Tired of reading and re-reading your textbooks but ending up barely remembering a thing? Or are you one of the people who stay up all night the day before the big exam, trying to memorize as much information as humanly possible?
Want to end all that pain? Learn how to actually study things in a way that you can actually remember the information.
Today, I'm bringing you 12 ways that you can learn information and actually remember it!
1) Set regular study times and stick to them
The best way to make sure you are studying enough is to make a day schedule, and follow it! This way you are sure to commit a few hours each day to your studies.
Many students also benefit from making a weekly timetable. At the start of the week, list all the assignments or study that you need to complete that week. Next, assign each item in the list to specific days. This way, you will know what to study each day, and will complete all your weekly tasks on time.
Set up small rewards for yourself for completing your goals. At the end of each day/week, you can treat yourself if you completed the assigned tasks. This will keep you motivated.
2) Take breaks
Ever heard the proverb, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"? James Howell wasn't kidding! Taking regular breaks is very important for your brain's functioning.
In your schedule, instead of assigning 3 consecutive hours to study (which we all know will never be achieved), adding 10 min breaks every 1 hour will make you substantially more productive.
In the late 1980s, a university student named Francesco Cirillo set a great example of how you can incorporate breaks in your schedule. He used a tomato shaped kitchen timer and broke down his work into 25 min intervals. For 3 rounds, when the timer rang, he took 5 to 10 min breaks. After 3 rounds, he took a long break of about 20 to 30 minutes. This technique came to be famously known as the 'Pomodoro technique', from the Italian word for 'tomato', after the tomato shaped kitchen timer that Cirillo used.
3) Bring change to your environment
Instead of sitting at the same place studying for long hours, get up, move around.
Change the place you study in sometimes. If you are at home, once a week instead of sitting in the study, try sitting in the living room or even your bedroom. If you always study in a library, once in a while, try doing your assignment while sitting in a café. This will help in breaking the monotony and making you more productive.
4) Do not multitask
Make sure to eliminate all distractions while you are studying. Before starting, put your phone on silent or do-not-disturb mode. This would avoid any temptations for checking messages at every ping. If you are working on your laptop, turn off any social site notifications. Do not try to watch TV while doing an assignment.
The less disturbances you have, the more productive you will be, and the faster you will finish your work!
5) Divide the material
Ever had a ton of work or a big project to finish and you didn't know where to start or how to complete it all in time?
Breaking up your work helps.
Break up all your material into bite sized portions and switch between them at regular intervals.
For example, you divide your History research into 6 parts and your Science project into 2 parts. Take two rounds of finishing 3 parts of your History research, then switching to Science and finishing 1 part of your project. This will keep you from getting bored at the monotony and you will get the work done faster. What's more? By the time you're done, you will have completed both your History as well as Science assignments!
6) Try to understand the information
When you are trying to memorize any information, first try to understand it properly. When you understand the concepts, it becomes much easier to remember the information.
7) Use visuals
Make charts, graphs, diagrams or mind maps of the data that you are trying to remember. Visuals will help you remember it all much more easily
8) Use mnemonics
Using mnemonics like acronyms and acrostics helps us remember listed information faster, especially when you want to remember it in a particular order.
An acronym is a word made out of the first letters from a group of words. For example, Remembering 'S.M.A.R.T. goals' helps you to remember that goals should be 'Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely'
An acrostic is a phrase where the first letter of each word corresponds to the first letter of a group of words which you are trying to remember. For example, to remember the order of the planets orbiting the sun, you might have learned in grade school "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" (where the first letter of each word corresponds to Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto).
9) Write, review, and rewrite notes
Make it a habit to take down quick rough notes during lectures or while first time reading a topic. After going home, review your notes and rewrite them fairly.
Use these notes to study from. You will understand and remember the concepts more easily if you study from something written by your own hand. Also, these notes will help you in revision once exams get near.
10) Practice active recall
Don't just try to keep reading the material over and over. Part by part try learning it, then cover it with your hand and recite it from memory. This is called active recall. This will help you know whether you remember the information that you are trying to memorize.
11) Set up group study sessions
Having group study sessions once in a while will help you stay motivated, rather than trying to sit alone and cram chunks of information. Also, when studying in a group, doubts get solved much faster as you teach each other and clear each other's doubts.
Snatch any opportunity you get to teach others. This will not only clear their doubts, but also is great revision for you. Plus point, by the time you're done, they will love you for it! (Provided you teach them the correct concepts of course!)
12) Get proper sleep
Last but not the least, get proper sleep daily. Our brains, like our body, need rest. You should get proper sleep every day. If you are well rested, you will stay more productive.
Try doing a little work every day and not leaving things for the last minute. By doing this, you won't need to stay up all night studying before the day of the exam!