Studying Effectively

[Wouter]

As a curious student I would like to be able study effective. I already watched a lot of advice videos on youtube. But I didn't get massive insight from this, some of them contained very trivial advice like "go to lectures". The things I currently try to do in order to study more effectively are

-study as actively as possible (quiz myself, self explaining)

-take care of myself (sports,  sleep, nutrition, meditation...)

-pomodoro technique 

I feel that there is way more to strategize about studying than wat I summed up. So I am curious to your advice

It might be relevant that I study physics and astronomy so i am particulary interested in being an effective student in those areas; but off course I am also interested in other things and advice for other fields might be very helpfull for other people reading this.

ps: Leo's video on this topic is -as always- great. (If you haven't watched it and no time to do so: my main take-away was: 1)cultivate internal motivation instead of eternal ("Don't study for grades. Study for the sake of learning) 2) difficult parts of the syllabus can be mastered by brute force repetition, and  3) slow your proces down)

Thanks to read

Wouter

 

 

 

 

[JevinR]

@Wouter Study in 60-90 minute uninterrupted blocks, and take 10-15 minute breaks. Leo has a lot of videos that relate to this: How to stay focused, managing time better, and how to study. The passion should be driving you mostly, it should be your life purpose.

Edited April 5, 2016 by JevinR

[Gmork]

There are 2 types of learning. 'Blunt' and 'Active'. Active is really 'hard' and require a lot of will power resource, but if you do it regularly its much more effective. Blunt is something like repeating methods and they are 'easy' and not much will dependent, but may be long and boring (and also you cant learn as much as 'Active'). 

Every one need to learn how and when to use those 2.

This is my list of 'methods' 1 is best 10 is not effective (and time consuming)

1. Teaching someone. [ACTIVE]
2. Answering question after you understand topic. [ACTIVE]
3. Researching on topic and doing presentation [ACTIVE]
4. Advance Highly Personalized 3D Memory Palace with all memorizing rules. [ACTIVE/ mey be BLUNT]
5. Usual Memory Palace [ACT/BL}
6. Common memorizing methods (acronyms for example) [BLUNT may be little active if you want]
7. Repeating methods [BLUNT]
8. Rewriting information with your specific notating method (can be word map) [BLUNT]
9. Reading with understanding stuff [BLUNT]
10. Looking on stuff [BLUNT]

[Algi]

What @JevinR  if the subject is something part of your long term goal? Like I hate maths but I love teaching exercise to people and be a PE teacher? Motivation for that is average at the moment.

[JevinR]

@Algi Same thing, work in 60-90 minute chunks. I (Leo) got the idea from a book called Flow, that states optimal focus is experienced in these states of what the author calls "flow-state". 

[Toby]

• read the book "Making it stick" if you haven't already
• work with flashcards
• throw in some kinesiology-braingym-exercises or aquicalents like juggling
• nutrition/sport/meditation/taichi
• do speed-reading techniques for reading faster, at least for "preview"-reading of books/scripts. You can get apps for that.

[Henri]

The more awareness you`ll create, the better student you`ll become. 

[Extreme Z7]

@Henri Awareness, mate.

[NelsonPalmer]

I think you should study 2 hours minimum! But if you haven't enough time but you need to do many homeworks, http://smartyessay.com/ can help you any time! It's very cozy.

[Christian]

I study for 20-40 minutes and take a 5-10 minute break. In that way, I do not have a tight schedule and I feel more relaxed and you might too if you apply it

When I study, I make sure that I use a technique Callesen hollistic learning. It is a technique which was created by a guy called Scott Young. The overall idea of his learning style - according to me - is that you have to find connections between everything. A basic example would be: Guy gets angry --> punches the Wall --> leads to a hole in the Wall --> guy regrets his actions and gets sad --> leaves his house to drink to avoid pain.

Now, you can also use this technique for any class (math physics history, bio, etc.

This technique Will give you a more clear understanding and Will also help you explain a concept in class if you apply it to a specific topic and are asked to define it or an aspect of it.

But only if you take notes. Make sure that you do so for every class. And make it a habit. It is the primary action that seperates top students from the average and even though it is a basic tip that is often told, it is essential to becoming a great student. Also write the notes in your own words actively. 

And make a commitment: It took me at least 6 months of working hard on my study skills every day to see signifigant improvements in my studying and it will also take time for you. 

Hope this helped you