Effective study tips
Today I would like to share with you some effective study tips that I find useful. Some of these techniques can be applied for work as well.
So let’s get into it!
— Change your attitude towards studies. The attitude you have towards studies plays an important role on your performance. Recently I read an exam preparation book which states that if you start a task with a phrase “Uff, again studying”, you’re less likely to do well on that task. Set a positive mindset and say “Great, I’m going to learn some new stuff!” and you will do better on that task. Yes yes, it’s all about your attitude and mindset)
— Make a plan. Write down how many hours a day you will dedicate to studies and try to stick to that plan. Having a clear plan with feasible goals is a key to effective studying.
— Limit the distractions. Switching off your phone is not always a good idea, since people may not be able to reach you. It is my personal opinion though. I personally prefer just to mute notifications instead of switching it off completely. Some people can have different opinion on that and prefer to switch off their phone in order not to get distracted. So do what is okay for you, either mute it or turn it off completely.
— Focus on one exact thing. Try not to multitask when it comes to studies. Multitasking is great and I usually do so in most activities, but not while studying and working. I mean try not to do multiple tasks simultaneously. Do not watch TV while you’re reading an article, or solve a math problem while watching a video on YouTube. Well it’s actually arguable, some people say they are more focused when they multitask. So, it’s up to your preffered style.
— Get short breaks. Having 10 minutes break after an hour of non-distractive studying is helpful. Regular short breaks help to avoid study fatigue and allow you to regain some energy. But make sure you are back to studies after the break time is over :)
— Stay motivated. Remind yourself how important it is for you to study in order to achieve your goals. Write down your goals in a list of paper and keep it near your desk or hang it on your wall, so that you would take a look at that list, if you feel you are losing motivation to study.
— Learn from your mistakes. Instead of getting upset at something you did not know or could not solve, learn how it’s done, so that you will not face a similar situation in future. Treat the mistake as an opportunity to improve, not as a fault.
— Register for an exam. If you’re studying for an examination, register for it. Once you know the exact date of your exam, you’re less likely to procrastinate and more likely to prepare for it. I applied this technique a couple of times and believe me, it works))
Also I would like to include 3 effective tips from Darkhonbek Mamataliev, iOS Engineer at Uber, shared by him in his channel TenxEngineer and during Google I/O conference:
— Be consistent. Consistency is more important than the quantity. Darkhonbek brings an example of solving coding challenges on LeetCode*. Solving 5 coding problems a day and not doing anything for the rest of the 5 days is not good. Rather, solve one task each day for the period of 5 days and it would be more helpful. The core of this advice is that being consistent by doing little tasks each day is better than doing one big task for a day and dawdling for the rest of the time.
*Leetcode — a learning platform where you can practice and improve your coding skills
— Use one source material. Instead of jumping from one source to another, find one effective source and study it diligently.
— Organize your study space. I applied this technique by Darkhonbek and indeed there has been a noticeable growth in my productivity. Use your study desk or work desk solely for studies/work, get rid of unnecessary stuff from your desk. If there is a chance to move your bed to another room or instead to move your work/study desk to a place with no bed, use this technique and it would help you to stay more focused. Darkhonbek shares more information about organizing workspace in his article Workspace evolution.
This is it for today! Hope these techniques will help you to have a productive learning journey!
Special thanks to my father for drawing the illustrations for my article.
You can find motivational and self-development posts on my channel Motivation_Box