Experts say that to improve your study skills, you should first focus on your environment, both internal and external. To study well, you need to be in a calm, peaceful frame of mind to retain information.

If you're feeling stressed out, it will make your study time less effective. Have you ever been reading a book only to realize a few pages into it that you can't recall anything you just read? This is what happens when your mind is elsewhere, puzzling over some aggravating situation. If something is eating at you, try to minimize its influence before you sit down to study. See if you can get it out of your system. Maybe you need to work out to "work it out." Maybe you're easily distracted because of sleep deprivation. Take a nap. Do whatever it takes to approach studying with the freshest mind possible.

Take a look at your surroundings too. Find someplace with minimal distractions. Try to study in the same place every time. This helps you slip into study mode. As tempting as it is, don't study in bed. It's too easy to fall sleep, especially if you're studying a subject you don't like.

• You may think that a long cramming session the night before a test is the best approach, but you are better off studying a little at a time. Some experts say that a week before a test, you should study in daily chunks of about 20 to 60 minutes. Reviewing subject matter a bit each day is more effective than studying for hours all at once because you give your mind time to digest information.
• If you need to study several subjects, take at least a 10-minute break between them. Use these breaks to exercise, eat, listen to music, whatever relaxes you.
• Be aware of your peak energy times. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Schedule study time accordingly. Always begin with your most difficult subject, while your mind is sharpest. Then reward yourself in some way before moving on to the next subject.
• How you take notes is important. First, scan your reading assignment. Read all the subheads and captions and look at all the pictures and graphs. Turn each subhead into a question. For example, if a subhead reads, "Similes and Metaphors," appropriate questions might be: "What are similes and metaphors?" and "What are some examples of similes and metaphors?"
• As you begin to read, look for sentences that answer your questions. Words such as "because" and "therefore" should tell you that an explanation is coming up. Some experts think that you should only take notes after you have completed reading. If you take notes while reading, it is easy to include unnecessary information.
• When you finish reading a section, review the subhead questions and jot down the answers.
• At the end of your notetaking, you should be able to review the subheads and recite your answers without looking at your notes. If you are having trouble summing up key information from any section, reread it. The goal is to be able to summarize what an author is trying to say in your own words.
• Remember to review your notes occasionally so the material stays fresh.

Mnemonics are memory-assisting techniques that help you associate new information with something familiar. You can create mnemonics — images or stories — to help you remember information. A familiar mnemonic is the "30 days hath September" rhyme that many people use to remember how many days are in each month.

If you are creating your own mnemonic, the more extreme and humorous you can make it, the more likely you are to remember it. For example, if you are trying to remember the name of the first person to walk on the moon, you might picture an astronaut kneeling and then flexing his Popeye-sized biceps. This image might help you remember the name: Neil Armstrong.

Play to your strengths when creating mnemonics. For example, if you need to see or read things in order to learn, visualizing the astronaut image might be helpful. If you are more musically inclined, try writing your own lyric, "Landing on the moon doesn't take long/when you're Neil Armstrong." If you're a kinesthetic learner, which means you learn best from doing something yourself, imagine yourself landing on the moon, kneeling down, and flexing your own biceps.

• Try creating your own mnemonics for facts you are trying to memorize for various classes. Remember that your mnemonic can use any of the five senses to make it as vivid and memorable as possible. Fill in the chart below.