- Hey what is up guys?
So in today's video, we're gonna be covering
13 effective study tips that are all backed by science
which you can find linked in description
down below later on if you are curious.
Now I'm doing this video right now
because we are just about into final exam season
but if you're coming into this video later on
and realize that these tips
aren't just useful for exam review,
they're general learning tips.
So if you wanna study less,
if you wanna spend less time reviewing,
if you wanna learn more effectively, then pay attention.
Tip number one: space out your review sessions.
So in the field of cognitive science,
there is this phenomenon known as the spacing effect
which describes how we actually learn better
if we try to recall material close to the point
at which we are about to forget it.
Essentially forgetting is a crucial part
of the learning process,
much like rest is a crucial counterpart to strength training
if you wanna get physically stronger.
So to take advantage of the spacing effect,
you wanna study with what's called a spaced repetition
which involves adding gaps of time
between your study or practice sessions
that get progressively longer.
And for most types of information
that you're gonna find on a test
like question and answer pairs, vocab terms,
really anything that can fit on a flashcard,
you can actually get very specific about these gaps of time
by using spaced repetition apps
which include Anki, Quizlet and Duolingo's Tinycards.
You can even do this with paper flashcards
by using something called the Leitner system
which I detailed in a previous video
that I'll have linked in the description down below.
Now for everything else that doesn't fit on a flashcard,
just try to space out your practice sessions intelligently
instead of trying to practice all in one session
or following a very rigid timetable
and know that this principle works
for skill practice as well.
So if you practice one specific skill on Monday,
then maybe wait until Wednesday or Thursday
to practice that particular skill again
and in the meantime on Tuesday
practice something else that's related.
Tip number two is to use the Pomodoro Technique.
So researchers found that studying works best
when we do it in short hyper-focused bursts
rather than one long drawn-out session
because at a certain point your focus and your attention
really start to wane and you kinda start wasting your time.
The problem with this approach though
is you'd probably know well
is that you have to motivate yourself
to start each and every one of these sessions
and after you do a few, well,
maybe that motivation has waned a bit
so that is exactly where the Pomodoro Technique comes in,
it is a device that helps you to keep that motivation high
and actually helps you to get into each session.
So to use it you simply set a timer for 25 minutes
and pick one task to work on.
And it's very important to actually set a timer,
don't just set it in your head, use a real timer
because that creates an external motivator.
During that 25 minutes, work only on the task you've chosen,
don't switch to anything else
and if something distracts you,
quickly write it down so you can either
take care of it later on if you need to
or so you can figure out how to prevent it
from distracting you in the future
and then get back to work.
Now once that 25-minute timer goes off,
you are presented with a choice.
If you feel that you're in the zone,
if you feel like you're still productive,
then keep working until you feel
your motivation focus start to wane,
otherwise, take a five-minute break,
go for a walk, get some water, and then start a new session.
Now if you don't want to use
a physical timer for this process,
then there are plenty of websites and apps out there
that you can use as a substitute including TomatoTimer.com
and Tide which is my personal favorite Pomodoro app
and is what I use whenever I do my own sessions.
Tip number three is to create your own quizzes
out of your study materials and then take them later on.
And this is called the quiz-and-recall method.
Essentially you want to take all of your study materials,
your study guide if you've been given one,
your notes, maybe the slides from the class,
or your textbook readings, specifically the subheadings
and the bolt lists, vocab terms and the review questions
at the end of the chapter if you have them
and create your own quizzes out of them.
Essentially act like you're your teacher,
then a couple of days later go and take those quizzes.
This practice testing method is an active method of learning
and it's a lot more effective
than just passively going over the material.
Tip number four which is pretty related
is to work lots and lots of problems.
The more you can practice,
the more mastery you're going to achieve
and the more difficult these problems are,
the better off as well.
The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi put it this way,
"The best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind
"is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort
"to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile."
Just like the muscles in your body grow stronger
after being exposed to a stressful challenge,
your mind becomes more capable
every single time you challenge it to solve a tough problem.
So the next time you're tempted to study
by just letting your eyes glaze over your notes
or a slide deck, remind yourself
that this is basically the mental equivalent
of showing up at the gym
and using nothing but five pound weights.
You have to stretch yourself a little bit further.
Counterpoint to that though and tip number five:
when you find yourself stuck on a tough problem,
try working a simple one that uses
only one of the concepts from the original.
This is because the difficulty in many tough problems
comes from the combination of several different concepts
or ideas that you haven't yet mastered.
So when you find yourself stuck for this reason,
then go and find or construct a similar problem
that only uses one of the concepts from the original.
Master that and then you can move back to that original
and you'll probably have a much easier time getting it done.
Tip number six is to use mnemonics.
And a mnemonic is basically a mental device
that binds two different pieces of information together
in a sort of roundabout way
that your brain more naturally latches on to.
This could include rhymes, acronyms,
visual devices, or even stories.
And a great example of that ladder device
is WaniKani which is a web app
that helps people learn Japanese kanji.
It does this by creating ridiculous stories
that bind the way each kanji is pronounced aloud
to the way that it's written.
And in addition to all those devices,
you can also try to find a way to turn the information
you're studying into a song
or find a way to make it rhythmically interesting.
For example, the main reason that I can remember
the date of the Pearl Harbor attacks
is the very specific way that Franklin D. Roosevelt
said it in his speech about the attacks.
- December 7th, 1941.
- I usually have a pretty difficult time
pulling it up directly but I can always remember it
if I first go to that speech in my memory
and that line in that speech
is actually the first line of the intro to Hardcore History
which is an incredibly entertaining podcast
that has gotten me very interested
in many different eras of history.
And speaking of interest, tip number seven on our list
is to find a way to get more interested in your topic
and this is because your emotional state,
your emotional attachment to a topic,
how much you care about it, these are all very important
in how well you're going to retain the information
when you're learning about it.
So you want to find a way to get more interested.
Now my favorite way to do this
is to find a way to immerse myself in the topic
that's a little bit more fun or interesting
than your standard textbook readings or lecture slides.
This could be a podcast, it could be a documentary,
it could be visiting a museum, it can even be a video game
as long as that video game ties back to your topic,
it makes you care more about it.
Tip number eight is to regularly switch
between different types of problems and concepts
while you're studying.
This is a concept called interleaving.
It helps combat a problem known as overlearning.
where you basically hammered away at one specific concept
or problem for so long that you really
kind of start wasting your time.
And once again the, WaniKani app
provides us with a great example of how to do this well
because when you're reviewing,
the app is constantly switching between questions
about radical and kanji meanings, about vocabulary terms,
and about how to pronounce specific kanji
so you're constantly being asked to recall
what you've learned in different ways.
So when you're studying for a test,
or you're doing a homework assignment,
you can basically replicate this by switching
between concepts or different sections
of a problem set at regular intervals.
Tip number nine is to do at least
one study session in the classroom
where you're going to be tested
or a very similar classroom if you can.
And this tip leverages what is called
a context-dependent memory.
Research and cognitive sciences found
that people are better able to recall information
when they are present in the same environment
in which it was encoded so if you learn in the classroom
or at least spend some time reviewing in the classroom,
then when you're sitting in that same classroom for the test
you're gonna have an easier time
remembering what you studied.
Additionally, if you can study in the classroom,
then that makes it a more familiar place
and when you're taking the test, being in a familiar place
can actually cut down on test anxiety as well.
That brings us to tip number 10
which is to go for a walk after a long study session.
So when you're thinking, your brain uses
two different types of primary neural networks
what are called highly attentive states
and then resting state networks.
And crucially both of these types of networks
are very important for learning effectively.
In the book A Mind for Numbers, Dr. Barbara Oakley
labels the use of these two networks
as the focused and diffuse modes of thinking respectively
and notes that it's important to switch between them
in order to encode new material.
Now using the focused mode is pretty straightforward
as it's activated anytime you actively work on a problem,
so to get over into the diffused mode,
you just need to step away from that problem for a bit
and let your brain process it in the background.
And a great way to do that
while also getting some exercise
which is in itself a great way to enhance your learning
and there's an entire book on that
is to go outside and go for a quick walk.
Tip number 11 is to do at least
a few of your review sessions in a group.
Working in a group can not only expose you to new ideas
and let you come to the problems from a different angle
but it also prevents you from getting stuck
on any one problem for too long.
The caveat here is that you shouldn't do
all of your work in groups because it can get to the point
where you start relying on other people
to find the answers for you
and you're not actually solving them for yourself,
it's very easy to confuse recognition of the right path
to the answer given to you by someone else
with actual mastery of the materials.
So you have to strike an optimal balance
between individual problem solving time and group work time.
Tip number 12 is to find the study sounds
that work the best for you
and I'm very specifically using the term sounds here
because ambient noises, music and silence
can all work well for studying and make you more productive,
it just depends on what kind of person you are.
Now if you want to go the route of ambient noises,
a great starting resource is Noisely
which actually allows you to mix different sounds together
to create your own custom soundscape
and I really like doing that or you can keep things simple
by going with the classic Rainy Mood for rain sounds,
or Coffitivity which is a website
that creates coffee shop ambience.
And for music you might wanna start
with my Sunday Study post over on Spotify
or my Ultimate Study Music Playlist here on YouTube.
Both of which have a lot of similarities
but also some key differences.
And if you do find a song that you really like
because they are pretty eclectic,
a good way to find more music like that
would be to use Spotify as a radio function
or to just find the album's songs from and put that on.
Now I do want to mention that the science behind the link
between music and productivity is pretty muddy right now,
there's a lot of research that's been done
but very few concrete conclusions.
So this is an area that really warrants
personal experimentation.
That being said I will still be linking
to some resources in the description
so you can dig in and do some reading
on what exists right now if you're curious.
And that brings us to tip number 13
which is to protect your sleep.
Now I know this seems completely obvious
but I also know from personal experience
that sleep seems to be the thing
that we most readily sacrifice
when we're dealing with a looming deadline.
And this is a really detrimental choice that we make
because sleep is crucial for keeping your brain
at its optimal levels and it's especially important
for retaining the information that you've learned
and being able to recall it on tests.
As the Harvard Medical School puts it,
"When we are sleep-deprived, our focus, attention,
"and vigilance drift, making it more difficult
"to receive information.
"Without adequate sleep and rest, over-worked neurons
"can no longer function to coordinate information properly,
"and we lose our ability to access
"previously learned information."
So no matter how tight your deadlines are,
respect your body's need for sleep.
Make sure you're getting enough sleep
and also make sure you are keeping
a consistent sleep schedule as well.
Now all the tips on this list are indeed useful
but I do want to make a final note that it is not necessary
to try to implement them all at once.
If you try, you would probably
just find yourself overwhelmed
so instead, just pick one area
that you know you can improve upon
and focus on that during your next study session.
Eventually that will become ingrained as a habit
and you can move on to something else.
And if you're not sure where to start
or if you often find yourself overwhelmed
with huge lists of tips or just the sheer amount of options
you have available to you,
then you might want to follow this video up
by going and taking Brian Cervino's excellent course
on how to strategically set priorities.
You'll find Brian's course over on Skillshare
alongside more than 27,000 other classes
that can help to boost your skills
in a ton of different areas including graphic design,
video production, digital animation,
marketing, and lots, lots more.
All of Skillshare's classes embrace the principle
of active learning and they all include a project
often with sample files that you can download
which can help you to start using what you're learning.
Each class also has a discussion section
so you can ask questions and get feedback
from both the teacher and the other students as well.
And best of all, Skillshare is really affordable.
Their annual plan is less than ten bucks a month
and in case you haven't heard about it already,
that subscription also gets you access
to my hour-long Productivity Systems course.
So if you want to start boosting your skills,
then sign up, the link is in description down below.
And if you're one of the first 500 people to do so,
you're gonna get a two-month free trial
with unlimited learning on the platform.
Big thanks goes out to Skillshare for sponsoring this video
and being a big supporter of my channel
and as always, thank you guys so much for watching as well.
Hopefully you enjoyed this video
and if you did maybe consider hitting that like button
and getting subscribed right there.
I will also have a lot more stuff in the description
so if you want to jump off from this video
into something more detail,
I've got many other videos you might wanna check out.
Otherwise you can click right there
to get a free copy of my book on how to earn better grades,
find one more video on this channel
or listen to our latest podcast episode over here.
Thanks again for watching
and I will see you in the next one.