(here are some study tips straight from my psych notes)
1. interest: the brain prioritizes by meaning, value, and relevance so u remember things better if ur interested
find a study partner
do extra practice or research
teach it to someone else (this works so well!)
2. intent: be actively paying attention. very little learning actually takes place without attention
use a concentration check sheet (every time u get distracted, put a check on ur sheet. this is supposed to program ur mind to pay attention)
while u read, talk back to the author
ask questions during lectures (this is scary ik!! but do it!)
3. basic background: make connections to what u already know
preview and skim the material before u read it. or google it!
write out a list of vocab words before a lecture and leave some spaces between them to fill in during the lecture
read ahead of lectures
watch crashcourse tbh
4. selectivity: start by studying whats important
look for bolded words, graphics, pictures, chapter review questions in ur readings
listen for verbal clues like emphasis and repetition during lectures
make urself a study guide as u read and write down questions for urself to answer later as review (kinda like cornell notes)
5. meaningful organization: u can learn/rmr better if u group ideas into diff categories
apply vocab words to ur life
make flashcards and sort them (try not to have more than seven items in one category!)
use mnemonics
6. recitation: saying ideas aloud in ur own words strengthens synaptic connections! when u say something aloud u r forcing urself to pay attention
after u read, ask urself questions
talk abt what u learned w/ classmates outside of class
again, teach someone else
7. visualization: ur brain’s quickest and longest-lasting response is to images
convert info into a chart or graph
draw it out
make a mental video of a process
look at picture/video examples
8. association: memory is increased when facts are consciously associated w something u already know. memory = making neural connections
ask urself: is this something i already know?
9. consolidation: give ur brain some time to establish a neural pathway
make a list of what u remember from class
review notes at the end of the day, every day
stop after reading each prg to write a question in ur notes
make ur own practice quiz
10. distributed practice: we all know cramming doesnt work but we do it anyway! but yeah short and frequent study sections work better
make a daily/weekly study schedule
create a time budget/time tracker (track everything ur doing for a week and see how u can be more efficient w/ the time u waste)
divide the reading/vocab by the number of days before an exam and do a little bit each day (u can use sticky notes to divide ur reading)
other tips:
stop stressing! this sounds stupid and it isnt going to be easy, but anxiety causes u to lose focus. try ur best to think positively. sleep a lot. minimize ur caffeine intake. take a walk maybe
when u need to remember something, look upward or close ur eyes (when ur eyes are open ur using visual parts of ur brain that u might not need to be using)
find a rival! (like the person right above u in class rank) secretly compete w/ them (envy can improve mental persistence bc it makes u focus more intensely) but dont overdo it!
walking and sleeping build memory storage in ur brain
eat flavonoids! (grapes, berries, tea leaves, cocoa beans make neurons in the brain more capable of forming new memories + increase blood flow to the brain)
obstacles force ur brain to try harder, so space learning lessons apart or create a puzzle to solve or change ur physical setting
Hi guys!! Thank you all so much for your support!!! Happy 250 (EDIT: I SPENT A DAY ON THIS AND NOW IM PAST 300) and hope you all have a great start to the month! The community is more welcoming with all of you - I haven’t faced negativity from anyone at all. None of these are my posts - but they’ve helped me out a lot. With that said - let’s get started:
For bujos/planners:
This is one of my side blogs, and has tons of inspiration for weekly and monthly spreads, as well as a few aesthetic ideas and how to start one. I update this constantly.
Thank you so much for the support! I couldn’t have done it without all of you. A simple reblog or like will help others see these tips, and will be very appreciated. I hope these links work - feel free to message me with questions and other links!! A possible part 2 might come out at the end of august, and one for languages!!!
The appearance and organization of my notes plays a huge role in the amount of time that I dedicate to studying and my overall performance on tests.  Therefore, I’ve spent the past several years experimenting with various methods, and these are a few of the techniques that I’ve found to be most beneficial.
Cornell Method
The Cornell Method emphasizes identifying the key points of a textbook passage or lecture and consolidating information as much as possible. Â
I’ve found that this style works best for literature and science courses that require extensive, dense reading and note-taking.  It allows me to easily and quickly identify what I understand versus what I still need to work on.
Adapted Cornell Method
I’ve created my own adaptation of the Cornell Method by eliminating the summary section at the bottom of the page and incorporating Post-It notes throughout the body of the page to highlight lists and key points.  And, of course, I had to add some color!
Outline
This is, by far, my favorite method due to its flexibility and clean, minimalist appearance.  While the image above doesn’t depict a true series of bullets at varying levels of indentation, you can experiment with different types of bullet points as well as varying spacing. Â
I prefer using this method for maths because it allows sufficient space for me to draw graphs, record examples, and solve problems. Â
Mind-Maps
Mind-maps are extremely helpful for organizing complex or extremely confusing topics.  There’s no right or wrong way to go about drawing one, and much of the final appearance will be related to the material that you’re diagramming.  Keep in mind that certain topics and information will more readily lend itself to this sort of portrayal.
For those of us who aren’t artistically talented 🙋🏼, these can be rather challenging to construct, especially when working with unfamiliar material.  In the past, I’ve used mind-maps for history when looking at isolated events or individuals.
