Hello guys! I hope you are safe and positive. Has this ever happened with you spend lots of hard work to learn something but your friends do it really fast? Learning fast is a superpower whether you are preparing for Jee or in a college and remain busy all the time studying then read this article because we summarize the TEDtalk of Famous Psychologist Marty Lobdell. He gave a 50 Minute ted talk and we are summarizing it.
These are research-proven techniques if utilized can do wonder to your leanings. You can adapt scientific methods, to study fast. A stress-free study process can be actually be enjoyed. If you adopt these techniques.
Study in Small Sessions
The first tip that the professor is giving is: Break your study sessions into small chunks, smaller sessions of 20-30 minutes each. not very long. Because our brain focuses maximum for 25-30 minutes. So study in small sessions and these sessions can be many in a day, may start with 4-5 such sessions, do as many as you can.
Take Break After Each Session
So when you are not studying take a break, it’s time to relax, do something fun. So the brain can accumulate the information. When you give yourself time, brain processes info better. And that’s why longer hours are counterproductive. If you sit for a 4 hours study session, attention span goes down, you will not study with proper focus.
Rewards Yourself
Give yourself tangible rewards, tangible means some concrete benefit. Suppose you have complete 4-5 sessions of study now give yourself reward may be refreshment or something to eat, maybe ask parents to make something good for you or give yourself a reward of playing or music or watching videos on youtube.
So give that enjoyment time to yourself. So if you reward yourself, you develop that habit of studying, the brain gets stronger to the habit which rewards you.
So obviously you have to take breaks but breaks are not rewards, breaks are for relaxation and retention and rewards are to build those habits.
You can reward yourself at night or after the study session. A reward is like a trophy to yourself. Pat yourself on the back for the work well done and let your parents also feel happy about your progress. Or ask them you deserve a reward maybe they will give you a reward on their own, maybe their words of encouragement become a reward for you.
Study Actively
It means when you are studying or in sessions when listening ask more and more questions. If self-studying thinks around the topic so think around every paragraph, what the author is saying be inquisitive, and implication of that concept in the real world. More you think about it more you ask yourself questions about the concept, more you learn better, so study more actively.
Maybe you just read and in the end, do not find any meaning. and do not think about what the author said. Similarly in class, the teacher keeps teaching, you just listen, and sometimes you feel you understand everything and next time similar looking thing you will feel, yes I have studied this before, but you will not know that thing, you will be in a dangerous pattern.
Recognition And Absorption
One is recognition and another is absorbing the material, recognition in itself is not enough. Recognition is when you feel yes I may have studied this. Absorbing is when you know what it is. During recognition, you would not be knowing it.
How will you know if you have absorbed the syllabus? Ask more and more questions to yourself about that topic then you get to know.
Recall After Each Session
Next tip when you are done with the lecture or session, make your own notes after the session, recall what you have studied. When you do that, you will see that your understanding will have gaps, those gaps you have to fill by thinking or by going back to the textbook, or by asking your friends or teachers. When those gaps fill understanding becomes more solid.
SQ3R Method
When studying through books or online, you can use this method.
Look At Questions Before Studying
Here S means to survey, so before studying just go to the questions to see what is getting asked. especially conceptual questions. Do not really solve them, just look at them to get a feel, no need to answer them. When you do this first and then read the chapter you focus on more important things.
Ask Questions
The second thing is – Ask questions as already covered. After every paragraph you challenge yourself. More you ask questions better it will be, so challenge yourself to understand what you have studied.
Read, Recite And Review
The next thing is to read the concept Without distraction for 30 mins. Stay away from the phone, study with full focus, recite it after reading. Recall it after that without looking into the book to see if it has gone into your brain and then review it. Review means practice problems, solving questions. More problems you do, more it reinforces in your brain.
Teach Others
You can also teach someone else. If you teach the same topic someone else, your understanding will further strengthen.
Mnemonics Technique
When you are studying facts, use the technique Mnemonics.
Avoid Ruttafication (Hindi Word)
Lost of students do rote memorization or ruttafication which means, again and again, trying to repeat to ruttify it but that’s wrong. It will only work for a short period of time, it won’t go into long term memory.
Connect Facts With Some Interesting Things
Hence the better method is mnemonics, connect the facts with some sound, or make it music. Whatever you are trying to learn make it into a tune which you can remember or tag it with an image, more attractive the images, easier for you to recall. Similarly, you can connect with some quotes or sayings or an acronym, like for periodic table, we have initials of the elements being converted to tunes.