As a defective academic weapon, I KNOW how hard it is to study, especially when you hate a subject. Over the years, I’ve mastered the skill of getting addicted to movies and shows and binge-watching them overnight.
One thing this obsolete skill has taught me is that there’s no single “correct” way of studying. Everyone has different methods, so here are some of my absolutely favourite characters that have inspired me to lock in and study.
Let us slide into your dms 🥰
Get notified of top trending articles like this one every week! (we won't spam you)Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter Movies
Hermione is the perfect child every parent wants: always studying and topping every class. How does she do it? Simple.
Colour-coded notes, detailed timetables, practice essays, and rewriting notes. Okay, maybe it’s not that simple.
As someone who is very unorganised, I find checklists and timetables extremely useful; they help me finish all my work without forgetting anything important.
I also despise plain black/blue pens and basic notes, so mine are always covered with highlighters and colourful pens. As for practice essays and rewriting notes, I hate it, but I’ve realised how helpful they are. The more you interact with your content, the better you’ll understand and remember it.
Image Credit: Jakub Żerdzicki from Unsplash
The most important thing when studying like Ms. Granger? DON’T CRAM the night before.
Work a little every day, so by the time your exams are around the corner, you’re already well-prepared and just need to revise. The Hermione Granger method is best for syllabus-heavy subjects that need specific structure.
Take the Quiz: What After-School Activity Should You Try?
Your IRL high school musical awaits!
Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls
Like me, Gilmore hates sitting in one place. Human psychology shows that sitting every day in one place numbs your mind, giving it a sense of comfort. This is NOT good when you’re learning new things.
Our minds need to be stimulated, and the best way to do it is a change of scenario. Sit in a different place, play some new music, or just listen to cafe chatter.
Rory absolutely adores sitting in cute cafes (drinking more than the recommended amount of caffeine) with all her study material, annotates obsessively, and reads EVERYTHING multiple times.
Honestly, a delicious coffee would motivate me to study too. She’s an academic weapon, and for a good reason too. For subjects like English and history, this is the perfect way to study. You're not required to memorise anything (maybe dates in history at most), only analyse.
Image Credit: Nguyen Phan Nam Anh from Unsplash
Elle Woods from Legally Blonde
My favourite scene from the movie:
This is one of the best ways to study. Elle Woods studies using short, focused study blocks, flashcards, and active recall.
Active recall is when you read some information and force yourself to remember it. Essentially, once you read something, you close your textbook, and info-dump everything you remember on a piece of paper. Then, you answer questions using everything you remember and repeat this process till you get everything right.
She also explains topics out loud like she is teaching someone. I find this insanely helpful since teaching someone helps you understand topics better too.
Beth Harmon from The Queen's Gambit
Hyperfocus. Beth isolates herself from the outer world, leaving all distractions behind. Instead of rereading, she visualises concepts to get a deeper understanding. She practices problems repeatedly, going over and over on the same topics until she has perfected them.
This is really helpful when you’re trying to learn in-depth instead of broad subjects, and is best for math, logic, and pattern-based subjects.
Jake Peralta from Brooklyn 99
Jake uses the trick-your-brain-into-studying strategy. He gamifies EVERYTHING, using reward systems and challenges to stay interested in his work. He also needs a variety to stay engaged, and learning from him, I’ve realised it’s often too overstimulating to keep doing the same subject for long periods of time.
He also studies in short bursts, like using the Pomodoro Technique. The Pomodoro Technique uses a timer, where you study for 20 minutes, and then rest for 5. The amount of time can be changed according to your preferences.
Here is a Pomodoro timer for reference:
Takeaways
There’s numerous more TV shows and movies that have studious characters that you can observe and learn from. Once again, there’s no one perfect way to study, everyone has their own ways; what’s yours?
