Nowadays, there are so many different ways to study and prepare for school. The question is: which one should you do? All of them? Some of them? Which ones really help you retain information? It’s hard to choose the best way to study because everyone has a different brain, and what works for your friend might not work for you.

Here are some tips on how to reduce study time without sacrificing results:

1) Sleep more

Getting less than 8 hours of sleep or staying up until 1 am studying will lower your productivity and make it harder to focus, but getting too much sleep can also be bad as well as it can make you drowsy and therefore unable to concentrate properly. You need at least 7-8 hours of sleep in order to function properly. Although every person is different, this is a general number most people can stick to. To make it easier stick to 7-7 on weekdays and 8-8 during weekends.

2) Have a process

Having an organized plan on what you are going to do each day will increase your productivity significantly compared to just not having any plan at all. Making a study schedule that includes only the planning of only the important tests can reduce stress, while still being efficient enough for you to have some time for other activities.

3) Reduce distractions

Distractions are everywhere, but they don’t always have to be bad or evil! There are some types of distractions you should avoid though, like spending too much time on social media or playing games. Distractions can also be an assignment you were supposed to do but forgot about, or the shirt your mother needs for work. Try blocking out distractions on your phone (for example, use an app that limits access to certain sites), and make sure you remember all of this stuff before it piles up!

4) Tailor your studying

Everyone is different in terms of what helps them retain information best. So if you want to reduce study time while still getting good results, tailor what method of studying works for you best. For some people, cramming might get them good results for one test but bad grades overall; so switching up their methods might help a lot. Everyone has to experiment and see what works well for them!

5) Be present

It can be hard to focus sometimes, especially when you have to study for hours. But taking breaks every now and again might actually make it easier for you to concentrate as well as clear your mind from all the clutter from before. Try going outside, eating food, or listening to music in order to relax for a bit if you feel too overwhelmed by studying or stressed out about school stuff. Just remember that school won’t always be this stressful so try not to sweat the small things!

6) Get a tutor

If you’re struggling with a subject at school, having a tutor who knows them well might help you reduce study time without sacrificing results. However, don’t get a tutor just because everyone else has one. Find someone who is good at teaching and make sure they are qualified in the topic you need to be taught! If it’s math, find a person with at least an A- in Math; if it’s English, look for someone who got an A+ on their own essays (etc.).

7) Limit procrastination

It might be easy to say but staying away from social media or playing games can really help when trying to reduce study time. Procrastinating means that you’re putting off something which makes your later tasks harder as well as more stressful because of how big it becomes since you put it off. Even if it’s just taking a break for an hour or two, that will help!

8) Take some time to do work

This sounds like common sense, but many students don’t actually take the time to do their assignments and whatnot. They might leave it up to the last second, which can make them unable to focus properly on their schoolwork. So take some time every day (or every other day for bigger assignments) to actually do your work instead of wasting away your study time on distractions or procrastination!

9) Don’t overwhelm yourself

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all of this advice because you’re not sure where to start. Well, making a plan with something simple like how long you want to study each day is a good way to start. Once that’s done, see what works best for you and try tackling everything piece by piece!

10) Look at the big picture

Don’t just reduce study time in the present, try looking at your future as well. If you keep putting off studying for tests and quizzes, you’ll be overwhelmed with homework and school in general. It’s better to take a day or two to buckle down and do all of your work than it is to wait until the last minute and risk getting bad grades!

These are all suggestions on how to reduce study time without sacrificing results. It takes a bit of time, but it’s worth it once you get your grades back up!