Here are some cool pointers to plan your study time !
USE THE PRECIOUS DAYTIME: Research shows that 60 minutes of study during the day is the equivalent of 90 minutes of study at night. So no point burning the midnight oil dudes.
LEARN TO SURVEY: Skim over titles, headings, summary and figures before reading for detail.
PRIORITISE TASKS: Remember Parkinson’s law that “work expands to fill the time available for its completion”? If you allot two hours to read 10 pages, it probably WILL take you two hours to complete this 30 minute task. Something to think about there?
RACE AHEAD OF TIME: Avoid cramming and the resultant poor quality (Does “if only I had more time….” Sound familiar?)
KNOW YOUR STUDY CAPACITY: If the class topper is putting in six hours of work every day (or so he / she says) don’t be lulled into thinking you can do the same. As a rough starting guide, for every hour in class plan to study two hours outside class. Then, adjust it and plan around your other schedules.
BLOCK YOUR TIME : Plan to study in blocks of one hour – 50 minutes of study followed by a 10 minute break. Shorter periods for studying notes and memorizing stuff.
Longer periods for problem solving tasks and writing papers. So have an agenda for every period : know the task you want to accomplish in each one.
Here’s how to get more out of your study time.
MODIFY YOUR BEHAVIOUR: Huh? Remember Pavlov ’s dog salivating every time they heard the bell ring?. Well, we’re not saying that you are a dog, but as association worked with them, it can also work with you. If you attempt to study the same subject at the same time in the same place each day, you will find that, after a very short while, when you get to that time and place, you’re automatically in the subject groove.
SHORT TAKES: Have you noticed how much studying you manage to cram into the day, before the big exam? That’s why it’s called cramming. Second, psychologists say that you learn best in short takes. And two or three hours of study without noise or other distractions is more effective than ten hours of trying to work amidst bedlam. As much is learned in four, one-hour sessions in four days as in one marathon six-hour session. That’s because between study time, while you’re sleeping or eating, etc, your mind is absorbing what you’ve learnt.
TAKE A BREAK: Pavlov ’s dogs were taught to respond on cue by being rewarded with tidbits. The break is your reward. Take a short break whenever you feel like it, BUT don’t fritter your time away in clock watching and anticipating the break. ‘oh grimme a break?’ Then begin with your most boring subject or your toughest one, and work toward the easiest and / or the one you like best.
SLOT DISIMILAR SUBJECTS TOGETHER: Brain waves are like radio waves. If there isn’t enough space between inputs, you get interference. The more similar the kinds of learning take place, the more interference. So follow your hour of Sanskrit with an hour of chemistry or history, not Hindi.
DON’T DOZE: Boost your adrenaline and do some physical activity when you are feeling sleepy. Even better, use that time to sort your notes or clear up your desk or study with a friend.
MEMORISE ACTIVELY, NOT PASSIVELY: The worst way to memorise –that takes most time and results in least retention – is simply reading something over and over again. Use as many of your senses as possible. Try to visualize to get a picture in your head. Say words out loud, listen to yourself saying them. When memorising dates, relate them to important dates that you already know.
How to read and remember
OVERVIEW: Read the title, the introductory and summarizing paragraphs and all the headings. This gives a general idea of what topics will be discussed. Do this chapter by chapter.
KEY IDEAS: Go back and skim the text for key ideas (usually found in the first sentence of each paragraph). Also read the italics and bold, the bulleted sections, itemizations, pictures and tables. READ your assignments from beginning to end. You will be able to do it quickly because you already know where the author is going and what he is trying to prove.
RECALL: Put aside the text and say or write, in a few key words or sentences, the major points you have read. Don’t forget: most forgetting happens immediately after initial learning.
REFLECT: The previous steps help fix the material in your mind. To really keep it there, relate it to other knowledge; find relationships and significance.
REVIEW: This step doesn’t take place right away. It should be done for the next short quiz, and then again for later tests throughout the term.
‘ACTIVATE’ YOUR NOTES: Underline, star, dot or whatever, but mark the ideas that your teacher says are important, thoughts that he / she says you’ll be coming back later, items that she says are common mistakes.
It’s not HOW MUCH TIME you study that counts, but HOW YOU STUDY as well. But don’t use that as an excuse, !
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