7 tips to study less and be smarter

Surely it has happened to all of you that during exam time, and after several hours studying, your brain says: "Enough!". You have reached your peak, and no matter how much you continue studying, you are not going to memorize or learn anything. Therefore, it's time to take a break.

We tend to have the erroneous belief that by spending several hours studying, without resting, we will learn much more. Well, you can learn a lot and study less: the key is to use the time to your advantage and have the different tools that I will provide below. This will help you to be more effective in your study.

• We recommend this article: "10 vital study techniques to learn more"

Expert advice to study less and learn more

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has found myself in the previous situation and that, to maximize the results of your study, you have searched for a video on YouTube to learn better and in less time. Well, I want to tell you that doing a little search for that social media, I found a video that It seemed very interesting, but that, unfortunately, was too long (at least that is what I thought when saw).

The video (which I leave at the end of the text) is very productive. In the recording appears a professor of psychology at Pierce College in Los Angeles (United States), Dr. Marty Lobdell, who over more than 50 minutes performs a conference in which he gives various tips to study less and be more productive in the study. But so that you do not have to view the entire audiovisual content, and for those of you who do not speak English (which I know many of you costs), I have taken the trouble to write this article and extract the most important ideas, which will surely be of interest to you. utility.

7 tips to be more productive in the study

When we learn new material, it can be overwhelming just thinking about all that we have to digest (mentally speaking) and the time we have to spend kneeling. To avoid unproductive hours, do not miss the following lines.

1. Study in fragmented sessions

Studying in fragmented sessions means that you must study in blocks of time. If for example you study for 3 hours, you will be more productive if every "x" time you stop. It is better to study 2 hours with breaks than 3 hours in a row without stopping. Professor Lobdell explains that a recent study concluded that the average time that most people need before they start to have learning disabilities is about 25-30 minutes. Therefore, to study better you have to do small study sessions and then rest for 5 minutes.

At the time of taking a break it is necessary to do some fun activity or away from the study. In addition, the expert also recommends giving yourself a prize once the daily study session is over, for example, going to the movies. Positive reinforcement increases the study habit.

2. Have a specific corner for study

Having a specific area for study refers to having a place where you only study. That is, you don't eat, you don't watch television, you don't play the console, etc. It also means that you study there, not in bed or on the couch (except in the library). This It is positive because it helps to be more concentrated and, in addition, it allows to leave that study space during the break. It is about having an ideal place and environment to be able to be more productive studying.

3. Study actively and know the difference between recognition and memory

Dr. Lobdell explains the difference between recognition Y I remember. Recognition requires a stimulus that elicits the response, and that stimulus may not be present on a test. Remembering has to do with learning concepts more than data. A piece of information can be the word arm, on the other hand, a concept can be the fact of knowing how the arm works, for example, mechanically. Studying actively allows you to memorize concepts and, therefore, favors recall, which will always be better than learning data.

4. Take good notes

Find a good way to take notes to help you, and review them from time to time. If when you finish class you realize that there is something in the notes you have taken that you do not fully understand, ask a classmate (and even the teacher) about it. Keeping your notes up to date greatly facilitates further study and understanding of what you want to learn, as well as reducing study time.

5. Be prepared to teach what you have learned

Be prepared to teach what you have learned to someone else, because this shows whether or not you understand what you have studied. You can write a summary to see if you have understood it or make it appear that you explain it to someone. This will make it easier to remember and help you to detect the aspects that you do not master.

• Recommended article: "5 tricks to avoid nervousness before an exam"

6. Read the texts effectively

The teacher advises that, to read the texts effectively, we use the SQ3R method, what allows more efficient retention of information. But what is the SQ3R method? Well, this method is based on the following sections.

• Before reading, inspect the text: it refers to examining what you are going to read before entering to delve into the content. Look at the title, chapter summaries, reminder boxes, etc.
• Ask questions while you are inspecting.
• Read actively: answer the questions previously posed, analyze the boxes, answer the questions posed by the text, etc.
• Recite what you have read. For example, taking later notes.
• Review, but continuously.
• If you want to know how to read faster, we invite you to take a look at our article: "Speed ​​reading: learn the 5 techniques to read faster”

7. Use mnemonics

Many times we know the concept perfectly but it is difficult for us to remember the data. For example, we can know the concept of afferent and efferent neuron, but we get confused when we remember which is which. The teacher suggests the use of mnemics, which are techniques to promote learning and memorization. One of the techniques he suggests is the use of acronyms or phrases to remember data. For example, you can use “PaBlo CARES for CRISTIN AT ZINCO” to remember the metal cations that are Amphoteric (Lead, Copper, Chromium, Aluminum, Zinc).

Below you can view the video of Dr. Marty Lobdell: