What if I told you that you could do twice the amount of studying you're doing right now
in half of the time.
So instead of spending 20 hours a week or 10 hours a week
you could do it in five or ten and do twice the amount that you're doing
and it wouldn't be boring, it wouldn't be hard to get into
and sometimes, let's face it
it does become boring, it does get hard to get started
it does become hard to stay on track
but what if it doesn't have to be
what if I told you that it could require less effort
it could be more fun and much more exciting.
In this video I'm gonna explain for you
11 ways that you can do exactly that how you can learn to study smart
and this is something that if you follow this process, if you stick with it
it's gonna win you the respect and admiration of everyone around you
the teachers that are helping you to get the grades that you want
the students in the classroom that you sit next to
but also most of all, the person that looks back at you in the mirror every single day.
So let's get into it
the first thing that great students do when it comes to studying smart
is scheduling their study sessions, breaking their time down
a lot of us we fail to understand that.
Time is actually something you can control
What do I mean by this? what I mean is you have 24 hours in a day, 86,400 seconds
and the person who has planned and prepared every single one of those
to the best of their ability
they're going to get more out of their time.
So the first thing you need to sit down and do
is schedule throughout the week
from Monday to Friday, on Saturday and Sunday
in your evenings, in your mornings in your breaks between lessons
What studying are you going to do?
which topic are you going to focus on?
So that when you sit down at the desk
you haven't left anything to chance
but you've scheduled in exactly what you're going to do
so it requires less brainpower, precious brainpower that you need
to focus on learning, to focus on studying effectively.
It's not used up in deciding what you're gonna do
how you're going to do it
It's already laid out for you.
I want you to imagine the life of an athlete
the life of a boxer preparing for his final fight.
They don't leave these things to chance
their meals, their training regiment, the things that they need to work on has been planned beforehand
and you can use the people around you to help you do that.
The second thing that you need to focus on
is what we call the Ebbinghaus Curve
and basically what it means is you forget things over time
So, if you learn something today, tomorrow you may remember 50% of it
the day after you may remember 25%
and within a week you might only remember 5%
that's the way that your brain works
The quicker you understand this the quicker you can factor this in to your studying regimen.
So let's take a look at this
you use a technique called spaced repetition
so if you study a topic on day one you want to come back to it on day three, day five, day seven
and space your repetition out, the more you repeat things the deeper the memory becomes
and that brings us to the next tip which is depth of processing.
When you take in information, if you want to remember it more effectively
a very powerful way of doing this is to remix that, is to change that information
So if you're looking at information in a textbook
think of a rhyme, think of a pattern, maybe make a video
maybe make a colored diagram, an illustration to help you to change that information
to help you remember it at a deeper level.
You don't just want to read it and study it and then regurgitate
you want to change it in some way.
So the next thing is get to your spot
and what I mean by this is
What is the space, the place, the environment
that you're the most productive in, that you're the most focused in?
One of the things that we forget as human beings
is that we are influenced by our environments.
the kind of student that you are in your classroom
is different to the kind of student that you're gonna be in your bed
when you're under the covers and you've got your laptop on your lap
you're going to be more productive in one area than another.
So find out what that is for you and make sure you get to that spot as quickly as possible.
Most of the difficulty when it comes to studying is not in the studying itself
it's in the activation energy required
I talked about this in the previous video that I did with this channel
go ahead and go and check that one out
Sometimes we focus on getting more motivation, improving our techniques
and trying to fuel our rocketship even more.
For another way of making your studying more effective is to remove the resistance
to cut out the distractions like social media
so don't have your phone next to you turn it off, put it in a different room
remove any kind of distraction and I'm talking about people.
Your dog, put your dog in a different room, if you have a pet or an animal that distracts you
go somewhere where you cannot be distracted
and the only single thing that you can do is focus on the most important thing
and the most important thing is studying, revising, learning, removing those distractions
so less effort and energy is required for you to focus
and you can use it on what's important
and that brings me to the next point, you want to work at two levels!
so increase your fuel and your motivation to study
think about it and write it down, tell people why you are doing this
I'm doing this because I want to become a doctor
an engineer, an entrepreneur, a social activist, a campaigner.
And at the same time remove the blocks that are stopping you
remove the activation energy required for you to start studying.
So before you go to bed at night have your notebook out and ready on your desk
make sure it's free of any clutter, even have the pen ready
so the only thing you have to do is sit down and start taking notes
you don't even have to write the title or the date because those things are already done
and what you want to realize here is that success…
Success is a setup
it's not an accident, so make it happen that way
plan and set yourself up for success.
Habits, let's talk about habits
because as much as you want to be motivated
if you want these things to be effortless you need to build habits.
Now think about brushing your teeth every morning
when it comes to brushing your teeth it doesn't require motivation
you don't watch a motivational video for you to brush your teeth
or for you to go to the toilet or for you to put your shoes on in the morning.
The only thing you do is you do the habit
and so by building habits
you make it easier and easier for you to execute the thing that you need to do.
habits don't require motivation
So how do you build the habit of studying effectively?
you start small
you start with a small habit and you progressively make it harder and harder.
So you might start off at the beginning with doing 10 minutes in the morning
and then your goal is simply to be consistent for two weeks
just studying 10 minutes every morning, very focused, very effective
and then you make it 15 minutes, 2 weeks again, very focused, very effective
and then you move to 20 minutes
and the next thing you know you're doing two hours every single morning
before you even get to school, college or university
and you graduate your habits gradually over time.
The problem that a lot of us have is we try and do too many things at once
focus on one thing and that brings me to my next point.
Know what it is that you're looking for, when it comes to revision, when it comes to studying
So be smart about it, you don't have to learn everything.
The examiner, the teacher in the classroom know what it is that they are looking for
play the game because this studying game that you're in right now, this period of your life
Some of the things that you're learning are functional
and some of the things that you're learning are lifelong practical things.
So know the difference, if there is something that you need the examiner to see
If there is a way that you need to present your essays
if there's a way that you need to present the information
give it to them that way.
Hard work is going to beat talent when talent doesn't work hard
which brings me to my next point.
It's not just about good genetics
it's not just about what you're capable of
you might be the smartest student in that classroom
Just like I was
but if you don't work Just as hard as the 20, 30 other people in that room
they're gonna beat you, they're gonna destroy you
and when it comes to that day at the exam
they put in more hours than you, they studied better than you
they looked at past papers, they spoke to other students about what they needed to do
and they were just sharper when it came to that moment like a samurai who keeps his sword sharp
when the moment came to strike they didn't hesitate
they only needed one opportunity and I want you to be as sharp as you possibly can
So focus on putting in the hours.
So we got two more points left
and these are probably the most important
I need you to really hear me now
when you study, I don't want you to study like a student
I don't want you to study like anyone in your classroom
I want you to study like a lecturer.
Now imagine the way that your teacher or your lecturer studies for the classroom
if they were sitting that exam, if they were sitting down for that study session
what are the things that they would do differently?
what are the books that they would read differently?
what kind of research would they do?
and really get yourself into their shoes, into their mindset
because that's what's going to take you 10x forward
It's gonna take you ten steps further than you are at the moment.
If you think like a beginner, you're gonna prepare like a beginner
but if you learn to think like a master
like the lecturer, like the person who's teaching everybody else
what level of preparation would that require?
And then act in accordance with that.
And the final most powerful practical technique when it comes to studying smart
is what's known as the Loci method or the Loci method
and to keep it simple it means this
if you're trying to learn a new language, let's say you're learning Spanish
Use your room, use your house that you live in to hold different memories in different places.
So I used to use this when I was studying for French.
I'd keep all of the things related to sports in one room
I'd keep all the things related to common conversations in my kitchen
and I would put labels on things, the spoon in my kitchen drawer
I knew exactly if I was looking for that information it's my spoon in the drawer
and if I look at the label in my mind I can see the word associated with it.
So use this, so when you're walking around your house
your house has now become a study session and you're walking inside that matrix
you've hacked the system
So even when you're sitting down to have dinner
and you look up you can see the revision notes for that module that you found difficult
and every single day you're coming back to what I talked about at the beginning of this video
that spaced repetition, you're repeating what you need to remember again and again
you've got that depth of processing.
The reason this is powerful is because you've created an immersive studying experience
and that's what the greats do.
There is no line between studying and not studying, there is no off switch
there's just different levels of immersion.
So imagine if you were living in your textbook
and you made your physical environment
a representation of all the things that you need to learn
you're walking around in this palace of information.
And I want to leave you with the most powerful quote of all when it comes to education.
There is no end to education, there is no end to the things you learn
it's not that you read a book, you pass the exam, and that's it you're finished
the whole of your life from the moment you're born to the moment that you die is a process of learning
So if you can apply the things here
you've scheduled your learning, you schedule what you're going to learn when
You space your repetition out, you remix things so you can remember
you get to the spot, you cut out the distractions, you increase your motivation
and you remove the blocks
you start with small habits and progressively make them harder and harder and harder
You know what it is that the person you're studying for is looking for
so you learn those things, you're practical about it
you know that hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work
you study like you're a lecturer and not student
and you use that Loci method to turn the environment that you're in
into a wealthy Palace of Education.
There is no reason why you can't achieve more, do more
and like I said at the beginning of the video, you make your studying more effective
so you could do twice as much in half the time
and now it's become effortless, exciting and fun.
and those are the 11 ways that we do it
accept only the best and nothing less
I'll see you in the comments below
and make sure you check out my other video on Motivation2Study.
Peace.