As an Adult, going anywhere becomes as difficult as reaching there in the first place. You must execute your plans with care and be prepared for a slew of outcomes, as well as dozens of backup plans. Even the most simple ideas can backfire, leaving you with scars and life lessons.
So, the ability to make a well-planned and well-executed mistake is the key to success in life. And the code to studying sensibly and smartly can result in achieving anything in life:
- Set Aside Certain hours of a Day for Studying: It is preferable to spread out your study time over several shorter sessions rather than cramming everything into one long session.
- Switch between studying the same and unrelated topics: Interleaving (or rotating between distinct topics) can be more successful, especially for topics that are similar and might otherwise be confused.
For example, if you were studying the geography of a country, you’d probably want to look at the geography of other countries, to see how they’re different and resourceful at the same time.
- Make up your own mantra to help you understand and study a subject: While you’re reading, think about what you’re reading. By answering your own questions, you are forcing yourself to consider how to explain the subject in your own terms, drawing on your own knowledge and experience.
Use an approach known as elaborative interrogation to incorporate the practice of questioning into your reading in a systematic way. This technique involves annotating your sources with questions that require an explanatory response from you.
- Make learning strategies a part of your studying routine: When it comes to studying, it’s less about what you think you know and more about what you can prove you know.
Testing is not only a tool for assessing learning; it may also be a potent learning mechanism. This is another one of those psychological results that have become so well-established that it is now regarded fundamental.
Using the read, recite, review (3R) method, you can naturally add learning strategies to your studies.
- Think about the information instead of just highlighting it: Students frequently employ the practice of highlighting text as this appears to be a totally reasonable thing to do while studying. It’s the reasoning behind what’s being emphasised — why the highlighted data is important – that matters.
Research shows that those who say they employ highlighting the most are the ones that use it the least effective and get the least advantage from it.
I understand how enticing it is to view a highlighter as an x-ray machine with a direct link to your long-term memory, but it isn’t a replacement for actively engaging with the text.
Remember: Don’t trust your instincts. Intuitive learning assessments are frequently incorrect and lead to an exaggerated sense of progress.
“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”