Trying these study methods so you don’t have to

by DINAH MCKEMIE

Staff Writer

Despite being a senior in college, I’ve never really put that much thought into studying; I just rewrite my notes and hope for the best. But, as finals season approaches, I’ve found myself questioning my study techniques. 

At the end of the day, I’ve always found studying to be boring and I’m constantly at war with my phone addiction when it comes to sitting down and doing it. But this semester, I’ve decided to try any trendy, creative or unconventional technique in the hopes that I’ll find something to keep me truly motivated and entertained while I study.  There were some hits, some misses, but here they are: ranked from how least to most likely I am to try them again. 

5. Study Bunny

This app is admittedly very cute, but ultimately annoying to use. The idea of the app is fairly simple: you set a timer for how long you’ll study and once you complete your study session you’re rewarded with coins and carrots for your virtual rabbit. The coins can be used to purchase decorations and accessories for your rabbit and the more studying you do the happier your rabbit is. 

The app also lets you make flash cards, to-do lists and a customizable study schedule. I found setting the timer to be an effective motivator to put down my phone and focus and the features you gain from it are worth it. 

So why is it ranked so low? Insufferable advertisements. Every time I wanted to check my progress in the app or my study session ended, I had to sit through five to 10 seconds of unskippable ads. 

It made the experience completely frustrating; there’s so many study timers out there, I’m not about to use the one that makes me sit through ads. As cute as it is, Study Bunny is a no-go. 

4. Studying until ice melts 

This trendy method has gained some popularity on TikTok, but I found the ambiguity of it inconvenient. Fill a cup with ice and set it next to your study space and lock in until the ice melts completely. No breaks, no phone, no distractions. 

Did it help me focus? Kind of. I stayed on task the whole time and it was nice to have a visual representation of how long I had been working. The problem is that I had no control over how long I had been working. 

One ice cube for me took one hour and 17 minutes to melt, but this all varies depending on the size of the ice cube, the temperature of the room and how many ice cubes you use. 

Part of the appeal is that you have no control over how long you study but personally I like a set timer with scheduled breaks. 

3. Studocu AI

This AI study assistant is trained on 10 years of student notes from over 120,000 institutions and promises more effective study resources than more general AI chatbots like ChatGPT. 

When you upload your notes or readings to Studocu, it can generate a summary of the material, flashcards and practice quizzes or exams. It’s free to use and customizable to your needs. 

However, I found that some of its features fall flat. It’s useful for summarizing notes and academic articles, but the practice quizzes are too easy at their best and completely inaccurate at their worst. 

Definitions of terms were mismatched or incomplete and ultimately it seems pointless to use a feature that can’t even present the correct information. Can the AI give a good summary? Yes. Can it actually create effective study tools? Not so much. 

2. Flora

This focus app has gained some popularity on social media in recent years, ranked as one of the best productivity timers in the app store. This study timer grows a focus tree but only as long as you stay off your phone until your time runs out. 

You can choose the duration of your study session as well as set a timer for breaks, boosting productivity as you’re less likely to burn out. As you use the app, you unlock different types of trees and locations, so you can grow an expansive garden the more you study. 

You can also create to-do lists and add friends to join in on the experience too. I found this app to be pretty effective, especially because it prevents you from using your phone at all while the timer runs. 

If you open other apps, your tree dies. Overall, the customizable timer and the fun graphics make this app worthwhile and I’m confident that I’ll implement this into my study routine. 

1. Study in the dark

I was so skeptical of this method when I encountered it in a random TikTok comment section, but it pleasantly surprised me with its effectiveness. 

To be clear, you don’t study in pitch darkness. You just turn out all the lights, limit natural lighting and use a flashlight to illuminate whatever you need to focus on. 

The reason this method works is because of the low-stimulating environment: in the dark, you can’t see any of your surroundings and can only focus on the material in front of you. 

As someone who typically has to do all of her homework at night anyway, this was a great way to make use of the darkness and improve focus.  

I still don’t love studying, or find it particularly enjoyable, but some of these resources were able to make the process less dull, especially during such a busy time in the semester.