All of us have been in a situation where no matter how long we study, the result is not satisfactory. We sit with our books for hours, thinking about the last show we watched, and expect to magically remember every word we read. When students prepare for difficult entrance exams like NEET, JEE, etc., they need to study almost 14-15 hours a day.
Are we kidding ourselves?
It is human to err, so let’s not be too harsh on ourselves. Procrastination must be fooled and beaten at its own game. In order to get the most out of our time, we need to start studying smarter and working hard. You do not have to sit with books for 14 hours straight to get good ranks in JEE, NEET, AIIMS, etc., if you follow some smart study tips. With effective study techniques, you can prepare well for NEET and JEE in less time.
Some interesting and useful smart study tips
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Graduated repetition
This is a foolproof technique to memorize things in the long run. Whenever you read something that you want to remember, such as facts or dates, repeat it at specific time intervals to store it in your memory. First, repeat it in minutes, then in hours, days, and weeks. Eventually, you only need to repeat things once a month or even a year to keep them in your memory. It stores things in long-term memory, not short-term memory. So you can learn things better if you repeat them at specific intervals rather than cramming them into a single session.
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Use mnemonics or stories
If you associate certain information with a story or a memory, you can recall it faster. For example, you can use mnemonics. Mnemonics mask the information you want to remember into patterns that the brain remembers better than the original.
E.g., the order of taxa in biology can be remembered by:
“Dear King Philip came by for some good soup”
(range, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species)
We can achieve the same effect by associating funny stories or incidents with our curriculum. It is easier for the brain to remember these simple phrases or rhymes than lists of words that are completely foreign to it.
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Audio-visual memory
What we see or hear is stored relatively longer than what we read. Audiovisual cues such as watching a video or repeatedly listening to a recorded video lecture inevitably trigger a memory. An excellent example of this is online learning. Recorded lectures and live online courses are a foolproof way to review things and refresh your memory. Reading out loud and repeating things can help you memorize them in the long run. That’s why we remember nursery rhymes decades after memorizing them.
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Chunked sessions of study
When you study for a long time, your mind begins to slack and you are unable to retain the information. After studying for 45-60 minutes, take short breaks of 10-15 minutes. During the break, reward and relax your mind with fun activities. In the next session, you will be able to pay attention to what you are studying.
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A dedicated area for studying
Decide on a study area so that you can make the most of your study time and avoid distractions. Don’t study anywhere other than the dedicated study area. Your study room, balcony, terrace, or any area of your house can be used for this purpose.
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Open only one tab at a time
When learning online, you may feel the urge to open a new tab every time you get bored, but you don’t know that once it’s open, it’s eating up a lot of important learning time. If you’re taking online courses, make sure you don’t surf unnecessarily. If you find it hard to control yourself, you can also use portals like GrannyMaster that let you decide how much time you want to spend on learning courses. They’ll protect you from mindless clicking and keep you on track with your learning.
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Practise regularly
Don’t wait until the last minute to revise the syllabus you learned for the exam. Regularly review what you’ve learned and check your level of preparation by taking tests. Reviewing topics and concepts on a weekly or fortnightly basis can save you a lot of time on the final review.
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Other
If you want to memorize something, study groups are not the best idea. Study groups are helpful when discussions and dialogs can be had freely, and that’s not what you want when you are trying to memorize large chunks of your syllabus for medical and technical exams.
Regularity in your studies is important. Would you rather memorize large amounts of information at the end of the week or small packets of facts every day? Those who study daily are more likely to remember things longer. They also have more time to study, which is an important factor in effective studying.
These techniques will help you perform better and make your studies something to look forward to. So follow these smart study tips and you will find that the amount of time you spend studying will be significantly reduced.
