1. Improving your focus:

a. Certain foods will help you focus throughout the day. They are called “brain foods” for that reason! They are: salads, raw vegetables, and meat. Things that make you sleepy: simple carbs such as chips, pasta, rice, bread, french fries, and sugary foods.

b. Break your homework assignments down into smaller chunks. Do the hardest one first. Once you reach that goal, take the next hardest one, and so on…

c. When you have a writing assignment, do it in steps: (1) research and planning, (2) first draft, (3) proofreading, (4) final draft. It will be a lot easier that way!

d. Make a rule and promise yourself to stick to it: For every 45 minutes you study, you will give yourself a 15 minute break. If you do this faithfully, you will be done in NO TIME! Keep a clock or timer handy!

e. When you are on a 15-minute break, make the most of it! You can go outside and enjoy the fresh air and get some exercise, or just relax in front of the TV. You don’t have to feel guilty, because you know you have the situation completely under control.

f. Your break is also a good time for a little snack, like carrot sticks and dip (or a bag of m & m’s — hehe) That way you are training yourself to be more disciplined by sticking to your 45/15 study/break rule, but also feeding your brain some energy food so you can keep on working! Ice water is a another great pick-me-up, and if you add a little lemon or lime juice to it, it’s very zingy!

2. Improving your reading comprehension:

a. Try “active reading”, which means taking the time to think about what you are reading, find the main ideas, and highlight them. Have a colored pen handy to circle, underline, or place stars on important dates, names, labels, or concepts. If you come across a list, number the items in the list. Drawing a little thumbnail sketch will make an abstract idea more concrete for you.

b. If possible, get the books on CD or tape, so you can listen with headphones and read at the same time. Not only will time fly by, but you will remember what you read a lot better than you would have otherwise.

c. Arrange to help one of your classmates, and teach them the material you have read. You will be forced to organize the information quickly and provide good explanations, so you will get much more from the text.

d. Use colored pens (the brain loves color) and outline the textbook in a notebook. You should indicate main idea, topics covered, and supporting data. You could do this on the computer, but it’s not the same. The movement of writing the words helps to keep the information in memory.

e. Use colored pens to create lists of important vocabulary terms. Add thumbnail sketches or full-scale diagrams as necessary.

f. Some people find that they are able to read and remember more effectively when they are moving. You could try reading while on a stationery bicycle or swinging in a swing.

3. Improving your short term memory:

a. Short-term memory is like a table top that holds everything you are thinking about and considering, while at the same time filing away information and pulling out other relevant information. One way to overcome lapses is to write down what you are thinking, which makes it more concrete — and you can refer to it later as needed.

b. When preparing for a test, make up your own multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank practice tests and drill yourself like crazy until you all know it well. If you share these with your classmates, you will be their hero! (or if you are like me, you will find perfect strangers in Kinko’s making copies of your practice tests for all their friends)

c. Use your colored pens to write down everything during lectures so you can remember what was said later on. Teachers are very sneaky about putting things on exams that aren’t in the book, but were discussed in class.

Good luck! I know you will do fabulously!