10 Quick tips to Study tips Smarter not Harder

An Exclusive article by Hansini Konda

Our brain potentially memorizes 2.5 petabytes of information which is roughly equivalent to or brain storing 4.7 billion books. In order to use some of that staggering capacity a little more effectively when you learn, here are some tips that are widely accepted by neuroscientists and learning experts.

• Spaced Repetition – This is a simple yet a very productive technique. This technique suggests us to study short but study often to increase your learning capacity. Neuroscientists discovered that the connectors in our brain generally termed as synapses, which help us in remembering and understanding things, grow mainly at night when we are asleep. This means that it is more beneficial to study regularly with sleeping breaks in between. Study something for 15-20 minutes every day and you’ll be astonished by your progress within just weeks.
• Discover your Own Style – Each one of us is different. Some enjoy listening music over studying, others study with friends and some like to study alone whole day long. So, discover your own strategy and maintain a proper routine to study more effectively.
• Exercise and Meditate – There are few activities which grow our brain such as physical exercise and regular meditation. These lead to the creation of new neutrons inside your brain which in turn helps in the growth of its potential.

• Travel Places – Our brain tends to create deeper memories of a subject by learning it with more visuals in a richer environment. A person can grasp the subject 40% more effectively in visual learning when compared to reading from the books.
• Focus – If you tend to procrastinate, which means that if you are willing to distract yourself from studying a particular subject to doing something like playing games, then protect yourself from shifting your focus. One way of doing this is shut down your mobile phone or any other source which is distracting you or go to a quiet place like a library to keep your focus alive.
• Pomodoro Technique – Set a time to 25-30 minutes when you focus completely on your studies. When the timer rings, take a quick break for 5 minutes.   Make sure you keep a timer every time you’re ready to study.   Taking small breaks in between can help you relax your mind and motivate you to keep going.
• Tough Things First – Study/practice the things that are difficult first. Because most of the people have the strongest willpower in the morning hours. So, once you’re done with studying hard stuff in the morning, you will feel better for the rest of the day and probably more motivated to study other subjects.
• 70% Recite & 30% Read – If you have one hour to prepare for a speech or to give a presentation, spend 40 minutes of the time on practicing to recite the text and the rest of the time to read. This ratio usually leads to the best results.
• Mix the subjects – If you have to study for more than one subject, science suggests that its better to switch the subjects while studying rather than focusing on a single subject for a longer period of time. This is one of the most productive methods because interweaving the subjects helps the brain store the information in the long term and helps us in relearning the subjects. Mixing the subjects also helps the students in paying attention to the similarities and differences between the subjects that they are learning to get an improved understanding of the material.
• Social Learning Theory – There are four methods to learning. Firstly, there is attention to the subject to which the behaviour is noticed. Next is how well you remember the behaviour. You may initially notice the behaviour, perhaps it doesn’t register in your mind completely. Third is your ability to perform that behaviour that your subject demonstrated. Finally, there’s motivation. It’s the ability or your willingness to perform the behaviour.

So, if you’re determined to study smarter instead of studying longer then follow these tips to study that can help you get those perfect grades in your examinations.