Studying much? You might be using the classic moves. You know—rewriting all your notes into a newer, bigger note; highlighting as the new underlining; and my personal favorite, cramming everything into your brain in any way possible. 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?

Researchers at Stanford University in California discovered that using some simple tricks made a big difference in how students performed. The research is based on a classic learning theory that seems pretty obvious when you break it down. It’s called metacognition, and it involves something we could all benefit from: thinking about how we think.

Intrigued? Let’s take a closer look at how metacognition can get you to a better spot with your study habits. Once you’ve got the basics down, we’ll show you how to use it with real-life tips that’ll help you reap the brain-boosting benefits. Bonus points if you drop the word “metacognition” with your friends when talking about your new secret to study success.

What to know about how to think

Metacognition is thinking about thinking, says Dr. Veronica Yan, an assistant professor of educational psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. OK, but what does that actually mean? It’s taking the time to consider how you think and why the process of 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.

Still with us? Think about it like 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? How can they help you? And which ones will help the most? Now you’re thinking like someone who thinks about their thinking.

“We are constantly making decisions, but we aren’t always intentional about these decisions,” Dr. Yan says. So how exactly can doing this help?

Why thinking things through can get you better results

This is where it gets interesting. Researchers at Stanford University wondered if applying some of the principles of metacognition—setting goals, thinking about resources, and crafting a plan—would make a difference in students’ test results. They split students into two groups and reminded both about an upcoming exam.

One group just got a reminder. The other received a reminder and were also asked questions about how they wanted to do on the exam and how they were going to prep. The students received questions about their study resources—which ones they would choose, how they would use them, and why they felt these resources would be helpful—essentially having them create a study plan. The students who thought through their study plan, or used metacognition like pros, did better on their exams than those who did not map out a plan, according to the 2017 study in Psychological Science. They also reported feeling less stressed during the prep process.

“Learners should take the time to explicitly think through why they want to use each resource for learning,” says Dr. Patricia Chen, a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford and one of the authors of the study. Bottom line: It’s about thinking carefully about your resources—how to choose them and how you’ll use them.

How to put it into practice

The best part about the Stanford research, and about metacognition in general, 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 the same boost in results. Here’s how to go about it:

Step 1: Think about (and list out) 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: books, notes, PowerPoints or class presentations, audio recordings, essay prompts, past quizzes or exams, the syllabus, tutors, classmates, online forums, review sessions, immediate access to the entirety of your professor’s brain, etc. Then list out how those resources could help you craft your plan.

Exam or quiz questions from earlier in the semester

Your prof 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. Just be sure your prof is OK with you using past assessments for study, and steer clear of using materials from past semesters or sections of the class.

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

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. We know that worked for them. It can work for you too.

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

“Planning is crucial because it helps learners translate their strategies into action,” Dr. Chen says.

Step 3: Set and get those goals

It 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 goals? Keep those in mind too. Write them down, add them to your chart, Sharpie them on your forehead—whatever makes them stick.

“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

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

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 (you definitely are), 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 (Perspectives on Medical Education, 2012).

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 them. We like unicorn stickers, but checking things off your to-do list will do in a pinch.

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 an awesome 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 is the responsibility of the learner to experiment and identify what is most effective for themselves and when,” says Dr. Chen. So keep trying, keep track, and let us know how you do.

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A brand-new year, a brand-new you. Sound familiar? Many of us start the year with high achievements in mind (make straight As, quit the sugar habit, finally run that marathon) only to end up making no progress. But being in college can cause a decline in healthy behaviors like physical activity and nutritious eating, research shows. Science has shown us that noble goals and willpower aren’t enough to change our behavior long-term.

The science of healthy habits

Fortunately, science is also telling us how to develop healthier, more productive habits. “We actually know a great deal about strategies for helping people change behavior,” says Dr. Timothy Edgar, a professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University, Massachusetts. “Unfortunately, those who design interventions still rely too heavily on telling people the reasons why they should make a change, instead of identifying the barriers, real and perceived. Once those barriers have been identified, the key is to find ways to make it as easy as possible for people to engage in the desired behaviors.”

The technology of healthy habits

That’s becoming easier all the time. Technology is harnessing behavioral change strategies and delivering them to us in increasingly useful forms. “With the tools we have now, people are able to get a lot more information about not just their own health currently, but also a better sense of their motivations. And that’s because if you measure something, it’s something you can manage,” says Khinlei Myint-U, product director for patient engagement at Iora Health, a consultancy based in Boston, Massachusetts.

The habits students want most

In a recent CampusWell survey, respondents ranked sleep, fitness, and study habits among the top behaviors they’d like to address. “My system is one of slow and gradual changes. I make little improvements each day to reach a goal. For studying, I like to spread it into several 30 minute or hour increments,” says Mia K., a first-year undergraduate at Georgia College and State University. Mia’s on the right track by setting up a realistic system that lowers the barriers. Here’s how you can get on board and have your best semester—with new habits that last through June (at least).

1. Translate your goal into a system or action

Goals represent the person we’d like to be: fit, healthy, productive, and respected, with an enviable credit report. But those goals are both too big and too vague to be helpful. To make progress, we need systems or actions. Here’s the difference:

Goal Get more sleep
Action Use a sleep schedule to increase my average sleep by 15 minutes a night per week until I reach my target of [—] hours per night and [—] hours per week

Example of a sleep schedule chart

Goal Reduce my junk food intake to one snack or dish every other day
Action Pack alternative snacks: e.g., fruit, whole-grain crackers, veggies, and granola

Goal Ace my midterm
Action Create a study plan for reviewing the material daily

2. Incorporate these features into your system or action

The features listed in the what works column have been proven to help change our behaviors. Incorporate as many as possible.

3. Consider using a behavior change tool

We’re seeing an explosion of new digital and online tools designed to help us manage our behavior. How to choose one? Check out Wellocracy, a site for choosing and using personal health and wellness technologies, from the Center for Connected Health at Partners HealthCare, a major health system based in Massachusetts. Helpful tools provide:

• Immediate feedback
• Motivation (e.g., smiley faces)
• Easy access (e.g., via your phone)
• Updates through the day

“You want to know, ‘I’ve done 6,000 steps! If I just walk home or take the stairs, I might make it to my goal of 10,000 steps today,’” says Khinlei Myint-U.

Popular behavior change mobile apps

Low-tech behavior change tools

Try paper and a pen (remember those?). Snag some templates to get you started, and don’t underestimate their value. Here’s an example: “For each course, I lay out my assignments on my personal monthly calendar and check them off as each is done. On my personal weekly calendar, I schedule what assignment or reading I will work on each day and set it for a specific time so that it becomes an appointment that I must keep. Thinking of it as an appointment helps to keep me from putting it off,” says Catherine F., a fourth-year undergraduate at Ashford University online.

Sleep chart and tracker: Become a morning person in only two weeks

Food and activity tracking tools (USDA)

Weekly study schedule (Portland Community College)

Note-taking systems (California Polytechnic State University)

Online behavior change tools that work

These free and low-cost online tools and resources are based in decades of research on health-related behavior and motivation

Your Best Instagram

“My tip for developing healthy eating habits is to remove some of the temptation. It is really easy to do this if you already have healthy options ready to go. People go for fast food because it is ready instantly. Meal prepping allows you to have the instant meal but way healthier.”
—Jake Murray, fourth-year undergraduate, University of Wyoming

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