How to Study Smarter, Not Harder | 5 Ways to Study Effectively
Sitting down and studying for long periods of time might sound like the only way to learn
as it's how we're taught in school.
However this isn't the best way to learn and so in today's video I'm going to give you
5 tips that you can use to study smarter not harder and stay efficient and effective with
your learning.
Hey folks welcome back to the channel if you're new here my name's Alex I'm a surgeon and
founder of a few ed-tech companies and on this channel we focus on learning and human
performance to help you live healthier, wealthier, happier and more productive lives.
When I was studying for my medical exams I put in long study sessions in order to cover
the huge amount of material required for the medical exam syllabus.
Like many students I was guilty of just reading lecture material or books, getting distracted
and just not really studying effectively despite spending long periods of time in the library.
When I then needed to do postgraduate surgical exams around my day job as a surgeon I had
to be more focused and so in today's video I'm going to give you my top 5 study tips
to help you get the most out of your study sessions that I wished I new when I was studying
for my first year medical exams and which you can apply to anything you are studying.
I'm going to give a bonus 6th study tip at the end of the video so be sure to stick around
and do hit subscribe if you haven't already done so to get the latest learning tips direct
to your brain every Sunday.
1.
Plan for success So tip number one is to plan what you are
going to study.
This means planning your entire study schedule over a period of months but also planning
what you are going to study the following day.
I've gone into detail on other videos about how to create an effective study plan and
exam revision timetable so I'm going to focus on ensuring that you plan out your daily study
schedule the night before in a diary or in your calendar.
This schedule should include getting sufficient sleep and factor in breaks, proper nutrition
and exercise and should help you to focus on what needs doing.
This way when you wake up the following morning you know exactly what you need to do and where
to start while also being mindful of your health and ensuring you have time to relax.
We know that memories are consolidated when we sleep and that being alert and healthy
means you are more likely to retain what you're studying, so don't burn yourself out and plan
breaks and get enough sleep and food to ensure success.
2.
Break studying down into chunked sessions Tip two follows on from planning out your
studying and is all about breaking down your study sessions into bitesize chunks.
This helps you to avoid distraction and burnout and as you study you will be able to focus
for longer and longer periods.
For example by the end of med school I could easily do 6 hours of focused study time and
still be productive as my concentration span had been built up like a muscles from lots
of study sessions over the years whereas when I was starting out I'd usually limit myself
to 25-minute study sessions as I knew I became less productive and my ability to study became
much less effective.
I've covered this concept in my video on the Pomodoro technique which is all about using
a timer to do 25-minute periods of study followed by a short 5-minute break.
Again this is about taking care of yourself and ensuring that the time you do spend studying
is spent learning rather than getting distracted or losing your focus to keep you efficient.
3.
Do the hardest topics first Tip 3 is to study the things you are weakest
at first.
We naturally want to avoid topics we perceive as hard and this leads to putting them off
and just learning about things that we enjoy as we already have some knowledge of them.
Most of the time we find things hard as we simply haven't understood them correctly or
they are newer, higher-level concepts that require more of our concentration and brain
power and so we find them uncomfortable.
By tackling the topics you find difficult first you'll have more time to work on them
and better understand them.
Getting through the toughest topics first also helps to avoid procrastination as once
these are mastered you'll just have the easier topics to cover which you can do quickly.
It's also worth looking at the commonly tested or high-yield topics and prioritising these
since they are likely to come up at your exam or test.
It might sound obvious but rather than simply going from A-Z through your lectures or study
materials focusing on the hardest topics and the most high yield topics will get you the
best results with the least stress.
4.
Create a dedicated study area Do you have a true “study" room or area?
Most students study in bedrooms, kitchen or dining tables, or common areas.
Tip number 4 is to create a dedicated study area.
This is usually a desk in your home or a regular space in a library or quiet space you can
work at.
To build a habit around your studying and to avoid procrastination try and make sure
your desk and study area is tidy and and has your study materials laid out the night before.
This means that you can go straight to your desk and get to work without any distractions.
If you study in your bedroom try not to study in bed as your bed is for sleeping and your
conditioned to be less than alert when in bed and conversely if you do study in bed
it will likely impact your quality of sleep.
When studying you might also want to try mindfulness or lofi music to help get you in the zone
with evidence showing that low tempo ort classical music can help reduce distractions and aid
focus.
5.
Study actively with active recall Tip 5 should come as no surprise and is all
about testing yourself as you study and using evidence-based methods like active recall.
The more active you are in your learning, the more effective you’ll be.
Remember studying is NOT reading things over and over or just rote memorization studying
is about understanding a topic by testing your knowledge of the concepts and practising
what you are learning such that you can actually apply that knowledge.
If you are struggling with this try asking yourself “What am I learning?"
or for specific concepts like those in my medical degree - “What does this bone do
in the body?".
If you rote-memorize facts and don't come back to them these can fade with time but
if you can understand a concept and link it to your existing knowledge and put it into
your own words you will remember things more effectively and for longer.
To help with this try asking yourself “What is the meaning of the concept?"
something is meaningful if it relates to something you already know or understand.
Your brain is like a file system or database - new entries are easier to find if they have
data that links to already existing entries.
I have a great video on how Richard Feynman remembered things by putting concepts into
his own words and simple terms such that a child could understand.
Equally active recall is not just used when revising for an exam but can be applied when
taking notes in class.
Instead of just highlighting things or writing down notes try creating questions or covering
the lecture materials and trying to recall the concepts to actively test yourself as
you study.
You can then expand on these active notes and read around topics to deepen your understanding
and link new concepts to those you already know.
Overall test yourself at every stage of studying as active recall really is the best way to
study smarter. 6.
Summarize and teach what you learn Finally as a 6th and bonus tip and following
on from using evidence-based methods like active recall, one of the best ways to study
is to summarize and then teach what you are learning.
Teaching others reinforces learning and is a true test of whether you understand the
material.
By summarizing or explaining things to others you are actively recalling information and
seeing whether you can easily explain things which will reveal gaps in your knowledge which
you can then consolidate.
If you don't have anyone to teach a great way to share information is to record a video,
podcast or write a blog which you can share with others just like Austin Kleon says in
his book Show Your Work.
If you enjoyed this video we’ve added in some links to other videos you might find
useful and if you have any study tips or suggestions for future topics you'd like to see covered
let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for watching, thanks so much for subscribing and I’ll catch again in the next video.