If you are a student in a high school/college/university, then you are no stranger to the massive efforts required to put in when it comes to maintaining your social life, and your grades at the same time.
Many students, and ex- students, will tell you that achieving a balance in the magic two (studies and life) is almost impossible(even with all the study tips ,tricks and all the help), and that a student has to sacrifice or neglect one of the above to achieve perfection in the other.
BUT
Got your attention yet?? Good!
All right then, that being said, here is a list of simple, easy to follow study tips and tricks and ace your class and still have enough time to hit the club every night.
Yes, it might be easier than you think, but that does not necessarily mean that you can be a topper without studying, or not attending lectures, or not focusing on your studies in general. If you can at least know what to study, then you can follow these study tips.
1: Look at the ball, focus on the ball, be the ball: The logic is simple, when focusing on something, be it studies or anything else, do not let ANYTHING else disturb you. When you sit down to study tonight, turn off all sources of distraction. No facebook, no whatsapp, no cell phone. Pretend that you never knew what these things were. Doing that for one hour will allow you to use them for the rest of the day (good bargain, right??) Open your books, get a few blank sheets, pick your topic of study, and get to work. As long as your focus is unbroken/ undisturbed, you can achieve in one hour what others achieve in 3 hours.
Why is that?? Well, the human brain is very well designed. When you are in a state of focus/concentration, your brain is working on the alpha- brainwave frequency, which is used by the brain to learn, understand, and improvise on things (eg: while playing a sport, learning a move, or doing something logical, like coding, playing chess, studying etc).
The beta waves is what the brain uses, when it is out of work mode. These waves are generated when a person is having fun, carrying out daily activities, or just fooling around.
So, again, the logic is simple. You let the alpha waves run longer, they get stronger, and you learn more. A distraction generates beta waves, causing a blockage of focus, and then you might find it difficult to continue where you left off. Distraction is your enemy, it is the reason why you keep trying to understand something for hours and still don’t get it. Remember what you read earlier. You can achieve in 1 hour of concentrated studying, which you achieve in 3 hours of taking breaks and goofing around.
2: Prepare before studying: when you are attending class, try and understand what the teacher is trying to tell you. You can cover most of your work in the class itself, by focusing on what the teacher is saying. If you don’t understand what he’s teaching, write it down! No one needs to understand a thing just to write it down. Just note it verbatim and mark it for review. Then, you can either ask the teacher after class, or browse the internet for a solution. There are also tutors and teaching services available on the internet that can help you, if you ever require it. If you still have any doubts remaining, write them down in a notepad, so that you can clear them later with your lecturer. Remember, it’s not cool to lose to a piece of logic (concept). Run the bastard down!!
- Practice: After you have cleared any doubts on the tough concepts, practice them again. Find questions on the concepts that you found difficult, or hard to understand, and take ‘em down! Every time you get a new problem, read it first, understand what you are being asked to solve (most students don’t get that right). Then, decide on how you are going to solve it. If it’s a non-technical subject like history, economics, or a language, then it’s much easier to solve, because the rules that govern your reasoning for the answer are few, and depend less on mathematics (another headache for most students).
If it’s a technical problem, rejoice! Why?? Because you can solve that problem in many ways!!! You just need to be able to imagine those ways, and ensure that they are within the rules of the theory of the subject.
Simple example: find the square of 25.
Way number one: manual multiplication 25 X 25= 625.
Way number two: divide and conquer. We know that
5 X5= 25
So,
25×25=5 X 5 X 5 X 5
25X5=125
125 X 5= 625
The same rule applies to more complex problems too.
Break down problems into sub- problems on the basis of the logic of the problem. Then solve those sub problems, if you still find the sub problems difficult, break them down further, until you find them easy enough to solve! Solving the sub problems will solve the main question, giving you the answer!! This legendary method is called Divide and Conquer.
These are just a few basic methods for beginners to get their academic progress back under their control. As you practice more and more, it will become easier for you to apply yourself successfully on any problem, in any situation (on board, or in exam)
We will show you the same methods applied to tough problems- such as calculus- in the next post!
The next post will contain some more techniques to improve mathematics, calculation speed, and tricks to solve tough problems without even needing to use a pen or a calculator!
Remember! IQ is just a number, it’s the patience and the ability to think your way around things that counts!!!
