Most people study wrong. That is to say more specifically, most people don’t do it the right way at all. Most people waste their time taking too long to study, and on top of it the quality of that studying is really not that good.
Here are a few pointers put together to help improve study habits. You may or may not know some or all of these, but many of these will surprise most people:
1) Study in short bursts
Human beings have limited attention spans. Even a practiced yogi has a hard time focusing for more than a certain amount of time. It is recommended for maximum efficiency that you switch tasks after a maximum of 30 minutes doing something. Do ANYTHING else, then go back to studying.
2) Study more than once a day
Since you are not going to study for hours at a stretch anymore, you will have a lot more time. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t study more than 30 minutes per day. In fact, the best strategy is usually to do it for up to 30 minutes, but 3-4 times per day.
3) Take a day off per week
More than one ancient culture recommends this, and it’s completely true. You are not a machine, and you need a day off to recharge your batteries. People who do the same thing 7 days a week without a break wear themselves down and turn into zombies. Don’t be a zombie.
4) Study material as soon as it comes to you
Learning something thoroughly right away, then coming back to it and reviewing it before you are to be tested on it is surprisingly much more efficient. As a matter of fact, studying the night before a test does very little for memory retention and only makes you unnecessarily tired.
5) Be in the right frame of mind
Make sure you are alert before you start studying, or the quality of your studying will be compromised. This includes giving optimum hours of the day (for most people these are the morning hours) over to studying. This may not always be so easy to do, so there are ways around this, which brings us to:
6) JUDICIOUSLY use chemical aid
There are plenty of cheap safe and LEGAL substances you can use to help with wakefulness and mental alertness. These start with the time-honored coffees and teas of the world. Some people even chew nicotine gum. I prefer modafinil, which is newer and can be bought online. One thing I like about it is that it comes in various dosages and strengths so it is easy to choose which one is right for you.
So the next time you sit down to study, may it flow more efficiently for you due to this small bit of advice.
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