hey everyone and welcome to top think today we're going to learn about the seven best habits
to study more effectively now let's begin number one environmental preparation
are you itching to incorporate new effective study methods into your scholastic routine well
in this video we'll discuss several innovative techniques to increase your comprehension and
recall but before we dive into those incredible techniques there's something we have to do first
before you ever crack open a textbook you need to create the right environment for learning
your environment is just as important as the techniques you use imagine trying to study in a
noisy distracting environment those distractions pull you away from your work it's difficult to
concentrate retain information and process complicated problems in the wrong setting it
doesn't matter how effective your strategies are okay let's say you're studying in a crowded room
bells and music play in the background groups of students laugh shout or wave hello any number of
distractors can interrupt your concentration once you lose focus it takes time and energy to get
it back now of course noise is just one of the environmental factors that interfere with your
concentration your phone for example can derail even the most productive study sessions lighting
is another common hurdle dim lighting can make you sleepy which interferes with your performance
before you study take some time to prep your environment find a clear organized desk enclose
yourself in a quiet room slide your phone into a drawer or somewhere that you can't see it
if you like to study with music then make sure you play something mellow and consistent
every one of these habits can decrease your productivity so find yourself a peaceful
and productive workplace and that way you can make the most of your time and energy
number two productive clothing there's one more thing we need to address before we get studying
think about the clothes you wear while you study do you study in sweatpants or pajamas because
you're not the only one many people read textbooks or write essays in their comfiest baggiest clothes
you may feel cozy and relaxed but you're studying not sleeping or watching tv if you want to
be productive you need to dress the part this comes from a 2015 study from the journal social
psychological and personality science in this study researchers investigated how your wardrobe
affects your performance they tested participants wearing two different outfits one formal and
one casual who do you think performed better participants wearing formal clothes significantly
outperform their counterparts but why does clothing impact your performance in productivity
your brain is subconsciously governed by associations an association is a mental or
emotional link between two people objects or places for example your brain associates your
bed with sleep every time you get into bed your brain starts to feel drowsy why because there's a
strong association between sleep and your bed your brain creates strong associations in every aspect
of your life including your wardrobe the comfy clothes you wear to bed for example are associated
with relaxation and restfulness wearing those comfy clothes puts you in a relaxed state of mind
on the other hand the clothes you wear to class are associated with activity and performance
so those clothes evoke a more productive state of mind so before you start studying add this simple
but effective habit to your routine get dressed in real clothes you don't have to put on a suit
or a dress but you should at least change out of your pajamas number three spaced repetition
okay you've created a productive environment you're dressed like you're headed to class now
it's time to study but where should you begin what are the best strategies to study more effectively
spaced repetition is a flexible technique with a diverse foundation of scientific evidence
here's how spaced repetition works many students learn by cramming truckloads of information into
their brains all at once but cramming is an inefficient and ineffective way to learn
you forget most of the information you cram into your brain because your brain needs two
important things to learn time and repetition spaced repetition distributes your studies over
a longer period of time by spacing your work you can absorb practice and recall
large volumes of information several study techniques use time and repetition to improve
retention let's explore one of the most popular a technique called the leitner system the lightner
system was created by a german scientist named sebastian lightner in the 1970s and to use
the lightner system you'll need flashcards and three empty boxes first make up a set of cards
and place all your flash cards into box number one for now boxes two and three should be empty
to start studying take one flash card from the first box if you get it right then place that
flash card into box number two if you get it wrong then put the flash card back in box number one
once you finish the flash cards in box number one you're done for the day now you may feel compelled
to study longer but you shouldn't remember your brain learns best with time and repetition each
day you test yourself on the cards in each box when you get a card right you move it to the
next box if you get the card wrong then you move it back to the previous box continue this process
until every card makes it to the last box when you finish the leitner system you've accomplished two
things you've learned every definition and you ingrained those definitions into your memory
number four the sq3r method flash cards can help you memorize terms concepts and definitions
but the lightner system isn't always the most efficient strategy alright let's say you need
to read a chapter before tomorrow's lecture you don't have time to make up dozens of
flashcards when you're short on time what study habits can you use to learn more effectively
the sq3r method is a great study technique for smaller assignments sq3r actually stands for sqrr
this acronym describes the five key components of reading comprehension
first you survey the text you're about to read skim through the major headings to get a general
idea of what you're about to read next you write down a few questions you keep these questions in
your head as you read and explore the text in detail third read the text as you read answer
the questions you asked yourself in step two then write a short summary of the text you just read
this step is the most important part of the sq3r method why because a summary reveals holes and
cracks in your knowledge once you identify those holes you can move on to the fifth and final step
review the material patch up the holes in your summary answer any questions you have
left and reference secondary sources as needed with the sq3r method you can tackle any text
from a biology textbook to an entire work of fiction follow these five simple steps and your
comprehension may improve exponentially number five mind mapping so what's the difference between
learning and memorizing before taking a test many students memorize as much information as they can
they pack their heads full of terms and concepts but when the test comes they struggle
why is that because they don't understand the information they're drilling into their brains
mind mapping expands your understanding of the subjects you want to learn this technique creates
connections highlighting the relationships between ideas terms and processes by understanding how
these terms relate to each other you gain a more complete understanding of the subject as a whole
to build a mind map find a big blank sheet of paper in the center write down the name
of a subject surround that word with related terms and concepts now do the same thing for
each of those words over time your mind map will grow into a complicated network
of interrelated ideas the better you understand that network the more information you've learned
number six social learning there are many other strategies you can use to retain information
but let's talk about what comes after you may be done studying but the learning process is far
from over social learning is a fun and effective way to solidify the information you've learned
after studying for a few hours you find a friend or a classmate to talk to
tell them about everything you learn explain the major concepts and ideas to them almost like
you're teaching a classroom of students social learning may not feel like studying but it is
when you explain concepts to other people you're cementing that information inside your brain
but that's not all you're also discovering disparities in your understanding
teaching another person about a subject shows what you know and what you don't number seven
storing information of all the habits on this list our seventh and final habit is the most important
after stuffing your brain full of new information and sharing your discoveries with a friend
you need to store that information in your memory good study habits and social learning will improve
your retention but nothing stores information more effectively than a good night's sleep many
students treat sleep like their enemy they neglect their sleep cycles to cram the night before a test
if you think an extra hour of studying is better than an extra hour of sleep then think again
sleeping feels like time wasted but sleeping is a critical part of the learning process
while you're unconscious your brain converts fragmented short-term memories into lasting
long-term memories that's why crammers forget most of the information they study they neglect
their sleep so their brain loses track of the information they learned according to a 2013 study
from the american physiological society learning declines significantly with sleep deprivation
in other words it doesn't matter how effective your study methods are if you aren't getting
enough sleep all those memories may slip right out of your brain hey thank you for
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