Studying for exams can be a tedious and very stressful task. At the same time, immersing yourself in notes and spending hours and hours rehearsing and memorizing can be very frustrating, especially when the clock sets and we can’t go from the second page. Who hasn’t spent an hour in front of a book without being able to open it in the first place?While it may sound like a lie, there are small techniques that can be used to assimilate more content, better and in less time to give more while studying.
To prevent this from happening to us and turn the study period into something lighter and certainly more productive, we will propose strategies, all are simple things that, at first glance, may seem difficult to implement, however, over time and perseverance, following these tips will transform the act of study into something lighter and, of course, , more productive.
- Where to study? A lot of people have a hard time studying at home.
- The causes are usually too many distractions available or too much noise.
- Noise can be more difficult to reduce.
- Ideally to have a clean space without distractions.
- A lot of people prefer libraries.
- While it can also be a danger if our colleagues constantly interrupt us.
- It is ideal to organize breaks according to our own needs.
There are certain elements of the environment that will allow us to produce more when we study for exams, however, many of them we cannot control them, if they can be adapted it is ideal that the sound level is minimal, that the light is natural ?better than fluorescents, that we can sit in a comfortable chair in front of a table and that there are no distractions.
When preparing for an exam, taking breaks is as important as studying, our brain gets tired within 40 minutes of doing the same activity, it is at this point that we often find it difficult to concentrate and stay focused, so we recommend that you schedule study periods of between 15 and 40 minutes, separated by intervals of 5 to 10 minutes , in this way our minds will be freer and we will have renewed forces to study.
The same goes for the subject we’re studying. The study of the same topic for more than 40 consecutive minutes reproduces the aforementioned effects. Changing the theme every 20 to 40 minutes will help lighten the study.
To get more out of your studies, it’s critical to set goals and not stop before you reach them. However, they must also be reasonable and short-term objectives. If these goals are very long-term, you may lose interest. Therefore, everyone, aware of their possibilities, must set their own realistic objectives.
There are memorization techniques that go beyond the conventional, but are very useful for some people. These are called mnemonic techniques. An example can be found in the TV series “Sherlock”. In it, the protagonist who plays Sherlock Holmes imagines a building where he can find different elements in each room.
This technique, called loci method (or memory palace), can be used by assigning to each room some of the knowledge we study, adapting the mental image of the house to our needs. Other mnemonic techniques are the creation of songs that rhyme with elements or the association of words with images or sensations, in this sense the ideal is to try them all and use the one that suits us best.
Asking questions, in addition to testing your knowledge, will activate us; on the other hand, these mental tests serve to consolidate our knowledge by returning to what we have already seen; they also serve to show some of the gaps or gaps we may have. On the other hand, in the next section, we will see that doing this as a group can also have other benefits.
Studying with more people can increase income for several reasons. Of course, the study can’t always be done as a group, but meeting from time to time will help you know your own needs. As a group, you can see the flaws, and the different interpretations, but also the strengths.
This will generate a sense of competence that will serve as an encouragement to our motivation. Another reason is that the most backward will be driven by inertia, tending to match the most advanced in the group. Stagnate.
In short, implementing these strategies will improve our performance, even over time, eventually we will adapt these techniques to our preferences and the study will no longer be tedious, in this sense, knowledge can bring us more than seems to offer us first sight.