So many people have ideas on what you should be doing to become better at studying. Many, many books have been written on this topic.
Today I would like to give you a very simple method for becoming better at studying. Follow this, and you will benefit, guaranteed!
Becoming better at Studying is a skill, not a talent
Everybody can learn how to study better, smarter, and faster. Like with so many things in life, it is something you can learn (how meta is that… learning a skill to study better 🙂 )
I would like to jump into the steps of doing this, so if you don’t mind… Here we go!
1. Write down how you study
You have to create a system or strategy for studying. I call this my study recipe. When I bake a cake, I follow a certain recipe. The same applies to studying.
For example, it could be something like this:
- Determine what I will study and mark the pages in the book with post-it notes.
- Read the pages for 30 minutes
- Take notes after every page
- etc.
You have a certain way you go through your books. Write that down.
2. Use your recipe during a real study session
Often you can write really nice plans on paper, but in real life, things turn out differently.
That means that you have to test your recipe. The great thing about that is that you find out if it works for you! You might want to write that down after the study session
3. Notice what needs to be improved
When you know what needs to be improved, you write that down. You now have an idea of what to do differently next time.
Make sure you use this information!!! It is exactly what makes you a better student next time.
For instance, you could stop wasting time when reading on re-reading. Perhaps you lost your focus. Did you read too slowly?
Was the outline you created filled with too much detail and not enough structured? Did you make a mind map? Were you running out of time because you wanted to do too much?
Was it difficult to getting started with your session? Were you distracted by people or things around you?
4. Next session: Focus
Adjust your recipe. Make sure the thing that was stopping you from studying efficiently is changed.
I know that there may many things you like to change. Make sure you don’t strive for perfection. Right now, aim for 80% perfection. Once you hit that level, focus on a different area.
5. Start over using the updated recipe!
You use the new recipe. This time you focus on the things that were not running smoothly last time.
The result will probably be that you do some things better. You may notice that you have to adjust the recipe again. Don’t worry. Embrace the things that are not working for you! The problems are opportunities to become better at studying!
As you can see, there is no real magic. It is a series of trail and upgrades.
Every time your studying will become more efficient.
Perhaps you can figure out for each of the stages of studying what you can improve. For instance, when you are creating a mind map, you should focus more on the practical side. When reading you start with getting a general overview. Each part of your study session can be upgraded.
Use This today, you deserve it
It only takes a couple of minutes to do this. The benefit is that your study sessions become more efficient. I am sure you will enjoy the extra personal / family time you get by working like this.
If you have any questions, let me know using the contact page. I read each question and comment and respond to it personally.
My question for you is simple: What will you change your next study session?
