Fall break steadily approaches, but with it comes the ever-dreaded midterms. Mid-semester projects, tests and papers start sneaking up on the student body, poking and prodding students to late night studying, endless coffee cups and binging Netflix TV shows. With professors reminding us about upcoming tests, papers and even projects due the end of the semester, here are a few tips on how to maximize your study time and help your brain remember the facts:

1. Focus 45 min, Break 15 min: This is an extremely difficult concept for modern students to grasp. Facebook, texts, Instagram and so much more distracts us easily. But if you set aside all distractions for just 45 minutes, you’ll be able to focus and get a chunk of your work done. If you’re on a roll, then keep going! But if you can, take a break for 15 minutes. For both of these times, set a timer. We all know that Facebook can suck up over an hour of our lives in the blink of an eye. Set a timer for how long you work, and how long you take a break, and you’ll be more productive than you would be if you spent five hours trying to do homework while letting distractions butt in.
2. Reward Yourself: Motivation for studying comes much easier when you set a reward for yourself. For reading, you can put a piece of candy every so often on a word, and once you reach that word, you get to eat the candy! For other types of homework, a reward could be going out to get a snack, or allowing yourself one episode of Netflix. Giving yourself small rewards will really help motivate you to get your homework done.
3. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help: If you don’t understand a prompt, a study guide question, or an assignment, ask for help! Send an email to some fellow students or to your professor. Your professors are here to help you learn, so if you ask, they will answer! Some classmates might be able to help explain it as well, but asking the professor is the surefire way to get a clear explanation. Never consider your teachers too intimidated to approach. They are here to help you, and are usually more than happy to clarify what they are looking for.
4. Group Study With the Right Friends: This piece of advice needs some concrete rules around it. Studying with a group can be a fantastic advantage to learning, especially when you can quiz each other, bounce ideas off each other and so on. But you have to choose the right friends to study with. Some are dedicated to their studies, while others can too easily get distracted and derail the entire group. If you are one of those people, it’s best to study alone. But if you have the desire to really study with others, choose your group carefully and be sure that your study-mates all have the same homework goals that you do.
5. Work Ahead and Bit by Bit: Some weeks it’s hard to get ahead in homework, but if you find yourself finishing your homework early with a lot of free time, it’s best to work ahead! Pick a few assignments from your homework list for the coming week that are the easiest, and get them out of the way. That way, when the week comes and you have to work on the harder assignments, you have plenty of time to do them. Also, don’t forget to work on semester projects and papers bit by bit. Section it out, create an outline for the project/paper and each week work on a different aspect of it. I can assure you that this method will keep you from stressing out when deadlines loom and the end of the semester comes faster than we expected.

These are just a few tips to help keep you on the ball with your homework and assignments. What are your favorite ways to study? Post some of your most useful tips and tricks in the comments below and let us know what works for you!